Just out of curiosity, which OS? Win7 and the drivers supplied is quite unstable in my rig, it works 4 out of 5 times and crashes Arta the 1 out of 5 times. But since I crash my own measurments 1 out of 2 times it still counts as usable 
. Rmaa and emu 0404 never got it to work. Crappy drivers ( creative waddya expect... ) I presume.
. Rmaa and emu 0404 never got it to work. Crappy drivers ( creative waddya expect... ) I presume.
That's a different issue to what I'm talking about.
Yeah 64bit Windows 7. I'm using the beta drivers from Creative. I've had RMAA just freeze up many times and also Arta caused my whole PC to crash. It's possible to work around the instabilities but still annoying!Just out of curiosity, which OS? Win7 and the drivers supplied is quite unstable in my rig, it works 4 out of 5 times and crashes Arta the 1 out of 5 times. But since I crash my own measurments 1 out of 2 times it still counts as usable
. Rmaa and emu 0404 never got it to work. Crappy drivers ( creative waddya expect... ) I presume.
We had so many problems trying to get our EMU 0404 USB running properly with windows 7 as part of our audio measurement equipment, that we bought a Focusrite Forte. This works superbly with Windows 7 and works a treat with ARTA. We use a 96kHz sample rate for our PA/VA amplifier and speaker measurements. The Forte costs a lot though!
Did you get an Focusrite scarlett 2i2? They do look nice but don't quite match the THD/SNR/Noise specs of the EMU 0404, at least on paper. Have you compared any measurements??
Yeah about £350! Do you have any loopback measurements? Is it better than the 0404 (when it working properly)??
It has the great advantage when using it for R&D measurements where the tests have to be replicated exactly is that you don't have those annoying rotary gain controls that on the EMU don't ever seem to be possible to set where you want them! The Forte control application allows you to set input and output gains in 1dB steps at lower gains, and 0.4dB steps at higher gains. The actual gain settings are displayed on the colour display on the unit and also replicated on the s/w control panel. You have to remember to mute the internal direct path from input to output when performing measurements, and set the gains to and from the PC in the 'DAW' settings. I had to RTFM a couple of times, but once you're used to the audio routeing it's no problem. It can run full-duplex at 192kHz and the noise at LF is lower than the EMU, the HF noise appears similar.
Yes exactly. It is "good enough" and it works. It is not a laboratory piece. I use it with my calibrated E8000 mic for speaker development. Focusrite does not play games with specs. No fancy mixer consoles, simple USB driver. I had software issues with both enu ( they told me to stuff it. I will never deal with Creative again) and loop-back-motorboating issues with the M-audio Firewire unit. All of the M-audio units I have had were disappointing.
When Focusrite makes a small 24 bit 192K unit I will probably upgrade as the extra resolution is handy for my amplifier and filter work. Not at all necessary for speakers. Heck, most of the time I run 48K anyway for speaker work.
Attachments
Does anybody know anything about this pocket sized with encoders $250 one?
MOTU.com - MicroBook Overview
How accurate is it in measuring harmonics below -100dB?
also what ADC brand/part is used?
Thx-RNMarsh
I had so many issues, I threw mine away and bought a Focusrite 212. It works. Nothing fancy, it works. It had software stability issues and their tech support basically told me to shove it. I bought an M-Audio and it had loopback issues. Junk. Focusrite at least does what is says.
Just found out about QuantAsylum. I want one of those too.
Just found out about QuantAsylum. I want one of those too.
Do you mean the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2?
It looks very usable in terms of testing speakers with a appropriate microphone but have you used it to test electronics?
Yes. Perfect with the mic (Calibrated e8000). OK with voltage divider probes for electronics. Of course we want wider bandwidth and lower noise. But it also has to WORK. The Focusrite does. The QuantAsylum does give the 192K, 24 bit that is a small improvement.
You understand the problem here? Even a big-box store receiver is laboratory level. To really test an amp requires hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment.
I am happy that I can do the impedance and acoustical testing on speakers. To think I could use a PC and a few hundred dollars of a D-A made for a home recording is dreaming. We are talking more like 28 bits at 20Meg. Go check the Agilent catalog for that. You will find we can't do that digitally yet. Back to the analog generator and T notch filter box. You should realize, walking past the bench at those levels of precision can upset things. So, we model in SPICE and troubleshoot with an analog scope.
You understand the problem here? Even a big-box store receiver is laboratory level. To really test an amp requires hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment.
I am happy that I can do the impedance and acoustical testing on speakers. To think I could use a PC and a few hundred dollars of a D-A made for a home recording is dreaming. We are talking more like 28 bits at 20Meg. Go check the Agilent catalog for that. You will find we can't do that digitally yet. Back to the analog generator and T notch filter box. You should realize, walking past the bench at those levels of precision can upset things. So, we model in SPICE and troubleshoot with an analog scope.
Yes, very well. I have a Tek 2465B and TDS2024, as well as R&S SMG generator and HP8594E spectrum analyzer so I am well aware of what even good used test equipment costs. I have these as I want to be able to turn them on and have them work reliably and repeatably.
I want a USB 'box' that will connect to my laptop and work with a minimum of fuss. The attraction of the Focusrite unit is that my wife wants a box that does exactly what the 2i2 is intended to do - record music.
If it can do dual duty as a speaker and amp tester using, say, ARTA or RMAA, then that tips the balance in favour of a particular unit.
It looks like the 2i2 suits my needs very nicely. I do not expect it to outperform an Audio Precision box.
Alan,
Super. No offence intended. I am sure you have seen many beginners out there who were not techs and don't understand why the RTA in their iPhone is not laboratory grade, so my response was a bit broad.
I am very happy with mine as it does just what it says. No fancy complicated software with memory leaks etc, no obsolete Firewire or PCI cards. ARTA, Holm, TrueRTA, SoundEasy Zelescope, & LIMP have all been happy with it.
I have a little interface box I made with voltage dividers, clamps and several known loads to do impedance and electronic measurements. Nothing fancy. Good enough for driver parameters and simple frequency response verification of amps or filters. I guess setting a tube amp bias using something low like 4K would work as you could see the second and third. I just got some tips on lower leakage diodes, so I may be able to do some upgrades on my little box. Zieners cause too much distortion.
I settled for a Tek 2235. "Grew up" on 465's but they still get too much for them after 35 years! I wish Zelscope would upgrade their scope to 96 or 192K. It works pretty well for less than a Franklin, but it's limited to 44K. It is the only software scope that has proper delayed sweep.
Super. No offence intended. I am sure you have seen many beginners out there who were not techs and don't understand why the RTA in their iPhone is not laboratory grade, so my response was a bit broad.
I am very happy with mine as it does just what it says. No fancy complicated software with memory leaks etc, no obsolete Firewire or PCI cards. ARTA, Holm, TrueRTA, SoundEasy Zelescope, & LIMP have all been happy with it.
I have a little interface box I made with voltage dividers, clamps and several known loads to do impedance and electronic measurements. Nothing fancy. Good enough for driver parameters and simple frequency response verification of amps or filters. I guess setting a tube amp bias using something low like 4K would work as you could see the second and third. I just got some tips on lower leakage diodes, so I may be able to do some upgrades on my little box. Zieners cause too much distortion.
I settled for a Tek 2235. "Grew up" on 465's but they still get too much for them after 35 years! I wish Zelscope would upgrade their scope to 96 or 192K. It works pretty well for less than a Franklin, but it's limited to 44K. It is the only software scope that has proper delayed sweep.
Tip I was given on my thread about protection for amps. BAS45A's. They have an order of magnitude less leakage than 1N4148 or 991's. One of then in series with a ziener may make a much less obtrusive clamp. I will order a bucket full when I order the parts for the amp I am working on. There are some even better, but alas, SMT. Only testing will tell as we all know, SPICE lies.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.