What kind of laptop to analyze speaker

ostie01 · 27th December 2005, 04:53 AM

Hi, would like to know if a laptop is a good choice to analyze speaker with a software and sound card.Do I need an external sound card.
I have another desktop computer but can't take it where I want so a laptop would be a better choice for a second computer. How powerful I have to buy and what kind of sound card should I buy if I need one.
Thanks.

Nemophyle · 27th December 2005, 10:45 AM

i'm not very experienced about the sound measuring side of your question as i'm at my first steps with sthat, but about laptops, desktops and sound i can answer you as i know it pretty well. There is virtually no difference in power between a good laptop and a good desktop.

YOU will need an external soundcard, though, as this is probably the most shitty component of a laptop (on the inspiron 6000 i'musing right now, if i plug in AC power i have lots of noise in my soundcard in and ouput, so => pretty shitty shielding)

For the power, any new laptop even the cheapest ones will do the job if you just wanna perform frequency/impedance measurement.

On the other side, the better mic and soundcard you have, the better fidelity you will have

for the mic i don't know much, excepting that well know panasonic electrostatics capsules are good enough to do Frequency measurements, but far from enough to do distortion measurements. If you just need FR, you might consider it.

for the soundcard, you will need a little mic preamp on it if you don't have any. The quietest it is, the best. The worst thing you should consider is an M-audio audiophile or fasttrack. If you have a mic preamp, the echo indigo is having an exceptionnal S/N and dynamic range, exceptionnaly low THD, and cost the same as the 2 maudio listed above, around 150 $ i think

finally if you wanna go pricey they are the EMU 1616 and (better) 1616M ( 300 and 400 $),and Presonus Firebox (around 300$) that have outstanding mic preamps and S/N ratio etc etc, but on the other side may have lots of stuff you don't need.

External metal casing is good ==> proper shielding, any way, you can't put a soundcard INSIDE a laptop

Construct · 27th December 2005, 07:18 PM

Nemophyle offered some very good advice, but I'd just like to elaborate on the Echo Indigo.

The Indigo is a PCMCIA card, and comes in two versions: The DJ and the I/O. The Echo Indigo DJ has a headphone/line out and a dedicated line out. The Echo Indigo I/O has a headphone/line out and a dedicated line in. For speaker measurements, you'll want the I/O.

I bought my Echo Indigo DJ from this guy on eBay

27th December 2005, 04:53 AM	#1
ostie01 diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: quebec	What kind of laptop to analyze speaker Hi, would like to know if a laptop is a good choice to analyze speaker with a software and sound card.Do I need an external sound card. I have another desktop computer but can't take it where I want so a laptop would be a better choice for a second computer. How powerful I have to buy and what kind of sound card should I buy if I need one. Thanks.

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27th December 2005, 10:45 AM	#2
Nemophyle diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: paris	i'm not very experienced about the sound measuring side of your question as i'm at my first steps with sthat, but about laptops, desktops and sound i can answer you as i know it pretty well. There is virtually no difference in power between a good laptop and a good desktop. YOU will need an external soundcard, though, as this is probably the most shitty component of a laptop (on the inspiron 6000 i'musing right now, if i plug in AC power i have lots of noise in my soundcard in and ouput, so => pretty shitty shielding) For the power, any new laptop even the cheapest ones will do the job if you just wanna perform frequency/impedance measurement. On the other side, the better mic and soundcard you have, the better fidelity you will have for the mic i don't know much, excepting that well know panasonic electrostatics capsules are good enough to do Frequency measurements, but far from enough to do distortion measurements. If you just need FR, you might consider it. for the soundcard, you will need a little mic preamp on it if you don't have any. The quietest it is, the best. The worst thing you should consider is an M-audio audiophile or fasttrack. If you have a mic preamp, the echo indigo is having an exceptionnal S/N and dynamic range, exceptionnaly low THD, and cost the same as the 2 maudio listed above, around 150 $ i think finally if you wanna go pricey they are the EMU 1616 and (better) 1616M ( 300 and 400 $),and Presonus Firebox (around 300$) that have outstanding mic preamps and S/N ratio etc etc, but on the other side may have lots of stuff you don't need. External metal casing is good ==> proper shielding, any way, you can't put a soundcard INSIDE a laptop

27th December 2005, 07:18 PM	#3
Construct diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Utah	Nemophyle offered some very good advice, but I'd just like to elaborate on the Echo Indigo. The Indigo is a PCMCIA card, and comes in two versions: The DJ and the I/O. The Echo Indigo DJ has a headphone/line out and a dedicated line out. The Echo Indigo I/O has a headphone/line out and a dedicated line in. For speaker measurements, you'll want the I/O. I bought my Echo Indigo DJ from this guy on eBay