Last night I just had a brilliant idea (well, brilliant for me), I decided
to turn my old Pentium II laptop, that I never use, into a portable RTA (my
new Alpine 9853 has a 1/3 octave parametric EQ). I downloaded a program
called TrueRTA and all I need now is a good microphone. But I am not rich,
like Tony and has Dynaudio 3-ways and new Mustangs . So I'm trying to do
this on the cheap. Can anyone suggest what kind of microphone I should be
looking for? Will ANY full-range microphone work? Any advice on this
subject would be really appreciated!

Thanks!

MOSFET

"MOSFET" wrote in message
m...
Last night I just had a brilliant idea (well, brilliant for me), I decided
to turn my old Pentium II laptop, that I never use, into a portable RTA
(my new Alpine 9853 has a 1/3 octave parametric EQ). I downloaded a
program called TrueRTA and all I need now is a good microphone. But I am
not rich, like Tony and has Dynaudio 3-ways and new Mustangs . So I'm
trying to do this on the cheap. Can anyone suggest what kind of
microphone I should be looking for? Will ANY full-range microphone work?
Any advice on this subject would be really appreciated!

Thanks!

MOSFET


You will need an external sound card with phantom power supplied and a
calibrated mic. The Behringer ECM8000 is the cheapest I have found.

Chad

Chad, that's not what I wanted to hear. So you're saying the sound card in
my Toshiba Portege 7020CT can't perform RTA duties? Why? It can play CD's
and it has a microphone jack. I've tested it with a really cheap microphone
and it APPEARS to work (the bars on the analyzer bar graph respond when I
speak into the microphone). What's the problem?

MOSFET

"Chad Wahls" wrote in message
...

"MOSFET" wrote in message
m...
Last night I just had a brilliant idea (well, brilliant for me), I
decided to turn my old Pentium II laptop, that I never use, into a
portable RTA (my new Alpine 9853 has a 1/3 octave parametric EQ). I
downloaded a program called TrueRTA and all I need now is a good
microphone. But I am not rich, like Tony and has Dynaudio 3-ways and new
Mustangs . So I'm trying to do this on the cheap. Can anyone suggest
what kind of microphone I should be looking for? Will ANY full-range
microphone work? Any advice on this subject would be really appreciated!

Thanks!

MOSFET


You will need an external sound card with phantom power supplied and a
calibrated mic. The Behringer ECM8000 is the cheapest I have found.

Chad

In article ,
"MOSFET" wrote:

Chad, that's not what I wanted to hear. So you're saying the sound card in
my Toshiba Portege 7020CT can't perform RTA duties? Why? It can play CD's
and it has a microphone jack. I've tested it with a really cheap microphone
and it APPEARS to work (the bars on the analyzer bar graph respond when I
speak into the microphone). What's the problem?

MOSFET


Regular dynamic mics will work, but the ECM8000 and the Nady knockoff
are condenser mics and need phantom power to work. Another option would
be to acquire a cheap mixer from Behringer as well to perform the
phantom power duties.

Supposedly both are sufficient for acoustical measurements, any other
option is about 10x as much.

--
Cyrus

*coughcasaucedoprodigynetcough*

Cyrus wrote:
In article ,
"MOSFET" wrote:


Chad, that's not what I wanted to hear. So you're saying the sound card in
my Toshiba Portege 7020CT can't perform RTA duties? Why? It can play CD's
and it has a microphone jack. I've tested it with a really cheap microphone
and it APPEARS to work (the bars on the analyzer bar graph respond when I
speak into the microphone). What's the problem?

MOSFET



Regular dynamic mics will work, but the ECM8000 and the Nady knockoff
are condenser mics and need phantom power to work. Another option would
be to acquire a cheap mixer from Behringer as well to perform the
phantom power duties.

Supposedly both are sufficient for acoustical measurements, any other
option is about 10x as much.

Most any mic will "work", and the problem is not in the sound card. The
problem is that most mics have a definite response curve of their own,
and that will affect your RTA readings. If the mic has a deficiency at
1kHz,for example, your RTA will show a dip at 1kHz where one might not
exist; if you EQ to compensate for that displayed dip, you'll end up
with a peak at 1kHz instead. Most dynamics have a decidedly reduced top
end compared to condenser mics, and you could very likely end up with an
extra-bright top end response.

Mics designed for RTA use are designed to have as flat a response as
possible. Not only are they consensers, requiring a power supply, but
their "power supply" unit will include an EQ circuit that's designed
specifically to flatten the output for that particular mic, providing a
"calibrated" flat signal to the RTA or RTA software.


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Thanks Matt for that detailed answer. Now I understand the problem and that
does make sense. Rats, I thought I had come up with a way of saving over
$1000 compared to buying an RTA. Well, maybe I can find a condenser mic on
Ebay.

MOSFET

"Matt Ion" wrote in message
news:9wLRf.144743$B94.91501@pd7tw3no...
Cyrus wrote:
In article ,
"MOSFET" wrote:


Chad, that's not what I wanted to hear. So you're saying the sound card
in my Toshiba Portege 7020CT can't perform RTA duties? Why? It can play
CD's and it has a microphone jack. I've tested it with a really cheap
microphone and it APPEARS to work (the bars on the analyzer bar graph
respond when I speak into the microphone). What's the problem?

MOSFET



Regular dynamic mics will work, but the ECM8000 and the Nady knockoff are
condenser mics and need phantom power to work. Another option would be to
acquire a cheap mixer from Behringer as well to perform the phantom power
duties.

Supposedly both are sufficient for acoustical measurements, any other
option is about 10x as much.

Most any mic will "work", and the problem is not in the sound card. The
problem is that most mics have a definite response curve of their own, and
that will affect your RTA readings. If the mic has a deficiency at
1kHz,for example, your RTA will show a dip at 1kHz where one might not
exist; if you EQ to compensate for that displayed dip, you'll end up with
a peak at 1kHz instead. Most dynamics have a decidedly reduced top end
compared to condenser mics, and you could very likely end up with an
extra-bright top end response.

Mics designed for RTA use are designed to have as flat a response as
possible. Not only are they consensers, requiring a power supply, but
their "power supply" unit will include an EQ circuit that's designed
specifically to flatten the output for that particular mic, providing a
"calibrated" flat signal to the RTA or RTA software.


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MOSFET wrote:
Thanks Matt for that detailed answer. Now I understand the problem and that
does make sense. Rats, I thought I had come up with a way of saving over
$1000 compared to buying an RTA. Well, maybe I can find a condenser mic on
Ebay.

Take a look at SmaartLive by SIA Software (www.siasoft.com) - excellent
powerful RTA software, free demo version available from their website.
They also sell calibrated mics via their online store, starting at $180:
https://loudstore.coresys.com/OA_HTM...?section=10493
(if the link doesn't work, go to their website, go the Sales link, and
follow through to their online store).



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Why ????????????????

-RG

"MOSFET" wrote in message
m...
Last night I just had a brilliant idea (well, brilliant for me), I decided
to turn my old Pentium II laptop, that I never use, into a portable RTA
(my new Alpine 9853 has a 1/3 octave parametric EQ). I downloaded a
program called TrueRTA and all I need now is a good microphone. But I am
not rich, like Tony and has Dynaudio 3-ways and new Mustangs . So I'm
trying to do this on the cheap. Can anyone suggest what kind of
microphone I should be looking for? Will ANY full-range microphone work?
Any advice on this subject would be really appreciated!

Thanks!

MOSFET

Why what? Why do I need an RTA? So I have a CLUE how to set that 1/3
octave parametric EQ.

MOSFET

"RG" wrote in message
...
Why ????????????????

-RG

"MOSFET" wrote in message
m...
Last night I just had a brilliant idea (well, brilliant for me), I
decided to turn my old Pentium II laptop, that I never use, into a
portable RTA (my new Alpine 9853 has a 1/3 octave parametric EQ). I
downloaded a program called TrueRTA and all I need now is a good
microphone. But I am not rich, like Tony and has Dynaudio 3-ways and new
Mustangs . So I'm trying to do this on the cheap. Can anyone suggest
what kind of microphone I should be looking for? Will ANY full-range
microphone work? Any advice on this subject would be really appreciated!

Thanks!

MOSFET

In article , "MOSFET" wrote:
Why what? Why do I need an RTA? So I have a CLUE how to set that 1/3
octave parametric EQ.

MOSFET

"RG" wrote in message
...
Why ????????????????

-RG

"MOSFET" wrote in message
m...
Last night I just had a brilliant idea (well, brilliant for me), I
decided to turn my old Pentium II laptop, that I never use, into a
portable RTA (my new Alpine 9853 has a 1/3 octave parametric EQ). I
downloaded a program called TrueRTA and all I need now is a good
microphone. But I am not rich, like Tony and has Dynaudio 3-ways and new
Mustangs . So I'm trying to do this on the cheap. Can anyone suggest
what kind of microphone I should be looking for? Will ANY full-range
microphone work? Any advice on this subject would be really appreciated!

Thanks!

MOSFET

These microphones responses are never truely flat. You can make something
for a few dollars. You can buy a decent mic for $50.
http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHECM8000
This one needs some voltage like most others.
If your into DIY, see......
http://www.pitt.edu/~szekeres/mic/mic.htm

greg

MOSFET wrote:
Why what? Why do I need an RTA? So I have a CLUE how to set that 1/3
octave parametric EQ.

A 1/3 octave *parametric* EQ?

Aren't "1/3 octave" and "parametric" mutually exclusive?

Yes, they are different. It was just my quick way of saying a 5 band
parametric EQ with 33 bands (1/3 octave steps) to choose from. See, isn't
1/3 octave parametric EQ easier to say?

MOSFET

"Ian" wrote in message
...
MOSFET wrote:
Why what? Why do I need an RTA? So I have a CLUE how to set that 1/3
octave parametric EQ.

A 1/3 octave *parametric* EQ?

Aren't "1/3 octave" and "parametric" mutually exclusive?

Ian wrote:
MOSFET wrote:

Why what? Why do I need an RTA? So I have a CLUE how to set that 1/3
octave parametric EQ.


A 1/3 octave *parametric* EQ?

Aren't "1/3 octave" and "parametric" mutually exclusive?

Not necessarily... but in practice, genereally, yes. You COULD make a
31-band parametric, but it would fall into the "extreme overkill"
category.


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MOSFET wrote:
Yes, they are different. It was just my quick way of saying a 5 band
parametric EQ with 33 bands (1/3 octave steps) to choose from. See, isn't
1/3 octave parametric EQ easier to say?

I guess, if you like confusing people.

Or, as Matt suggested, if you like sounding like you're going for
extreme overkill (Not that this would be out-of-the-ordinary for
any of us :-)

Ian wrote:
MOSFET wrote:

Yes, they are different. It was just my quick way of saying a 5 band
parametric EQ with 33 bands (1/3 octave steps) to choose from. See,
isn't 1/3 octave parametric EQ easier to say?


I guess, if you like confusing people.

Or, as Matt suggested, if you like sounding like you're going for
extreme overkill (Not that this would be out-of-the-ordinary for
any of us :-)

Hey! Just because I have separate 1000W amps running bridged mono to
each of my 16 tweeters...


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Hey! Just because I have separate 1000W amps running bridged mono to each
of my 16 tweeters...

Hey! I have 18 tweeters! Get it right!

MOSFET