Hi, I am searching a measurement and simulating hard- and software for loudspeaker development. 20 years ago, I' ve bought the lms hardware and leap software. But the lms card doesnt fit in my actual computer. I am not sure if its a good idea to reanimate a 20 years aged computerhardware by organizing an old computer with old software, and a plotter with a parallel port for the LEAP dongle. So I'am looking for an alternative measurement and simulation system.
I read, some use the woofertester pro, and like to work with it.
Did anybody compare the measurement systems: Clio - Woofertester pro - ATB 701 - any others? Are there other systems - who can give a recommendation?
The producer of LMS and LEAP, linearX dont produce the lms anymore and the next system LX 500 isn't released up to now. So I should wait, or buy a new package.
I read, some use the woofertester pro, and like to work with it.
Did anybody compare the measurement systems: Clio - Woofertester pro - ATB 701 - any others? Are there other systems - who can give a recommendation?
The producer of LMS and LEAP, linearX dont produce the lms anymore and the next system LX 500 isn't released up to now. So I should wait, or buy a new package.
I would update LEAP to LEAP5 for the box design and crossover design.
However, as far as measurement systems go, I am very impressed with ARTA. The cost benefit ratio is really good. ARTA is in the neighborhood of $100 for home use and under $200 for the pro version.
CLIO is excellent, but the cost is not worth it for a DIY. If you are doing design as a manufacture or professional, then CLIO is probably the next best thing (I think it is at least as good as the latest LMS). It is available now
LinearX will be releasing their new replacement for LMS called LX500 (it is firewire based), but there is no firm release date and it could be another year.
Praxis by Liberty Instrument is worth considering if you have about $1200 to $1500 to spend. It is an excellent system, easy to use, and full featured.
Speaker Tester Pro and Woofer Tester Pro are excellent products. The strength is the ability to create a virtual crossover in software and use a couple of amps to emulate a passive crossover design. Tweaking becomes easy.
The downside is that I can not find any functionality to do serious polar or directionality plots.
Another idea, SoundEasy is a complete system that works well for the DIYer. Price is about $260. It does box and crossover design and has a measurement suite as well. It is not a high end solution, but it is not bad at all. Many people swear by it.
I own LEAP5 and CLIO Win7 Lite. The older CLIO software is good, but you either need a PC with the old PCI card slots or use the undocumented USB interface. The latest version of CLIO use fire ire, but the system is about $2600.
Lastly, HolmImpulse is free. It is a simple but effective SPL and phase measurement system. It lacks the ability to generate polar plots, but I have successfully imported HolmImpulse data into LEAP5. Holm has a lot of followers and there is plenty of support.
What you do depends on your needs. If you are in need of something for a business, then I would probably consider Praxis or CLIO. They are the only real systems out there that can generate absolute measurements.
If you want something for home use, my first bet would be ARTA.
The cheapest route would be HolmImpulse.
I would just upgrade your LEAP. If you upgrade LEAP to LEAP5 you will get a USB dongle and the software is second to none when it comes to design. Your learning curve will be the lowest as well and you can import HolmImpulse files into LEAP5 to generate your polar response data. The only downside is you will not have absolute SPL measurements, but relative SPL is much more important than absolute.
Last edited:
That software is great for analyzing the room, but does not function as a measurement system for a speaker.
It lacks the MLS, sine sweeps, and other functions ARTA has specifically for performing frequency response and phase measurements.
Also, lacking is the ability to do polar analysis, waterfall, sonograms, and a number of other features needed for detailed speaker design and measurement.
Bksabath, if you are doing speaker measurements you have the right software. If you need RTA, then ARTA still does that and you can always download Praxis.
what a powerful forum
that was exactly the information I looked for. Many thanks
.
Tomorrow I start my holidays - diving in Egypt. I hope they will be peaceable. In one week I'll be back to visit the forum.
When I m back, I hope I have a new very old computer with isa slot to put the lms card inside. If it still works, I'll use the lms until the lx 500 is available. If it will not work, I'll try it with arta or similar measurement soft-and hardware. Maybe with clio, if its easy to import the files to leap 5.
that was exactly the information I looked for. Many thanks
.Tomorrow I start my holidays - diving in Egypt. I hope they will be peaceable. In one week I'll be back to visit the forum.
When I m back, I hope I have a new very old computer with isa slot to put the lms card inside. If it still works, I'll use the lms until the lx 500 is available. If it will not work, I'll try it with arta or similar measurement soft-and hardware. Maybe with clio, if its easy to import the files to leap 5.
that was exactly the information I looked for. Many thanks
Tomorrow I start my holidays - diving in Egypt. I hope they will be peaceable. In one week I'll be back to visit the forum.
When I m back, I hope I have a new very old computer with isa slot to put the lms card inside. If it still works, I'll use the lms until the lx 500 is available. If it will not work, I'll try it with arta or similar measurement soft-and hardware. Maybe with clio, if its easy to import the files to leap 5.
I have not imported from CLIO, only HolmImpulse, but it seems just about every program can produce a compatible file of some sort.
I should add, that I use Woofer Tester 2 to generate my impedance plots and that works fine for LEAP5, too.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.