rta software

Hello all, I was just wondering if there is any sort decent RTA software that anyone may know of or used. It would be nice to use such a program with a laptop to help smooth out EQ settings. I seen a couple of programs on the net but aren't sure if the would be halfway reliable or not.

TrueRTA. I use it. I love it. I bought it on DYohn's recommendation. EXCELLENT and powerful software. Buy at least Level 2.It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

Dave, What kind of mic and preamp are you using? I've got level four tru-rta and I love the program, but with my cheesy soundcard and mic I get a huge noise floor and crappy response on the upper and lower ends of the frequency range. I just bought an EMC8000 mic and MXT mic mate (usb mic preamp and phantom power source) and when they arrive, I'll see if it cures my problems (expecting it will). I'm just curious to see what you're using.

That is the mic I am using, with Level4, also... A fantastic mic for RTA measurements... SUPER flat. I use the M-Audio USB MobilePre for the input, with a Philips Aurilium external soundcard for the output. DYohn tells me that I can use the M-Audio piece for both in and out, I have not tried it since I was told it'd work; I still REALLY love how flat the output frequency response is from the Philips piece. For two notes, I'd certainly HOPE it'd be flat! It is orders of magnitude better than the internal soundcard, certainly... I believe it was rated 15Hz to 22K, ±.5dB, IIRC. S/N was somewhere in the 110dB range... Nice piece, but sadly no longer available. Check eBay, I have seen some there recently.It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

I'm figuring to use one of the autosound 2000 cd's for pink noise and set the averaging up to 10,000+. That saves me buying an expensive soundcard and with pink noise I can sweep the mic. How are you making your measurements?

Thanks haemphyst that was the program I was looking at. I'll probably get the level 3 because of the PC Sound System Calibration feature. I'll still have to get the external sound and mic.

I guess I don't really understand the question: "How am I making my measurements?" I use CDs, and I have ripped in M4A lossless, a set of 5 to 20 minute test tracks, from sine waves of various amplitudes, pink and white noise, as well. The only commercially available CD I used, was the iASCA test CD from (probably) 15 years ago. It was produced by the now defunct MFSL, so it's on gold, rare, and exquisitely produced. To find the longer tracks, I either scoured the internet to find what I was needing, or I made them myself at all of my desired frequencies, using a software sine-wave generator. That one works pretty well, I've found. There is a full diagnostic CD from Bink Audio here. It's a zip of an .iso, I think, otherwize just unzip it an copy whatever files you want to your media. I STRONGLY recommend NOT converting any of the files to MP3, especially higher frequencies, but if you have an iPod (and if you do, you likely already have iTunes, so you're hosed there - you're already stuck with MP3 or lossy compression M4A files) you can use MediaMonkey for media conversion and music management for transferring media both on to and off of your iPod, something iTunes will not let you do. It also rips CDs, bulk-tags your local files, (if you need help managing your collection) plays nearly ALL formats, organizes, and lets YOU do, what YOU want, with YOUR files. It's small, relible, secure and stable, something ELSE iTunes can't say... EVER. Did I mention that I like MediaMonkey, but not so much love for iTunes? For M4A lossless conversion, I use dBPowerAmp with the Apple Lossless Encoder. The only "drawback" (if you can call it such) is that you cannot by the compressed, inferior format, locked-down files from the iStore, and still pay full-pop for them. You have to use your own CDs... Sorry about that, kids! As far as mic placement, my goal in my car was for ME. LOL (Yes, I AM a selfish bastidge.) My mic was placed in the driver seat, ear height, facing forward, with the tip of the mic just about where my nose is while I am driving. I used this position to set crossovers, slopes, TD, and EQ. Measurements were taken at several SPLs, 90dB, 100dB, and 110dB, I believe, for linearity tests. My most CRITICALLY analyzed settings were at 100dB, as I figured this to be where - oh, 80% of my listening was going to be. Not sure if you ever got to this thread, but it chronicles the build, with lots of pictures. Page 10 is where the RTA process is photo'd.It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

Thank you! Yes, that is what I was asking. I am the last sole on earth who does not own an iPod and I strongly dislike compressed MP3 files and the crappy sound they produce. I also hate recordings that have a 10db dynamic range, etc. It's amazing how far along recording has come isn't it? As technology advances, so the quality of the sound depreciates. Anyway, back to the topic at hand..