Measurement Rig

Tom Hester

Freshman
Jan 11, 2011
58
0
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36
Southern California
So what is the haps with Smaart rigs these days? I know it used to be a M30 and USBpre was the way to go. Looking to make a few purchases for very simple measurements/alignments. I already own a Macbook Pro 2.53 with 4g of ram.



Smaart 7 the way to go? or should I go with a older version? (if possible)





Thanks



Tom
 
Re: Measurement Rig

Smaart 7 is my preference, much faster and easier to use, plus higher resolution MTW measuring.



I have a $800 mic, and I have a $100 mic. Guess which one goes on the stand in the middle of the dusty shed?



I prefer MOTU's Ultralite and Traveler for interfaces. Digitally recallable preamp gain.
 
Re: Measurement Rig

Once you go multichannel, you never go back!



My current test configuration:

MacBook Pro 17'' 2.8 GHz, 8GB Ram

Smaart 7

Roland Octa-Capture (a great 8 mic pre interface)

6 Smaart RTA-420 (considering upgrading to Audix TM-1)

1 Earthworks M30

1 Quest CA-22 Calibrator with custom mic adapters from Harry

1 Neutrik MR-1 Signal Generator

1 iPod Classic with a bunch of wav file music test tracks

1 iPhone with AudioTools & iAudioInterface, and of course Angry Birds app while waiting for the lampies to get their stuff done so I can tune the system!

 
Re: Measurement Rig

So what is the haps with Smaart rigs these days? I know it used to be a M30 and USBpre was the way to go. Looking to make a few purchases for very simple measurements/alignments. I already own a Macbook Pro 2.53 with 4g of ram.



Smaart 7 the way to go? or should I go with a older version? (if possible)





Thanks



Tom

I am running Smaart 7 and Systune with a MOTU 8 pre and 8 Earthworks M23 mics and Windows. I have a measurement cart that contains all my mic cable reels and mic stands and provides a work table.



I also use the Audio Toolbox polarity tests as a pulse generator for listening to arrival times.



Wave files for final listening.
 
Re: Measurement Rig

Once you go multichannel, you never go back!



My current test configuration:

MacBook Pro 17'' 2.8 GHz, 8GB Ram

Smaart 7

Roland Octa-Capture (a great 8 mic pre interface)

6 Smaart RTA-420 (considering upgrading to Audix TM-1)

1 Earthworks M30

1 Quest CA-22 Calibrator with custom mic adapters from Harry

1 Neutrik MR-1 Signal Generator

1 iPod Classic with a bunch of wav file music test tracks

1 iPhone with AudioTools & iAudioInterface, and of course Angry Birds app while waiting for the lampies to get their stuff done so I can tune the system!



I suggest some variation of Arthur's recommendations. Smaart 7 is the best version of Smaart for many reasons, the main one being it's multichannel.

Focusrite Saffire Pro40

4 - 6 Apex220 mics. Upgrade to TM-1 or Beyerdynamic MM1.

1 - TM-1 or Beyer MM1. Upgrade to SoundFirst101



Grant

 
Re: Measurement Rig

Hey



I'm running,



Smaart 7



Edirol UA101 (for dual channel)

or RME Fireface 800 (multi channel)



Mic wise have the Earthworks s30 and a Behringer Measurement mic. (traces were the same for both but the earthworks was 6db hotter.) so tend to use the Behringer in the field.



I found running direct in to the Edirol with the earthworks was very hot to the point that when the gain was right down on both the measurement and the reference I was still clipping the inputs when run at show level. for running show level stuff I got a couple of inline pads that pass phantom put it in on both the measurement and reference to effect both the same. this put them in a controllable area of the sound card input. (anyone got any reason why this isn't a good thing? would love to hear from you) It does the trick for what I'm using it for.







 
Re: Measurement Rig

I found running direct in to the Edirol with the earthworks was very hot to the point that when the gain was right down on both the measurement and the reference I was still clipping the inputs when run at show level. for running show level stuff I got a couple of inline pads that pass phantom put it in on both the measurement and reference to effect both the same. this put them in a controllable area of the sound card input. (anyone got any reason why this isn't a good thing? would love to hear from you) It does the trick for what I'm using it for.

As long as it doesn't alter the frequency response, I see no problem with putting a pad on the mic input.
 
Re: Measurement Rig

Smaart 7, SysTune and EASERA

Two Earthworks M30 and one Sound First SF111 (Type 1) Mics

EASERA Gateway (modified PreSonus FireBox)

Cirrus CR:511E Calibrator

Sencore SP395

Dayton Audio WT3

IPod with sweeps, dry signals, word tests, music, etc.

Zoom H4 Recorder
 
Re: Measurement Rig

Just out of curiosity. Is it possible to purchase an older version? I tried looking online, but all I found were illegal downloads, and I am not into that. If i need to, I will buy 7, but its hard to justify $900 for very simple measurements. (I know, I know, you get what you pay for) I'm not typically the guy cheaping out, but being newly married, I have to justify expenses to ''the boss''.
icon_smile.gif






Thanks Guys.
 
Re: Measurement Rig

Just out of curiosity. Is it possible to purchase an older version? I tried looking online, but all I found were illegal downloads, and I am not into that. If i need to, I will buy 7, but its hard to justify $900 for very simple measurements. (I know, I know, you get what you pay for) I'm not typically the guy cheaping out, but being newly married, I have to justify expenses to ''the boss''.
icon_smile.gif






Thanks Guys.



S7 is a real deal ... $900 ? ... It'll only hurt for a week .... later on you'll prove to be more solid than ever before ... in your system setups, of course
icon_wink.gif




<font size="1">trust me, I know</font> !!
 
Re: Measurement Rig

I remember buying my first copy of Smaart when I started out on my own 10 years ago. Yes it hurt when combined with the cost of the USBPre and Earthworks M30, but I recouped that cost in added income within a few months.
 
Re: Measurement Rig

Has anybody used the DPA 4090 mics for measurement?



I'm curious about this too. Bob McCarthy had this to say about them on PSW:





Quote: said:
The reason I stated that I would have gone with ( and may at some in the future go with) the low cost DPA's is more relational, than purely technical. I have used Bruel & Kjaer (and now DPA) mics so much over the years and been let down so few times..........so few that I can hardly think of even once. I think of them as digital mics - 1 or 0 - working perfectly or dead (and this is usually easy to spot with the crushed head.)



I just have so much confidence in their mics that I would feel confident relying on them - and inevitably we RELY on mics. But, all that said - i have very little experience directly with the 4090 mics, so the book is still open.