Fresh From the Bench: QuantAsylum QA401 and QA451 Compact and Modular Audio Measurement System

On the cover of audioXpress December 2020, many of our readers instantly recognized the familiar look of the increasingly popular QuantAsylum QA401 audio analyzer. What many readers didn't recognize by then was the second module, the completely new QA451 programmable load, so new that audioXpress tested a pre-production version. In this review article, David Logvin shares his valuable perspective on this modular solution for audio measurements from QuantAsylum.

The October 2020 edition of audioXpress is now available online and in print. This is one of the most feature-rich issues we have ever published, with a residential installation Market Update, a new article series about Analog Devices A2B, two articles about communications, including an article by Manfred Lutzky (Fraunhofer IIS) on codecs, plus a great review of the GeerFab Audio D.BOB Digital Breakout Box by Gary Galo. Plus three DIY-oriented articles and our regular expert columns on acoustics, tubes, and audio electronics.

Designed for high-precision, free-field measurements and ideal where a microphone with high sensitivity is required, the new Brüel & Kjær Type 4966 family of measurement microphones is the latest expansion of the Danish company's toolset at the disposal of engineers and acousticians. With four different products adequate for accurate measurements and everyday tasks, the Type 4966 family offers a robust, and reliable range of free-field microphones for high-precision acoustic measurements.

Smart speakers are a relatively new class of consumer audio device with unique characteristics that make testing their audio performance difficult. In this new application note, Audio Precision provides an overview of smart speaker acoustic measurements with a focus on frequency response – the most important objective measurement of a device’s audio quality.

Klippel's software dB-Lab version 210, the unified framework for R&D and QC audio testing, diagnostics and simulation, has received a free maintenance update. The update includes bug fixes and minor feature updates for released modules and beta test products like the Live Audio Analyzer (LAA). dB-Lab is a project-oriented Windows application that also features all sorts of templates for common test setups.

HEAD acoustics, one of the world's leading companies in the field of voice and audio quality optimization, introduced HQS-Audio, a new tool for its ACQUA analysis system that provides whole set of targeted electroacoustic measurements and helps to comprehensively test the quality of audio devices. Whether loudspeakers, headphones, or audio systems in vehicles, HQS-Audio provides independent test runs for each application, consisting of various electroacoustic measurements, including Thiele-Small parameters.