Which microphone to choose to take measurements with Audiolense ??? THANKS

[John5242]

Hello, I am a novice and am interested in convolution, I discovered yesterday that it was possible to improve listening on speakers thanks to a convolution file. I did a test with a microphone that is not a measurement microphone, it is an: Audio Technica AT2020. So I made two measurements in the direction of each speaker (about 40 cm from the speakers) front left and right speaker, then generated a convolution file which I then loaded into JRIVER and then activated the convolution, the sound is very different, both on the stereo separation and also made a kind of equalization on the whole spectrum. As I said it was just to try and I doubt that the microphone used is absolutely not made for taking measurements, moreover I did not know that it was necessary to direct the measurement microphones towards the ceiling ( to the top...) So I plan to buy a good microphone to generate a good convolution file, I have the choice between: -- AUDIX TR40A ( used ) --AUDIX TM-1 -- BEYERDYNAMIC MM1 Can you advise me which of these three microphones would be the best ???? THANKS

 

[DavidV]

Hi John,

Another option you may consider is a calibrated Dayton EMM-6 from Cross-Spectrum Labs. The quality seems to be good enough for our use and very important (IMO), it is calibrated against a reference mic. I've been using one of those for quite some time with no issues.

 

[juicehifi]

Hi John,

You should get an individually calibrated measurement microphone, and ideally one you can hook up to your sound card. The Dayton is a good candidate if it fits with the rest of your gear.

Some microphones require phantom power and a microphone input, while others can be plugged into a line input.

Usb microphones are the most flexible ones, but they are also the most involved in measurement problems.

 

[juicehifi]

… and one more thing: I believe most Audiolense users point their microphone towards the stage center … as I always do.

 

[firedog]

A calibrated mic file is important. AFAIR, Audiolense recommends putting the mic in place of your head at the listening position and pointing the mic straight at the speakers for 2 channel. One measurement, as if the mic is your head when listening, should work fine.

A lot of users use the Umik USB mic which is under $100 and easy to use.

I don't think the actual mic is very important as long as it's calibrated and is a decent measuring mic. You can spend hundreds or even thousands on a mic. I've used relatively inexpensive ones and very expensive mics and gotten good results with both.

 

[dsnyder0cnn]

Are there any downsides to using a USB mic with Audiolense? In this configuration, there's one clock for the DAC and a separate one for the ADC in the mic, which is different from using an audio interface (eg., Focusrite Scarlett Solo or 2i2) to both play and record the sweeps. Does Audiolense compensate for any differences?

 

[juicehifi]

No downside with using an usb mic when stuff works. But usb mic plus usb dac is by far the combo where we see the most unreliable measurements. The problems are strictly digital …. discontinuities in the stream in the digital domain. But when it works it is 100% good enough.

 

[Badbruno]

Hello, I am a novice and am interested in convolution, I discovered yesterday that it was possible to improve listening on speakers thanks to a convolution file. I did a test with a microphone that is not a measurement microphone, it is an: Audio Technica AT2020. So I made two measurements in the direction of each speaker (about 40 cm from the speakers) front left and right speaker, then generated a convolution file which I then loaded into JRIVER and then activated the convolution, the sound is very different, both on the stereo separation and also made a kind of equalization on the whole spectrum. As I said it was just to try and I doubt that the microphone used is absolutely not made for taking measurements, moreover I did not know that it was necessary to direct the measurement microphones towards the ceiling ( to the top...) So I plan to buy a good microphone to generate a good convolution file, I have the choice between: -- AUDIX TR40A ( used ) --AUDIX TM-1 -- BEYERDYNAMIC MM1 Can you advise me which of these three microphones would be the best ???? THANKS

Hi John
I started with Umik1 but soon realized it’s performance as a calibrated microphone was less than desirable.
So I moved to a professional mic .. I went with Earthworks M23 which is not USB a needs a Box to power it and put the signal on USB. So here is the problem M23 takes much better measurements but the timing is out of sync with AL clock.
I have found that USB mic will get to good results quicker with less issues.