Cheap mic and software for room testing?

[Jelly]

Hey! This is my first post.

Anyway, I've got a friend who would like to test the sound characteristics of a room, so I want to buy him the proper equipment to do so. I know I need at least some software and an omni-directional microphone, and possibly some kind of interface. My question is, which software and mic should I buy? I'd like to skip the interface if possible, and I hope to spend less than $100.

He uses Windows XP, and I'm sure he'll get plenty of use out of the equipment in the future, so I'd like it to be of fairly decent quality.

Thanks in advance

[Glowbug]

Welcome to DIYAudio The under $100 budget is going to be tough, though.

Dayton has what looks like a clone of the Behringer measurement mic, and it comes with a response graph for calibration, but it's $48 by itself...even used, you might be looking at $100 for a sound card/interface that does phantom power and has the kind of response you need for accurate measurement. E-MU and M-Audio come to mind, they both make PCI and external interfaces that'd work.

You're a nice friend - I wish people bought me measurement stuff

[Jelly]

Originally Posted by Glowbug

Welcome to DIYAudio The under $100 budget is going to be tough, though.

Dayton has what looks like a clone of the Behringer measurement mic, and it comes with a response graph for calibration, but it's $48 by itself...even used, you might be looking at $100 for a sound card/interface that does phantom power and has the kind of response you need for accurate measurement. E-MU and M-Audio come to mind, they both make PCI and external interfaces that'd work.

You're a nice friend - I wish people bought me measurement stuff

So I looked up the Behringer measurement mic, and it is also about $50. I'm guessing it would be better than a clone of it, right? Anyways, some more searching has led me to some decent-looking free software, although I'd like to hear some opinions of which are the best.

I still think it might be possible to find a cheap interface, so what are some of the best ones that I might be able to find on ebay or something?

[Lostcause]

Not wanting to hijack the thread but I'm trying to do the same on a budget and have all the bits to make one of these
Thing is what do you need next? hardware and software....
Would a cheapo soundcard be OK or is there an issue with this phantom power thingie?.... damn, I just sold my EMU 0404 PCI.....

[Garyepe]

Jelly,

If you need the Omni-Directional MIC Please tell me.
You can look through our website
www.lxmic.com

Garyr

[wintermute]

Lostcause, The walin preamp II is a good one

Jelly & Lostcause I'd suggest having a look at this thread for measurement software.

I've downloaded it but have not yet tried it. I previously used speaker workshop for measurements but had mixed results, I had difficulty getting consistent readings.. Saw someone else posting the same issues, who then tried HOLMImpulse, and all problems went away.

PCB's for the Walin Preamp II are available from Vikash's website

Tony.

[Lostcause]

Originally Posted by wintermute

Lostcause, The walin preamp II is a good one

Jelly & Lostcause I'd suggest having a look at this thread for measurement software.

I've downloaded it but have not yet tried it. I previously used speaker workshop for measurements but had mixed results, I had difficulty getting consistent readings.. Saw someone else posting the same issues, who then tried HOLMImpulse, and all problems went away.

PCB's for the Walin Preamp II are available from Vikash's website

Tony.

Cheers Tony, that's a good thread link.
I'll dig out an old sound card and see if it will do the business.
Thanks again
Lee

[Lostcause]

Another quick question if I may chaps...
Is it worth doing the Linkwitz mod?