Practical Test & Measurement: Sound Cards for Data Acquisition in Audio Measurements

Part 1 of an article series that looks at some of the available options and methods to create a low-cost system (emphasis on “low-cost”) for lab-grade audio electronics measurements. Focusing on solutions within easy reach of budget-conscience hobbyists, the goal is to demonstrate how you can generate useful data, similar to the graphs and charts in the audio review magazines, but without the expense. A great test and measurement article series by Stuart Yaniger, which started to be originally published in audioXpress, June 2015.

The phase nonlinearity of most second- and higher-order speaker crossovers is illustrated with the step response of cascaded all-pass networks. Audibility issues are discussed. The audibility threshold depends on many factors; reports vary from about 100μS to 2mS. A sufficient amount, though, is certainly audible. This article was originally published in audioXpress, November 2007.

This article shows that in the digital domain, you can implement phase corrections in a very straightforward way, although there is still an approximation involved. My focus here is on compensating for phase nonlinearities in the driver. This article illustrates the problem for the midrange driver in a three-way system, which will be crossed over to a woofer on the low end and a tweeter on the high-end. This article was originally published in audioXpress, January 2011.

Linear Audio Vol 12 is the 13th issue of a series of printed bookzines dedicated to technical audio and perception. Published every time Jan Didden things he has good enough content, Linear Audio is a vehicle for publishing technical information, developments and the state of the art of audio from a technical perspective. And this latest edition includes great articles by Chris Paul, Pierre Touzelet, Bill Waslo, Vincent Thiernesse, Hans Polak, Douglas Self and more…

Linear Audio Volume 11 is now available and includes excellent tutorials by Gary Galo, Hans Polak, Giovanni Stochino, Michael Kiwanuka, Guido Tent and Burkhard Vogel; articles on Circuit Design by Dimitri Danyuk and Douglas Self; articles on Room Acoustics by Hannes Allmaier and Bill Waslo, book reviews, and much more.