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Always one of the most popular audioXpress issues of the year, our "Focus on Test and Measurement" special edition reflects the unique interests and passion of our readers, who are always looking to solve new challenges.
In this month’s special Test & Measurement Focus, two of our authors tackle IK Multimedia’s ARC 2.5 room correction system. Ron Tipton investigates IK Multimedia’s claims that the new ARC 2.5 improves the audio monitoring accuracy of speakers in any studio or listening room, while Stuart Yaniger tests the new MEMS measurement microphone available with IK Multimedia’s ARC 2.5 System. The microphone is built around an omnidirectional, high-precision MEMS capsule to ensure maximum response accuracy and stability over time and is, to the best of our knowledge, the first MEMS solution in the industry used for measurement applications.
Brent Butterworth reviews the new RA040X Ear Simulators from G.R.A.S. Sound & Vibration. Measuring headphone response at frequencies above-10 kHz has been an imprecise, non-standardized process. With the RA040X high-resolution ear simulator, G.R.A.S. Sound & Vibration attempts to make the measurements more meaningful.
In "An Introduction to Measurement Microphones," David Mathew (Audio Precision) discusses the specifics of the sensors required to accurately acquire the acoustic signals for test and evaluation, and the differences between a wide range of measurement microphones. Next up, on "Smarter Measurements for Smart Speakers," Daniel Knighten (Listen, Inc.) and Glenn Hess (Indy Acoustic Research) describe techniques to characterize the frequency response, output level, and distortion of a device under test to enable direct comparisons between smart speakers and conventional speakers.
And because our focus this month is on test and measurement, Shannon Becker interviews Steve Temme, the president and founder of Listen, Inc., who explains how his company has pioneered electro-acoustic measurement techniques for more than 20 years and become a leading name in audio and electro-acoustic test and measurement.
Also in this edition, Fernando Rodrigues concludes his roundup of software audio editors currently available in the market, and explains what differentiates audio editors from the so-called Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs), how those tools have historically evolved, and what features to notice. To conclude the series, the fourth part of this extensive roundup details the features of Ocenaudio, an interesting donationware program, and Internet Co. Sound It! 8 Pro, a newcomer to the market, with direct support for editing DSD files.
In celebration of someone who devoted all his life to audio engineering and development, Gary Galo and Chuck Hansen remember C. Victor Campos and pay tribute to their friend and colleague who died in December 2017 at the age of 84.
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Finally, in his monthly column dedicated to Hollow-State Electronics, Richard Honeycutt explains Triode Tubes, BJTs, and FETs, and the different uses for these three different technologies used in audio amplifiers.
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