High performance electronic & acoustic test in a single audio analyzer

BEAVERTON OR, USA -- /PRNewswire/ -- Audio Precision has announced the addition of acoustic response measurements to its next-generation APx500 Series audio analyzer.

With the new update, audio engineers will be able to make high quality acoustic measurements quickly and easily in ordinary non-anechoic environments.

This new acoustic capability makes APx, with its superior performance and existing measurement set, the best choice for engineers who need both electronic and acoustic audio test.

On the production line, APx's ease-of-use and high speed are ideal for both speaker OEMs and electronics manufacturers conducting quality assurance of drivers from third party vendors.

Example devices under test include loudspeakers and PA monitors as well as the drivers found in consumer products such as home theatre systems, portable DVD players, iPod docks, clock radios, TVs and laptops.

"At some point, nearly every audio engineer wants to measure a speaker or a microphone," says Dan Knighten, Director of Products at Audio Precision. "They don't need a dedicated acoustic tester, they just need some fast measurements. It makes sense to use the analyzer that's already on their bench, and that's an AP."

Easy Test Setup

Setting up acoustic test in non-anechoic spaces is challenging because sound reflections from the walls and floor interfere with the measurement.

Like other non-anechoic acoustic test solutions, APx uses a time-gated logarithmic sweep to measure the impulse response of the acoustic device.

Unlike other solutions however, AP's interface for defining the time gate is fast and easy: users simply drag a cursor over the impulse response graph or energy time curve and APx recalculates all the derived measurements in real time.

Complete Acoustic Characterization In Six Seconds

APx automatically calculates all the key acoustic response measurements including level, frequency response, phase, distortion, and group delay. In all, 14 graphed measurements are returned in six seconds.

In addition, APx offers synchronous averaging and Nth-octave smoothing. The results are available on screen, can be printed to PDF or exported in table format for use in other applications.

Like all APx measurements, acoustic response can be part of a larger test sequence or controlled externally from an application such as LabVIEW.

Acoustic response is part of the upcoming APx v2.4 software release and will ship as standard with all new instruments after August 1, 2009.

Current customers will be able to download a free update, also on August 1. A fully functional beta is now available at ap.com/beta.

About Audio Precision

Audio Precision is the recognized standard in audio test and measurement. Since 1984, AP has offered high performance audio analyzer instruments and applications to help engineers worldwide design and manufacture all types of consumer, professional and industrial audio products.

For more information, please visit ap.com.