more crossover questions....kinda....

[cartman33]

i am wanting to know what type of equipment you guys use to measure drivers to aide in crossover building. i am wanting to build/design my own system and am just looking for the building blocks that i will need.

yes, i know that i can build a kit or a project that is already all figured out; but, where the hell is the fun in that?!

[Paul Carmody]

Re: more crossover questions....kinda....

i am wanting to know what type of equipment you guys use to measure drivers to aide in crossover building. i am wanting to build/design my own system and am just looking for the building blocks that i will need.

yes, i know that i can build a kit or a project that is already all figured out; but, where the hell is the fun in that?!

You actually don't need measurement equipment to design a XO. Roman has a really helpful tutorial on his website about how to design a speaker using the free FRD tools.

Jay's website also has a similar tutorial. (I should have links here, but I don't. Sorry :o )

Wolf does a lot of excellent designs using only SPL traces and the free tools. He should do a writeup!

I actually recommend you do this first before you invest in hundreds of dollars in recording/measuring equipment and have to learn yet another step. Get this part down first.

[djarchow]

Re: more crossover questions....kinda....

The main tools used by DIYers for frequency response and t/s measurements are software based measurement tools such as ARTA, SoundEasy, LoudSpeaker Lab, JustMLS (part of LspCad)

The software based tools require you to buy a mic, mic preamp, and possibly a soundcard. When you factor these parts the difference in price between the hardware based options isn't as great.

I use SoundEasy and with the software, a mic, and preamp you can be up and running doing measurements and design for about $350. If you want to use a laptop for measurements with an external soundcard, the cost can go up.

the other thing to keep in mind is that tools such as SoundEasy, LspCad, and to a lesser extent Speaker Workshop are full design suites in addition to measurement tools; doing XO and box design as well as lots of other features. Hardware based measurement systems are generally dedicated measurement tools.

The other route is hardware based measurement tools such as Clio, or Praxis. Hardware based tools tend to be much more expensive because they include all the other parts you need for measurements such as mics, hardware based audio interface etc.. Th woofer tester 3 also falls into this category but only does t/s measurements though is pretty cheap. Clio Lite or Praxis start at about $600 and go up from there.

[devils_trill]

Re: more crossover questions....kinda....

I've heard that many folks use the affordable Behringer ECM8000 microphone to conduct measurements. By the way, what preamp is best used with this microphone?

In addition, this mic will have to be calibrated before use in loudspeaker measurements. Is Kim Girardin still performing this service? What's his email, by the way?

Thanks in advance.

[mgrabow]

Re: more crossover questions....kinda....

I've heard that many folks use the affordable Behringer ECM8000 microphone to conduct measurements. By the way, what preamp is best used with this microphone?

In addition, this mic will have to be calibrated before use in loudspeaker measurements. Is Kim Girardin still performing this service? What's his email, by the way?

Thanks in advance.

I use the Tascam 122... About $50 on ebay used...

[johnnyrichards]

Re: more crossover questions....kinda....

I am still amazed that PE doesn't offer a measurement kit.

[jonpike]

Re: more crossover questions....kinda....

I've heard that many folks use the affordable Behringer ECM8000 microphone to conduct measurements. By the way, what preamp is best used with this microphone?

In addition, this mic will have to be calibrated before use in loudspeaker measurements. Is Kim Girardin still performing this service? What's his email, by the way?

Thanks in advance.

I've heard someone getting a mic calibrated by Kim not too many months ago.
There was also mention of buisnesses who do the service as well. Ideally, you should send your mic amp and cable, with your mic, so the cal covers the external influences.

I got the Behringer U?602 mixer, with mic preamps, and the necessary phantom power circuit. (powers the mic) About $60. Now replaced by a nearly the same but different model number 6ch 2mic input mixer. Don't get the smaller 4chan one, the bottom model has no +48V phantom supply that mic's like the ECM8000 must have.

There are preamps that are just that, but most of them cost as much or more than the mixer. Thing to keep in mind, if you're using a mixer for your mic preamp... watch your tone controls!! Many have EQ filter settings, you want to be sure they're all set to flat. It's easy to bump a knob and tweak your freq response without knowing it. Make checking for them all to be set to 0, part of the setup procedure. I got bit several times by this... suddenly the good performing system is showing everything rolled off at the high end, or low end, etc....