v.6v.6USER GUIDESOUND SYSTEM MEASUREMENT, OPTIMIZATION AND CONTROL SOFTWARE FOR MICROSOFT WINDOWS® AND MAC OS® X

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Getting Started10Computer Sound HardwareSmaart does not address computer sound hardware directly. Since audio data is o

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Smaart 6 Commands100DelayDelay Time (ms): Type in a delay time (maximum = 750 ms).Assign To: Choose one of the A-E butt

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Smaart 6 Commands1015.3.6 ZoomFigure 5-8 Zoom tab in Options dialogChoose Options->Zoom or press Alt+z to display th

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Smaart 6 Commands102In real-time mode, averaging helps stabilize the live trace, making it easier to see trends in the

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Smaart 6 Commands1035.5 Keyboard ShortcutsCtrl/Cmd means press the Control (Ctrl) key if you are using Windows, or the

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Smaart 6 Commands104External Device ControlExternal Device Mode = XFlatten Selected filter = DelIncrease Boost = Up Arr

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual 105Chapter 6: Troubleshooting6.1 Installation Problems6.1.1 Problems During InstallationThe single most common cause we

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Troubleshooting106If Smaart 6 installed successfully and seems to run properly but you experience audio problems, it is

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Troubleshooting1072. In the Volume Control application, choose Options->Properties.3. Click the Recording radio butt

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Troubleshooting1086.4 Performance IssuesIf Smaart is running too slowly, the two most likely causes are not enough avai

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Troubleshooting109Control SpacingYou may have noticed that when changing video resolution or color depth in Windows you

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Getting Started111.1.2 Measurement MicrophoneA measurement microphone is necessary to measure anything other than an el

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Troubleshooting1106.7 Technical Support InformationMaintenance updates for Smaart 6 will be posted on the EAW Software

111EAW Smaart 6 Operation ManualIndexAAmplitude 31Analog to Digital (A/D) Conversion 31Application NotesMeasuring and Optimizing a Sound SystemEvaluat

112EAW Smaart 6 Operation ManualIImpulse ModeWorking with Impulse Response Data 54Impulse Mode Measurement Parameters 52Installation 12Installation Pr

113EAW Smaart 6 Operation ManualTTechnical Support Information 110Thresholding 49, 51Time Constant 33Time Window 33Time Windowing 46Transfer Function

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EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Getting Started121.2 Smaart 6 Software InstallationRespect the License AgreementNotice that when you install EAW Smaart

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Getting Started132. If you have Internet access from this computer, click Unlock Online (this example). Otherwise, clic

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Getting Started141.3 Smaart 6 Signal I/OThis section discusses how to recognize your hardware and adjust signal levels.

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Getting Started155. Select input and output devices from the Input Device and Output Device area’s Device drop-lists, r

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Getting Started161.4 Introduction to the User InterfaceThe Smaart 6 interface is designed to put the most frequently us

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Getting Started171.4.1 The Menu BarSmaart’s most frequently used functions and commands are available as on-screen cont

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Getting Started181.4.5 Measurement Mode ButtonsThe Measurement mode buttons provide one-click access to Smaart’s three

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Getting Started191.4.8 Signal GeneratorFigure 1-8 Signal Generator and Delay controlsClick the button to activate the s

Manual written and edited by Calvert Dayton and Rob Wenig.Manual design by Rob Wenig.Cover design by Martin Lindhe.©2007 EAW Software Company, Inc. Al

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Getting Started201.4.9 Internal Delay ControlThe Delay control (Figure 1-8) provides access to Smaart 6’s internal sign

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Getting Started211.5 How to use this ManualEAW has dedicated substantial time and resources to the Smaart 6 documentati

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Getting Started22How to Use the PDFThe Portable Document Format (PDF) version of this manual is a valuable learning too

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual 23Chapter 2: Concepts, Glossary, and BibliographyThis chapter defines the concepts and terminology used in Smaart 6. Th

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Concepts, Glossary, and Bibliography24• At frequencies where the measurement signal has more energy than the reference

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Concepts, Glossary, and Bibliography252.1.3 AveragingWhen using asynchronous test signals such as music or random noise

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Concepts, Glossary, and Bibliography262.1.5 Frequency ResolutionThe frequency resolution (Q) of an FFT is equal to the

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Concepts, Glossary, and Bibliography272.1.6 Pink and White NoisePink and white noise both contain random (or pseudorand

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Concepts, Glossary, and Bibliography28Choosing a Noise SourceThe distinction between pink and white noise is not import

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Concepts, Glossary, and Bibliography292.1.8 Impulse ResponseAn impulse response is the response of a system under test

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual iiiTable of ContentsChapter 1: Getting Started...

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Concepts, Glossary, and Bibliography302.1.10 CoherenceThe coherence for any two FFT frames The Smaart 6 Coherence displ

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Concepts, Glossary, and Bibliography312.2 Glossary of TermsAnalog to Digital (A/D) Conversion: The process of sampling

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Concepts, Glossary, and Bibliography32FFT Time Constant: The amount of time it takes to collect all the samples require

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Concepts, Glossary, and Bibliography33Propagation Delay: The time it takes for sound to travel from one place (typicall

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Concepts, Glossary, and Bibliography342.3 Selected BibliographyThe following is a list of publications suggested for re

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Concepts, Glossary, and Bibliography35Knudson, V. O. & Harris, C. M. Acoustical Designing in Architecture, New York

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Concepts, Glossary, and Bibliography36

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types37Chapter 3: Analysis Modes and Display TypesSmaart 6 has two analysis modes: Real-time

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types38Click the IR Analysis button to open the Impulse Response window. Impulse Response mo

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types39Press the Start button in the real-time window to begin all real-time measurement ope

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual iv2.1.10 Coherence...302.1.11 Signal Alig

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types403.1.2 SpectrographThe Smaart 6 Spectrograph is a second type of RTA display that show

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types41Figure 3-4 Spectrograph dB RangeThe frequency scale of the Spectrograph is set by cli

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types42AveragingAveraging is used in RTA, Spectrograph, and Frequency Response measurements

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types43Spectrum Mode FFT ParametersThe FFT parameters for Spectrum, Frequency Response, and

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types443.2 Frequency Response MeasurementsSmaart’s real-time Frequency Response measurement

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types453.2.2 Frequency Response OverviewIn Frequency Response measurements, Smaart 6 compare

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types463.2.4 The Phase Display Clicking the Phase display button shows the phase shift t(ime

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types47Note that because the time dimension of the data window function used by the time win

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types48Vector averaging works directly with the complex data FFT data from the transfer func

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types49SmoothingSmoothing, an averaging technique available only for Frequency Response meas

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual v3.9 External Device Control...663.9.1 External D

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types50The Coherence TraceThe Coherence trace displays as a second trace in red in the upper

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types513.2.8 Magnitude ThresholdingMagnitude Thresholding is another way to limit undesirabl

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types523.3 Delay and Impulse Response MeasurementsIn Impulse mode, Smaart 6 measures and dis

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types53Figure 3-10 Impulse Response windowNOTE: FFT Frequency Resolution (FR) is not display

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types543.3.2 Working with Impulse Response DataEnter impulse response analysis mode by click

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types55The first large peak on the impulse response or ETC trace is usually the highest in m

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types56Figure 3-11 Delay auto-locator buttonsDefault settings for the Auto Sm and Auto Lg yi

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types57The Signal Level/SPL readout tracks the channel designated as SPL Source in the Audio

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types58The default Full Scale internal display calibration shows all magnitude values in ter

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types59Figure 3-13 SPL/Calibrations Options and Amplitude Calibration dialogs5. The Set this

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual vi5.3.7 Instantaneous...1015.3.8 Reseed Averages

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types603. Click the Options/Units button above the Signal Level/SPL Readout again and set th

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types613.5.2 Loading a Reference TraceA modified Open file dialog appears with the *.ref fil

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types62Files can be saved in ASCII format so they can be imported to a spreadsheet or any ot

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types633.6 Internal DelaySmaart 6 can provide up to 750 ms of signal delay internally for on

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types64Figure 3-17 Signal Generation dialogSelect the following test sources from the Signal

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types65Synchronous Stimulus SignalsThe synchronous noise and sweep options (Pink Sync and Pi

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types663.9 External Device ControlNOTE: There is currently no external device control for th

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types67You can cycle filter selection through all displayed filter markers using the Tab key

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types68To operate a selected EQ device:1. Drag the filter handles to set the filter or use t

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types693.11 Smaart 6 Screen Capture3.11.1 WindowsWindows has a built-in feature that allows

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual viiList of Figures1-1 Audio I/O tab of the Options dialog ...

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Analysis Modes and Display Types70

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual 71Chapter 4: ApplicationsThis chapter discusses four typical applications, presented in order of increasing complexity,

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications724.1 Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer (RTA)Two-channel real-time spectrum analysis is Smaart 6’s most basic fun

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications73Figure 4-2 Default RTA spectrum display (1/12th-octave)Experiment with the settings that affect the appea

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications74The Spectrum tab of the Options dialog contains additional display options (page 93). Spectrum measuremen

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications754.2.1 Measurement SetupConnect all the components as shown in Figure 4-5. The computer’s line level outpu

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications76Figure 4-6 Signal Generation screen control (left) and dialog (right)5. Click the Start button to start t

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications77Figure 4-7 Sample measurement of an analog parametric EQ filter4.3 Measuring a LoudspeakerThis example us

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications78Figure 4-8 Speaker/amp measurement setup4.3.1 Adjust Signal Levels1. Position the measurement microphone

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications794.3.2 Impulse Response Measurement1. Click the IR Analysis button. The Impulse window opens. 2. Click the

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual viii4-2 Default RTA spectrum display (1/12th-octave)...734

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications80The additional energy shown in the impulse response after the arrival of direct sound is due to room refl

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications814.4 Measuring a Loudspeaker and Setting an EqualizerThis example combines the techniques used in Measurin

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications82The following steps assume knowledge acquired during the previous example:1. Set the mixer controls so th

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications8311. If you were using noise for the initial measurements you may want to switch to music as your source s

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications844.5 Measuring and Optimizing a Sound System Before measuring a sound system it is critical to answer the

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications85Step 1: Evaluation ListeningBefore measuring a sound system, we strongly recommend listening to it! Attem

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications86NOTE: If you cannot avoid a bad floor bounce, put the microphone on the floor. This creates a short enoug

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications87Step 7: Stability TestingIt is vitally important to explore the stability of a sound system that includes

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications88Stabilizing a Sound SystemStabilizing an unstable system means giving it more GBF, primarily by reducing

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications89Stabilizing a System with EQFeedback is most commonly solved using EQ to remove or attenuate offending pe

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual9Chapter 1: Getting StartedSince its initial introduction in 1996, Smaart® has firmly established itself as the most com

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Applications90How Much EQ Is Enough? Remember that using cut filters to increase system stability reduces the gain, eve

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual 91Chapter 5: Smaart 6 Commands5.1 File Menu5.1.1 Save ImpulseChoose File->Save Impulse to save the Impulse Response a

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Smaart 6 Commands921. Select the new device from External Devices->Add (left of Figure 5-1). The device’s Configurat

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Smaart 6 Commands935. Select an input or output to control from the External Devices menu (left of Figure 5-2). A float

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Smaart 6 Commands94Choose Options->Spectrum or click the arrow to the right of the Spectrum button.The top line disp

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Smaart 6 Commands955.3.2 Frequency ResponseFigure 5-4 Frequency Response tab in Options dialogChoose Options->Freque

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Smaart 6 Commands96InputsAverage: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, Inf, Fast, Slow, ExpAverage Type: RMS or VectorY+/-: Shi

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Smaart 6 Commands975.3.3 IR AnalysisFigure 5-5 IR Analysis tab in Options dialogChoose Options->Impulse/Locator or c

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Smaart 6 Commands985.3.4 Audio I/OFigure 5-6 Audio I/O tab in Options dialogChoose Options->Audio I/O.Sampling Rate

EAW Smaart 6 Operation Manual Smaart 6 Commands99Output DeviceDevice: Select the output device from the drop-list. The list displays your soundcard’s