Acoustic Frontiers Hi-Fi and Home Theater Blog

XTZ Room Analyzer II Standard and XTZ Room Analyzer II Pro Now Available!

2012-02-07T22:10:06Z

XTZ, makers of the original XTZ Room Analyzer, have released the next generation XTZ Room Analyzer II. It is available in two versions - the Standard version and the Professional (Pro) version.

XTZ Room Analyzer includes everything you need to perform acoustic measurements in a single package:

Measurement microphone
External USB computer soundcard
Acoustic measurement software
Cables

The first review is in from one of our customers, Augustine:

I was hesitant in buying room analyzer II pro because I was not familiar on how to use software or reading results but found that Nyal has been very helpful in assisting with any questions you may have. After installing software it's just plug & play... That simple

XTZ Room Analyzer II Pro

Both versions include new hardware platforms (microphone, sound card) and upgraded software. Two of the key additions to the software are the SPL meter and the unique 'delay finder' tool which helps perfectly set subwoofer time delay in home theater receivers (it's not just a case of measuring the physical distance that your sub is away from the prime listening seat as most people think because subwoofers generally have additional delay relative to the other speakers in the system....).

The XTZ Room Analyzer II Standard has slimmed down software functionality compared to the original (with the exception of the key addition of the SPL meter and delay finder as described above) and is available at a lower price point. It is perfect for system set up processes. In fact you will find that we've written two blog articles that show exactly how to use the XTZ to do a set levels, distances and phase properly in a home theater and integrate a subwoofer with a stereo system.

Frequency response and SPL measurements in XTZ Room Analyzer II Standard

The XTZ Room Analyzer II Pro has a higher quality microphone and soundcard relative to the original version. In addition the software functionality is improved over what was available previously by incorporating a tone generator and 1/12th octave frequency response measurement smoothing. This version is also the one you want to select to set up any parametric EQ in your system, such as that available in Velodyne subs, the SMS-1 or Classe / Rotel processors. It is the only product on the market that incorporates a unique software parametric EQ emulation facility - you can actually define EQ in the software and play / record an acoustic measurement through it. This allows very rapid iteration and setting of EQ. Contrast this with how you have to set up EQ using other software - do a measurement, set the EQ in the outboard box, remeasure, re-set EQ, remeasure, etc. Having all the controls in software massively speeds up the EQ process.

Even if you have room correction in your home theater receiver you should definitely at least validate what kind of performance you are getting. Many automated routines do an average job at best of properly setting up levels, subwoofer phase and with a measurement package you can see what's really going on. For advanced users you can even start to compare the results from the software against the measurement targets we have published.

Acoustic Frontiers is an XTZ Room Analyzer dealer and we ship the Standard and Pro versions internationally. We offer free support to help you understand the measurements and how best to use the software. Feel free to contact us via the comments below or directly with any questions you might have.

JL Audio show the E112 - a new lower cost 12" subwoofer - at CES

2012-01-22T23:34:35Z

JL Audio, the manufacturer of the superb Fathom F110, F112, F113, F212 and Gotham subwoofers showed their new E112 subwoofer at CES. I have seen this sub before, at CI Expo, a custom integrator event that was held in Berkeley this year. But this is the first time I had my camera with me to take some photos!

The E112 is a sealed box subwoofer with a 12" driver and a 1400W amplifier. The new sub has a frequency response of 20Hz-110Hz (+/-3dB). One of the cool things about the E112 is that it comes in choice of wood veneer or black ash vinyl instead of the 'you can have any color you want as long as it is black' finish on all other JL subs.

Cost savings have been achieved through use of a new subwoofer driver, switching power supply, no ARO automatic EQ and a fixed 24dB / octave crossover. All of the controls are now on the back instead of on a separate panel on the front. One potential benefit over the current subs is that the E112 incorporates a high pass output which could make integration into two channel systems easier.

We're looking forward to getting our hands on this new sub and comparing it to the current Fathoms. If you are thinking about a new sub you should know that Acoustic Frontiers offers free delivery, installation and calibration of all JL Audio and Velodyne Digital Drive Plus subwoofers within the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Buying a world class sub is one thing, getting it perfectly integrated with your audio, home theater or studio system is quite another. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you'd like to learn more!

DEQX show next generation HDP-4 at CES

2012-01-15T03:19:07Z

DEQX, makers of the HDP-Express and HDP-3 showed the next generation of their digital crossover / loudspeaker correction processor - the HDP-4 - at CES 2012. Acoustic Frontiers was there to take some pictures and get the low down on these new units.

HDP-4, looks like a HDP-3!

The HDP-4 has the following features:

Digital outputs as standard instead of as an optional plug in board
New digital pass through outputs the input signal without DSP filtering
All non AES digital inputs and outputs now on 75ohm BNC connectors rather than RCAs
New toslink digital input
Balanced XLR outputs as standard instead of as an optional plug in board
New 24bit 192kHz input (but note DSP processing still occurs at 96kHz)
Optional USB input via new plug in board
All new 32bit 192kHz DACs

The HDP-4 will be available with both black and silver anodized front 12mm aluminium panels and will use the same remote control and calibration software as the existing processors.

Back of the HDP-4 showing the as standard balanced XLR and digital outputs

Pricing for the HDP-4 is provisionally set at $4999 compared to $3999 for the HDP-3 and $1999 for the HDP-Express. The HDP-4 should hopefully be available end of March 2012.

The HDP-3 already offers fantastic sound quality and good value for money and the HDP-4 looks like it will improve on this!

We are really excited about this new unit so feel free to contact us if you'd like to spend some time discussing it and how a DEQX digital crossover / loudspeaker / room correction processor can improve the sound quality of your two channel audio, home theater or studio system.

And don't forget, Acoustic Frontiers sells the HDP-Express and HDP-3 with free shipping to any country in the world!

Listening Room Reflections article published on Hi Fi Zine

2012-01-10T01:55:42Z

As a follow up from the Acoustical Measurements Standards white paper I have written an article entitled Listening Room Reflections and the Energy Time Curve which has been published on Hi-Fi Zine. The article goes into more detail than the white paper in terms of the room acoustic and psychoacoustic background of how we arrived at the standards in the white paper. Hi-Fi Zine is a great little webzine publication that is put out maybe 6 times a year or so by a band of volunteers; it's a good read and worth adding to your RSS reader. Have a read of the article and please leave a comment on Hi-Fi Zine if you have any questions!

Home Theater Calibration 101: Speaker Levels, Distances and Subwoofer Phase

2011-11-29T21:22:34Z

This blog article will teach you about home theater calibration - in particular how to calibrate the audio side of your home theater pre-processor (pre-pro) or audio visual receiver (AVR). I'm not going to cover the video side..

The three basic elements of audio calibration in home theater setup are:

Speaker and subwoofer levels
Speaker and subwoofer distances
Subwoofer phase

Whilst many modern AVRs provide automated setup routines, such as those by Audyssey, the results can be variable and in many cases better sound quality can be achieved by manually setting up your system.

How to video - Room Correction on the DEQX HDP-3 / HDP-Express

2011-11-26T20:03:29Z

The DEQX HDP-3 and HDP-Express are versatile devices. They combine the functions of digital speaker correction processor, digital crossover, digital preampifier and digital recording equalizer. They also provide both automated and manual digital room correction capabilities.

10 bands of digital parametric EQ with fully adjustable bandwidth (Q), gain and frequency - most room correction devices do not provide ability for the end user to tweak the filters generated. In the DEQX the filters can be changed in real time from the listening position via the remote control or configuration program
User selectable top correction frequency - above 250Hz or so the frequency response at the listening position is dominated by the speakers, not the room, and so any correction applied above 250Hz should more correctly be called speaker correction. We believe the user should have a choice of whether to apply correction above 250Hz. Most room correction devices do not provide this capability
Digital or analog input - many room correction processors do not provide a digital input and therefore require digital sources to be converted to analog and then back to digital before they can be procesed. If the source is in digital why would you want these signal degrading extra conversion steps?

Here is a video that we put together showing how to use the DEQX calibration software to set up room correction on the HDP-3 and HDP-Express.

Acoustic Frontiers is a DEQX dealer based in the US. We ship the DEQX HDP-3 and DEQX HDP-Express internationally with free shipping.

Remote acoustical measurement and diagnosis service now live!

2011-11-22T02:36:05Z

Acoustic Frontiers is pleased to announce the immediate launch of our remote acoustic measurement and diagnosis service.

Acoustical Diagnosis, the name we have given our service, is much like a doctor's checkup. We do a series of acoustical measurement tests and compare them to our standards to see what kind of acoustical maladies your room has introduced. Using this analysis, and our knowledge or good acoustic design, we make high level recommendations on the changes you need to make to your system and room to improve sound quality.

Acoustic Frontiers offers two versions of our Acoustical Diagnosis service. One designed for people local to the SF Bay Area and another designed for our national and international clients. This blog post explains how our remote service works. It is designed to be very flexible; if you already have a set of acoustic measurements then we can more often than not use those. If you want to permanently have an acoustic measurement kit on hand, then we offer the XTZ Room Analyzer product. Finally we have developed a hardware based kit for people who don't want to have to install software on their computer and just want something easy and quick to use.

Using lasers for acoustic measurement

2011-11-10T02:14:37Z

The wizards over at the UK National Physical Laboratory have figured out a way to map sound fields without microphones. The technique they have come up with uses laser vibrometers developed for underwater sonar analysis.

Four approaches to room acoustic measurement

2011-11-02T22:48:33Z

This article covers the four main ways in which you can measure your room's acoustics. In decreasing ease of use order these are:

Integrated software / hardware packages such as XTZ Room Analyzer and Dayton Audio Omnimic
Standalone software packages and your choice of measurement microphone, cabling and soundcard such as Room EQ Wizard
Hardware devices such as NTIs XL2
SPL meter, graph paper and test tones (please don't use this method!)

How to setup a home network - wired, wireless or both!

2011-10-28T03:42:38Z

This article will look at the different options available for setting up a wired or wireless home network. We'll explore some of the factors that are making home networks more important in our day to day lives and discuss the pros and cons of the wired and wireless solutions out there such as powerline ethernet, ethernet over coaxial cable and high powered wireless access points.