The March 2024 issue of audioXpress is now available and combines a great variety of articles in multiple disciplines of audio product development, while focusing on the latest solutions for audio test and measurement. As scheduled, the March issue includes our annual Audio Test and Measurement Market Update, which includes updates on the latest products and solutions to help everyone address the always-evolving real-world challenges in audio. Given all the software as well as hardware updates for audio test and measurement over the past year, this market update offers a valuable summary of the latest solutions.
Rens Tellers prepared a review of the Listen SoundCheck and AmpConnect 621 Audio and Acoustics Test Suite for audioXpress. As a globally recognized audio and electroacoustic test and measurement company, the latest version of Listen's audio test software - SoundCheck 21 introduced a series of innovative algorithms and increased measurement capabilities. This review allowed us to try out the latest Listen AmpConnect 621 USB-controlled multichannel audio test interface, which includes all the functionality required for audio testing in just one unit.
Philipp Paul Klose revisits 20 years of Room EQ Wizard (REW), one of the mainstays in the audio measurement tool landscape with a strong user base. What started out as a side project for John Mulcahy, the creator and only developer, evolved to become a very complete and useful suite for both enthusiasts and professionals - a comprehensive set of measurement software tools bundled in a free package. Confessing how he learned and became an enthusiast user of the software and its tools, Klose takes us on an entertaining journey of the history of REW, a fit way to commemorate the software's 20th anniversary.
This month, audioXpress technical editor Jan Didden offers a book review of Douglas Self's latest Small Signal Audio Design, 4th edition, book. Whether it is power amplifiers, vinyl reproduction preamplifiers, active crossover filters or, as in this case, small-signal circuits for a very wide range of applications, Douglas Self is one of those authors who consistently has produced reference works about technical audio.
Next up, because we know our readers like the hands-on and learning perspective, we have a DIY project that is a useful test and measurement tool for any workbench. Regular audioXpress contributor George Ntanavaras explains how he built the AVM-100, a portable, battery-operated instrument with a large analog moving coil voltmeter to measure the True RMS voltage in six scales, from 1 mVrms to 100 Vrms. The meter is based on a Burr Brown INA111 FET instrumentation amplifier, and on the Analog Devices’ AD736 RMS-to-DC converter. Now, our readers will be able to build it as well.
And speaking of technical audio, renowned expert Uli Brüggemann discusses "The Second Harmonic Distortion Myth." In his article, he introduces a diversity of thoughts about what's understood as "harmonic" in distortion, and why was this combination of words selected. Next up, he analyzes second harmonic distortion sounds, explores why people say they prefer it, and uncovers the misunderstood reality behind the myth.
And still in good hands with top experts in its field, this March issue of audioXpress features an article by Reinhold Lutz, comparing motion feedback technologies applied to speakers. In this article he explores how to achieve a nearly perfect electro-acoustic transfer function, including a detailed control strategy of different types of sensors. A great exploration of how a closed-loop feedback system is able to improve loudspeaker linearity.
Our last contributed article for the March 2024 issue is a truly inspiring and eye-opening summary of all the research and knowledge that has been accumulated in recent years to help us understand the human hearing process and the groundbreaking implications these discoveries have on how we perceive and evaluate high-end audio systems. In a two-part article, distinguished professor Milind N. Kunchur addresses controversial issues surrounding high-end audio and what might or might not matter for reproducing music to the highest fidelity.
And we close with a deeply engaging article by Richard Honeycutt in his Hollow-State Electronics column, this month dedicated to the "History of Ampeg Musical Instrument Amplifiers." Starting with the early days of musical instruments amplification and the popularity of electric guitar and bass, this article revisits the beginning of Ampeg's amplifiers and how they have evolved to present day. All illustrated with the captivating schematics of classics such as the Ampeg SVT, the most powerful all-tube guitar amp available in its time!
All the content contained in every issue of audioXpress is the reason why, month after month, 12 times per year, this publication continues to reinforce its role as an essential resource for the audio industry. Your support and that of our advertisers is what allows us to keep this publication in print and all digital platforms and pay our independent authors and contributors for their work.
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