Measure User Manual
Contents
1. uuu u t It n 30 5 2 Troubleshooting the Sonic Studio IRC Filter Bank window 31 5 2 1 Account login or authorization problems 31 5 2 2 Playpack DLO DICINIS a SA NS 31 Appendix Au uuu E uuu s 32 6 1 Operational IBRIO rmi alni x uuu 32 6 1 1 Mea s rement Sample uum a 32 6 1 2 Saving IRG Measure Projecto o o yau acu ed sas 32 6 1 3 Saving Filter Files Created in IRC Measure 32 6 1 4 MIC Recommendations uuu 32 3 Page 4 About This Manual This manual as well as the software described in it is furnished under license and may only be used or copied in accordance with the terms of such license The information in this manual is furnished for informational use only is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by Sonic Studio LLC Sonic Studio LLC assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this book Except as permitted by such license no part of this publication may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system2. Live Calibration Toal 194 start to begin www sonicstudio com IRC amp IRC b User Manual Table of Contents Chapter 1 1 1 1 2 Chapter 2 2 1 Chapter 3 3 1 3 1 1 3 2 552 3 3 1 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 5 3 4 3 4 1 4 4 1 4 2 4 About iRG NIG3Sur uu uuu uuu cc 5 ADOUtLnis 6 IRC vs iRC b What Is The Difference 6 SIM NeIIpDIM 9 IRC Measure Tutorial 9 St p By St p G Id ur u u u uuu uu u Z aiina 11 Sollwa einsullaligi 11 PCV QUO eos eee es aun aaa 11 11 Using the IRC Measure application 12 Sound system Se UD 14 Microphone configuration ceret tnn enn 14 T NETTE 15 Measurements u uu uu 16 bases e hM a eee ees 18 Using the Amarra with iRC b amp Symphony with IRC applications 21 wisi
3. alee 21 Understanding more 23 IMPULS Eres DONS Caru uu au 23 Magnitade response imina a dus pt RE D 23 Vlixed phase filte Page 2 4 4 Target curve design 24 4 5 Loudspeakers ID EOOITIS fe 25 4 5 1 Loudspeaker placement UD 25 4 5 2 gt 25 4 5 3 Reflections Good and paq Pr Ge 26 4 5 4 U CI xu a O cers tL u oe 26 4 6 Recommended TCACING usu atukta m nas Qam auqa 27 Chapter5 TouDIesho0tIngiu uu uuu ul u L GE KV rV us 28 5 1 Troubleshooting the IRC Measure application 28 5 1 1 Soundsystem Setup probBlelsu ux u u u uuu A ies 2 28 5 1 2 PiaVDaCK DVO DI CMS uuu ama 2 5 1 3 Measurement DEO DIGIINS u tud n e RUMOR 29 5 1 4
4. Using the microphone positions indicated by the IRC Measure application will generally give you consistent results However the microphone positions are not required to be in exactly these positions if your listening environment is unusual then you may use a different set of microphone positions Taking all measurements close to the sweet spot will generally not give optimum performance because the microphone positions need some spread in order to acquire enough acoustical information about the room Don t forget to save the project before proceeding Continue to the next tab by clicking the Proceed button in the lower right corner or by clicking the tab itself 3 3 5 Filter design Filter Design This is the fifth and last tab in the IRC Measure application The filter design algorithm uses the measured data together with a target frequency response to calculate filters that optimize the frequency response and the impulse response of the sound system Finding the best target frequency response may require a little experimenting from your side After completing the measurements the iRC Measure application will automatically Page 19 ae n nm Measure buterial ttl generate a suggested target curve that matches the i TRC measurements however you can alter the curve for even better performance The filter design algorithm has a hard coded maximum gain value that limits the boost at any frequency 1 There
5. addressed in the Troubleshooting section beginning on page 29 3 1 Softvvare Installation Run the Amarra Amarra Symphony installer mpkg file and follow the on screen instructions iRC Measure is installed in the Amarra or Amarra Symphony Application Folder 3 1 1 Activation Authorize Sonic Studio IRC After installation is completed in order for you to run IRC Measure you will first need to activate the iRC feature in Amarra or Amarra Symphony When clicking on the IRC button inAmarra forthe firsttime you willbe prompted with User name an Authentication window to enter your user license information delivered at the time of purchase Once iRC has been authorized in Amarra Amarra Symphony IRC Measure for your app will also be licensed Validate Note that the computer has to be connected to the Internet and any active firewalls have to allow HTTP normal Internet access 3 2 Equipment setup 1 Connect the output of your DAC or line output to your amplifier or preamplifier input Page 12 2 sure your DAC is powered 3 Connect your microphone and verify operation in System Preferences Sound tab a If you are using a USB microphone just connect it to a USB port on the computer Make sure to use 48 kHz sample rate for measuring b Otherwise connect the microphone to your sound input or external microphone pre amp and analog to digital converter A
6. or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic mechanical recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of Sonic Studio LLC Notice of Liability The author and publisher have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information herein However the information contained in this document is provided without warranty either express or implied Neither the authors Sonic Studio LLC nor its dealers or distributors will be held liable for any damages to be caused either directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the software or hardware products described herein SONIC STUDIO LLC MAKES NO WARRANTIES EXPRESS OR IMPLIED INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE REGARDING THE APPLE SOFTWARE SONIC STUDIO LLC DOES NOTWARRANT GUARANTEE OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDINGTHE USE ORTHE RESULTS OF THE USE OFTHE SONIC STUDIO LLC SOFTWARE INTERMS OFITS CORRECTNESS ACCURACY RELIABILITY CURRENTNESS OR OTHERWISE THE ENTIRE RISKAS TO THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SONIC STUDIO SOFTWARE IS ASSUMED BY YOU THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES IS NOT PERMITTED BY SOME STATES THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU IN NO EVENT WILL SONIC STUDIO LLC ITS DIRECTORS OFFICERS EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLETO YOU FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL INCIDENTAL OR INDIRECT DAMAGES INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS BUSINESS
7. 1 Loading a target will apply it to the currently visible channel group Please note that there are two save buttons with different functions one for saving the filter Save Filter g and one for saving the project Save h Page 21 3 4 Using the Amarra with IRC b amp Symphony with IRC applications Amarra with IRC is an easy to use music player application For this manual the scope will be limited to the Sonic Studio IRC Filter Bank window For a more complete list of Amarra or Amarra Symphony with iRC functions please refer to the Amarra or Amarra Symphony User Manual located inside the Amarra or Amarra Symphony app folder To open the Sonic Studio iRC Filter Bank window click the IRC button a in the Amarra window That action opens the large IRC Filter Bank window 3 4 1 Filter selection e IRC CD Filter sets created for the Sonic Studio iRC Filter Bank window by the iRC Measure application must MyRoom01 filter be loaded into an iRC processor slot The Sonic Studio iRC Filter Bank window has four 4 separate slots c where your filter files can _ MyRoomO2 filter be loaded for quick selection To load a filter set into an empty slot 1 Double Click empty filter slot This opens Finder dialog box where you can navigate to the folder where you stored your Amarra iRC filter sets created with iRC Measure MyRoom04 filter Select the filter set that you want to load then se
8. 4 5 Loudspeakers in rooms Thetopic of sound reproduction in small rooms such as a living room as opposed to a concert hall is huge The room will define how reproduced music is perceived Roughly the effect of the room on the sound can be divided into two parts the effect frequency response timbre coloration and the effect on spatial aspects of sound spaciousness envelopment reverberation Both parts are affected by speaker placement and listener position 4 5 1 Loudspeaker placement Correct placement of the loudspeakers in your room is vital to get the best possible sound Therefore it is often worthwhile to experiment a bit with the loudspeaker placement Always use the speaker manufacturer acoustician or audiophile consultant s recommendations as a starting point 4 5 2 Svveet spot and dispersion The loudspeaker response varies with position in a room The sweet spot is the region where the sound is perceived as best and with very little variations Outside of the sweet spot the sound character deteriorates and is quite different from that within the sweet spot Page 26 Room correction systems cannot extend the size of the sweet spot The dispersion of the speaker cannot be changed unless several speakers are used together as a super speaker However Amarra IRC can still improve the sound quality outside the sweet spot 4 5 3 Reflections Good and bad The sound that is radiated from the loudspeakers will be refle
9. All other microphones can benefit from a calibration file to restore transparency The microphone calibration file is a text file that should contain the microphone magnitude response The file format which is supported by IRC Measure application consists of lines of frequency level pairs where the level is given in decibels dB Some calibration files instead specify the calibration adjustment for each frequency Find out if your file has this format and if so then switch the signs on the level numbers to modify it to the supported format Continue to the next tab by clicking the Proceed button in the lower right corner or by clicking the tab itself 3 3 3 Output amp levels w saa v Output amp Levels This is the third tab in the iRC Measure application m In order to get an accurate measurement of the sound system some initial adjustments of the playback and recording levels are required Start by placing the microphone inside the listening area 1 For each loudspeaker channel select the output channel that it is connected to using the corresponding Output channel drop down box J Use the same device and channel assignment that will be used later for listening If the assignments don t match with the Amarra or Amarra Symphony player output then filters may be applied to the wrong channels or audio output may even be muted Click the play button for the test noise in the selected output channel by
10. D Converter Make sure to use 48 kHz sample rate for measuring Some microphones require 48V phantom power Be sure to follow the microphone usage instructions Avoid microphone feedback If your A D Converter has a direct monitor function this must be turned off Some A D Converters have a physical volume knob for direct monitor in this case it has to be turned down to zero level Some professional A D Converters have signal modifiers like compression or equalization Double check that any such signal modifiers are turned off 4 Before continuing please close all other audio applications on your computer 5 Start the iRC Measure application to begin measuring your room Make sure the main volume control on your pre amp or amplifier isturned down prior to playing any test signals from IRC Measure You can adjust to normal volume after testing output levels in IRC Measure 3 3 Using the IRC Measure application Launch iRC Measure by clicking on the Icon for your product inside the Amarra Amarra Symphony Application folder Page 13 IRC Measure app IRC b Measure app If you own Amarra Symphony If you own Amarra have purchased the IRC b option launch Launch iRC Measure IRC b Measure IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING MEASUREMENT SAMPLE RATE If possible make all measurements at 48 kHz Amarra s IRC Filter Bank automatically interpolates the filter files for all sample rates so there is no need to make measurements f
11. INTERRUPTION LOSS OF BUSINESS INFOR MATION ANDTHE LIKE ARISING OUT OFTHE USE OR INABILITYTO USETHE SONIC STUDIO SOFTWARE EVEN IF SONIC STUDIO HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAM AGES BECAUSE SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLYTO YOU Notice of Rights Copyright 2014 Sonic Studio LLC and Dirac Research AB All rights reserved No part of this document may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher Sonic Studio Amarra Amarra Hifi Amarra Symphony iRC iRC b IRC Measure and the Sonic Studio and Amarra logos are trademarks of Sonic Studio LLC All other company or product names are either trademarks or registered trade marks of their respective owners All features and specifications described within this manual are subject to change Sonic Studio and Dirac Research AB makes no warranty of any kind regarding the accuracy correctness or sufficiency of the information in this document However we will make every reasonable effort to keep the document accurate correct and sufficient in response to your feedback 5 Chapter 1 NAbout IRC Measure The listening room is usually the weakest link of any sound system Loudspeakers have been designed for a certain placement in a room b
12. are two ways to modify the frequency response l Dragging the target frequency curve at the anchor points a li Dragging the frequency limits on either side of the frequency range b Refer to Target curve design guidelines on page 25 for advice on how to design a good target response The resulting filter will leave the audio signal unmodified in the shaded frequency regions This can be useful if you for example are perfectly happy with the high frequency performance but want to address room resonances in the bass It is possible to add or delete anchor points by double clicking on the target curve or on the points The zoom level is shown at the top of the graph c To zoom in draw a box around the area that you would like to zoom into To zoom back to the previous level click on the minus sign next to the zoom level c or double click in the graph To view the impulse response of the system before and after correction click on the IMPULSE button i In the impulse response view this button will change its label to SPECTRUM and clicking on it will take you back to the frequency view It is possible to set a target curve for all channels at once a linked group of channels or one channel at a time Use the channel tabs d on the right side of the plot area to change the grouping configuration l Clicking on the chain symbol of a channel tab e causes the channel to detach from the linked group and showing
13. generated target curve and correction frequency limits are adjusted accordingly If there is noise present during the measurements this will often be visible in the measured frequency response as increasing low frequency levels below the loudspeaker low frequency limit This is not part of the loudspeaker response so this frequency region is better left untouched Page 25 Some guidelines to adjusting the target curve are as follows Even small changes in the target magnitude response can give audible results It is worthwhile to tweak the target in order to address even the smallest nuance in the magnitude response Avoid sharp peaks in the target curve as they may result in annoying tonal components in the frequency response Generally you want to have a smooth target curve A target curve that is slightly tilting down towards high frequencies like the auto target is often preferable a flat target often sounds too bright A loudspeaker with a flat on axis response will usually have a slightly tilting in room response You can experiment with the amount of tilt especially in the treble region to get a good tonal balance in your room If you have strong room resonances in the low frequency region completely eliminating these may make the sound thin in comparison You may want to apply a slightly increasing low end below 100 Hz If you have dips in the magnitude response sometimes it can sound better to not fill these in completely
14. pressing the Test button K Page 16 To protect your ears and equipment Turn down the volume on your sound system before pressing the play button for the first time and then slowly turn up the volume See the section on Playback problems on page 30 for problem solutions Tip You can use the space bar of your keyboard to trigger the test button for the selected output channel Tip you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to quickly both toggle between channels and adjust the volume for each channel 2 Adjust the levels M for the recording to be within the green area the level meter L Apply three step process see Measurement problems on page 30 for problem solutions l If possible set the sound card output level to dB usually max Depending on the DAC there may be a physical volume knob or a software level slider 1 On your amplifier adjust the volume knob a normal listening level Not disturbingly loud but not too low either Adjust the gain of the microphone input in order to arrive within the green area on the level meter Continue to next tab by clicking the Proceed button in the lower right corner or by clicking the tab itself 3 3 4 Mieasurements E Measurements This is the fourth tab in the IRC Measure application It is now time to built the acoustical model of your listening space by measuring the sound system in your room The accuracy of the model is very important for desig
15. the detached channel s curve in the plot area You can also drag and drop to unlink li Dragging and dropping a detached channel tab onto a linked channel tab causes the detached channel to join the group and show all the grouped channels curves in the plot area Page 20 2 Press Optimize f to create set of filters Channels 3 When the optimization has completed this may take some time depending on the speed of your computer and how many sampling rates you selected to make filters for press Save Filter g below the target editor to save the filter to a file that you will be able to open into the Amarra or Amarra Symphony IRC filter bank window To be able to load the filter in the Amarra or Amarra Symphony application make sure to save it in this directory Channels Documents Dirac Filters To design a new filter for the same sound system repeat the procedure from step 1 above To design filters for a different sound system then go back to the Sound system tab and follow the instructions from Sound system on page 15 Re link Channels Saving a project once a target curve has been set will save the state of the target curve in the project If you are testing several target curves it may be a good idea to save each target with the Save Target button J This will allow you to revisit and change the target curves from which a specific filter has been generated by loading them with the Load Target button
16. the name indicates the impulse response shows how the system and room responds to an impulse input signal An ideal speaker adds no ringing coloring or time smearing to the recording so its impulse response should look just like the input impulse The similarity between the different loudspeakers impulse responses at the listening position affects the perception of stage and image The more similar the impulse responses the more easy it is to trick the brain that the loudspeakers are not really there and that the sound emanates from a virtual stage spanned by the physical speakers The performance of Amarra iRC can be very successful in making your system response resemble that of an ideal speaker due to the robust design of so called mixed phase filters The result of applying Amarra IRC can be viewed in the IRC Measure application by clicking the IMPULSE button in the Filter Design tab 4 2 Magnitude response The magnitude response more commonly known by the imprecise term frequency response measures how much each frequency component or tone is attenuated A good magnitude response should be as smooth as possible Otherwise different tones are reproduced with unequal strength and the music 15 subjected to undesired coloration 4 3 Mixed phase filters Infinitely many different filters can be designed to have the exact same magnitude response They differ only in their impulse response Therefore it is useful to classify filt
17. this when setting your target curve NOTES ABOUT MICROPHONES e A live performance cardioid patern vocal or instrument mic is not recommended for use with IRC Measure e Use 48 kHz as the sample rate for measuring your room with Sonic Studio s IRC Measure app 48 kHz is the default setting for Measure The IRC Filter Bank in Amarra Symphony automatically interpolates all sample rates from the 48 kHz filter file This eliminates the need for an individual filter file for each sample rate e Sonic Studio recommends an 8 hour burn in time prior to using all USB connected mics for measurement e USB mics usually include a 2 meter 6 foot USB cable You may need to purchase a longer cable for measurement use e Always use a stage type microphone stand similar to the On Stage Stands MS7701B Euro Boom Microphone Stand to firmly place the measurement microphone in the indicated positions Do not hold the microphone in your hand during measurements as this will likely cause handling noise and taint the measurements significantly XTZ Audio has a cost efficient USB connected microphone kit that includes a the calibrated mic USB pre amplifier cables clip and storage case Buy Now Europe Buy Now USA Download the XTZ Mlic Pro Calibration File Note the XTZ will work with both Dirac Live and IRC Measure The UMIK 1 is a Plug amp Play omni directional USB microphone designed for acoustic measurement This microphone provides low noise
18. 8 kHz Amarra s iRC processor automatically interpolates the filter files for all sample rates so there is no need to make measurements for each sample rate available on your DAC 6 1 2 Saving iRC Measure Projects Save your iRC Measure Projects to Documents Dirac Projects for easy recall Backup your Project files Projects can be moved between computers so saving these files to a backup device or CD is a good idea should your computer fail 6 1 3 Saving Filter Files Created in IRC Measure Save filter filter made in IRC Measure to Documents Dirac Projects for easy recall Filter files cannot be exchanged between computers Instead build new filters by opening the Project file your filter s was made from on the other computer optimize and resave new filter files 6 1 4 Mic Recommendations To use IRC Measure software you need an omnidirectional full bandwidth measurement microphone We recommend that the frequency response 15 within 1 dB in the area of the speaker s frequency response range If the frequency response is not within 1 dB within the speakers frequency response range we recommend that you use a calibration file IRC Measure supports using a microphone calibration file as long as it represents the frequency response of the Page 33 microphone and not the inverted frequency response If your microphone does not have a flat frequency response it will give you false measurement information and you will have to consider
19. and accurate results you can rely on Forget about driver installation OS compatibility and un calibrated mics The Umik 1 is a USB Audio class 1 device automatically recognized by the Mac Operating System After purchase you can download a calibration file specifically for your UMIK 1 ensuring an accurate measurement Buy Now How To UseThe UMIK 1 With Amarra Symphony with iRC Page 34 If you already have a microphone pre amplifier we recommend an individually calibrated Behringer ECM8000 Information Click here to download the Behringer microphone calibration file For reference use we recommend the Earthworks M23 Information Page 35 Symbols 48 kHz 12 13 32 33 acoustical 13 16 17 18 Activation 11 algorithm 18 19 amplifier 9 11 12 16 18 29 34 Behringer 8000 34 calculate 18 calibration file 9 15 32 configuration 14 19 correction 5 13 16 19 24 26 DAC 9 11 12 13 16 28 29 32 device 14 15 28 31 32 Dirac 4 5 20 32 Earthworks M23 34 effects 17 31 EQ 5 17 IRC amp IRC b User Manual Index Page 36 filter 9 10 13 18 19 20 21 23 24 32 Filter Bank 21 31 filter design 18 19 frequency 5 15 18 19 23 24 25 32 33 frequency limits 19 24 impulse 5 13 18 19 23 24 Installation 7 11 Installer 9 IRC 4 5 13 21 IRC b 4 5 13 21 IRC Measure 4 5 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 18 21 23 24 28 32 38 linear phase 23 24 lin
20. cted by the walls of the room and eventually reach the listener at different times and at different angles depending on how many times the sound wave has been reflected off the walls Early reflections from angles close to the loudspeaker and diffraction reflections from the loudspeaker box itself are detrimental to perceived sound quality and lead to undesirable coloration of the timbre of the sound Side reflections and late reflections are generally not as detrimental and can even help in improving perceived sound quality The reason for this difference lies in our hearing a reasonably sized room we can tell a side reflection from a direct wave because of the time and direction differences which our brain has learned naturally to separate These reflections often contribute to a larger more enveloping sound stage A small amount of reverberation is generally considered desirable in a room for sound reproduction Amarra iRC leaves the late reflections almost untouched It only corrects for their spectral coloration Early reflections and loudspeaker diffraction which are very close in both time and angle to the direct wave make the sound more difficult for the brain to process properly However Amarra iRC corrects for these shortcomings by optimizing the early arriving sound at the listener position At bass frequencies room reflections may build up and create what is known as standing waves or room resonances Characteristic of thes
21. e is that at certain frequencies the bass is strong in some parts of the room and weak in other parts Amarra iRC mitigates the effect of standing waves inside the listening area 4 5 4 Useful tips Room acoustics is a complicated field but there are a few simple things that one can do to improve the listening experience Generally it is good to have quite much furniture on the walls and try to use soft furniture where possible A large thick rug on the floor is good Many loudspeakers benefit from being moved out from the front wall a bit and also to be placed at some distance from side walls Experiment with toe in Many loudspeakers sound the best with the speakers pointing straight at the sweet spot or even slightly in front of it This helps to stabilize the stereo image when you are listening outside of the sweet spot Page 27 The listening location is important as well having the sofa placed right up against the back wall is not ideal since there will very early reflections coming from behind and also the sound timbre changes a lot close to the walls 4 6 Hecommended reading For the interested reader a good book for learning more about how loudspeakers and rooms interact and how to achieve good sound is Sound Reproduction Loudspeakers and Rooms by Floyd E Toole 2008 Page 28 Chapter 5 If you run into any trouble then please first refer to the common e
22. e room response Switch the view selector R for each position to better localize the microphone positions Carefully note the left and right positioning of each measurement position in the separate view graphs 3 Press the Start button S to collect a set of measurements This will play a sweep in each loudspeaker and one final sweep in the first loudspeaker again If the measurement was successful then the position indicator will move to the next spot Repeat the procedure from step 2 above until nine 9 positions have been covered Page 18 If your microphone pre amplifier has a clip indicator then keep an eye on the microphone input If it clips during measurement then re take that measurement Usually the clipping will be detected by the iRC Measure application but depending on level settings the clipping event may fail to be detected If the measurement failed then usually an error message will be given Follow the instructions in the error message or refer to the troubleshooting section Measurement problems on page 30 Tip You can click each measurement point T to view its recorded sequence in the graph U You can also delete individual measurements by clicking the red X X that appears when the measurement point is marked Doing so will allow you to retake that individual measurement 3 After all nine positions have been measured there is enough data to design a set of filters
23. e web complete Firewall is blocking access Disable firewall or set it to allow HTTP traffic Page 31 5 2 Troubleshooting the Sonic Studio IRC Filter Bank window 5 2 1 Account login or authorization problems Possible Cause Validation server not Client is offline the client to the web accessible Firewall is blocking access Disable firewall or set it to allow HTTP traffic 5 2 2 Playback problems Possible Cause Fix Sound is not clean Audio device driver needs Update your playback device driver to latest stable version updatin P Sometimes there may be new drivers that have issues Reduce the Gain by 1 dB increments in the Sonic Studio iRC window until clipping goes away Use the Meters in Amarra Symphony to verify levels Sound is clipping or distorted Sound card has a sound effect Disable all sound card sound effects This may either be a enabled physical setting on the sound card or a driver setting in the operating system Output sounds unfiltered Amarra or Symphony Click the iRC button and launch Amarra iRC IRC processor is not running Filter is set to Off in Amarra Open the Amarra Amarra Symphony IRC Filter Bank and set or Amarra Symphony IRC Filter Filter to On Bank Page 32 Chapter 6 Anppendix A 6 1 Operational Information 6 1 1 Measurement Sample Rate If possible make all measurements at 4
24. ereo and cannot be changed 2 Select the device that you want to use for playback in the Test signal playback device drop down box B Use the same device and channel assignment that will be used for listening If a device is grayed out in the drop down box it may mean that it is being used by another application In this case please close all other audio applications and press the Rescan button C Clicking the Rescan button also searches for DACs or other devices that may have been added after starting the IRC Measure application Continue to the next tab by clicking the Proceed button in the lower right corner or by clicking the tab itself B ry n Measure tutorial testi Li 3 3 2 configuration c 2 Mic config This is the second tab in the IRC Measure application 3 x 5 1 Inthe Recording Device drop down box F select the device that your microphone is connected to 2 In the Recording Channel drop down box G select the input channel number that your microphone is connected to If a device shows two or more numbered channels gt then usually 1 corresponds to Left and 2 to Right Page 15 3 You may optionally load a microphone calibration file by clicking the Load file button H Only the most expensive measurement microphones can be expected to have transparent recording characteristics
25. ers according to how their impulse responses behave Two commonly used filter classes in audio applications are minimum phase filters and linear phase filters They are two special cases that are relatively easy to design but that come with tightly constrained impulse response characteristics minimum phase filter by definition is constrained to apply only the smallest possible delay to the signal given a desired magnitude Page 24 response A linear phase filter by definition applies delay that is constant across the whole frequency range Therefore neither of these two filter designs can make a desired change to the phase or impulse response unless the desired change is exactly the particular change they make by definition Minimum phase and linear phase filters may even worsen both the impulse response and the magnitude response of a system simply by applying their magnitude response corrections at the wrong time A more difficult design task is to make a mixed phase filter that matches a desired magnitude response while also having a customized impulse response properly designed mixed phase filter can make significant improvements to the impulse response of a sound system at the listening position Misaligned drivers in multi way loudspeakers can be corrected by automatically applying different delays to different frequency ranges Energy from direct wave and early reflections can be optimally combined to arrive as a single wa
26. f your sound system on your amplifier preamplifier page 8 4 Start the iRC Measure application page 13 Make sure that Amarra or Amarra Symphony is not running 5 Follow the on screen instructions to select your microphone input and microphone calibration file page 15 audio outputs page 15 measure page 17 and optimize page 19 your sound system 6 When you have saved your filters from the IRC Measure application start Amarra or Amarra Symphony application page 22 7 Click the IRC button the Amarra Amarra Symphony interface and click empty filter slot numbered 1 4 then select your newly created filter page 22 8 Enjoy a more musical and accurate reproduction of your favorite music Page 10 2 1 IRC Measure Tutorial The iRC Measure tutorial gives you step by step instructions on microphone set up measuring your room and creating filter files for use in Amarra or Amarra Symphony With iRC iRC Measure Application Overview Mac www sonicstudio com View the IRC Measure Tutorial Page 11 Chapter 3 Step By Step Guide This guide will go through each step in more detail to achieve the best possible sound Need more thorough explanations Refer to Understanding more on page 24 where some important concepts are discussed If you have any problems with the Amarra iRC or the iRC Measure application then some possible solutions are
27. ked channel tab 19 listening 5 14 15 16 17 18 23 24 26 27 Magnitude response 23 measurement 9 15 16 17 18 29 32 33 microphone 9 10 12 14 15 16 17 18 30 32 33 34 minimum phase 5 23 Mixed phase filters 23 omnidirectional 17 32 optimization 13 20 30 Output channel 15 Page 37 phase 5 23 24 12 Recording 14 Recording Channel 14 Recording Device 14 Reflections 23 26 Sample Rate 32 Skype 17 SPECTRUM 19 Sweet spot 25 target 18 19 20 24 25 33 Target curve 19 24 target frequency curve 19 timing 5 Troubleshooting 7 11 28 31 Tutorial 10 UMIK 1 33 XTZ 33 Page 38 19 2014 Sonic Studio LLC All rights reserved No part of this document may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in an form by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher Sonic Studio Amarra iRC Measure and the Sonic Studio and Amarra logos are trademarks of Sonic Studio LLC All other company or product names are either trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners iRC and IRC b Measure 1 0 4 UserManual v02r09 Page 39
28. lect OK Listen to the result of applying the loaded filters Amarra iRC b IRC 1 Play track through Amarra Amarra Symphony 2 Make sure thatthe Filter switch b onthe Sonic Studio IRC Filter Bank window is set MyRoom01 fil to On Click the switch to change it 3 Switch between loaded filters by clicking the corresponding filter slot c The active 2 7 MyRoomO2 filter filter slot has a blue indicator GAIN 4 Gain Because the filters files you create in Measure may cause the output yRoomO3 filter overload you may need to reduce the overall gain of a filter Typing minus key and m entering a numerical value then enter turns down the overall output gain of Amarra or Amarra Symphony A MyRoom04 filter GAIN You can see the output level of Amarra by clicking on the M button in Amarra Symphony and use it to accurately set the Gain We ve prepared a special Pink Noise file at 0 vu level for you to calibrate the gain of each filter This test file can be downloaded here Download Gain Calibration File Page 23 Chapter 4 Understanding more 4 1 Impulse response The impulse response measures how a transient such as a drum beat is reproduced in the room Reflections diffraction resonances misaligned drivers etc combine to smear out the transient As
29. measurement process and corruption of LU PEE B do acoustical model data 5e gt Ia lo sirara until ma asqa Turn off any computer programs that may make any ne nm Suc cm o ad noise such as Skype or your email client Ax 5 kt 3 I k Premed Y will us 0 Ser Thu dat m x 123 Turn off any audio effects such as low cut EO or compression 1 Select the most suitable listening environment preset by clicking on the corresponding graphic P In general it is important to collect measurements in the most likely listener s head positions sitting standing leaning forward etc Avoid making measurements in a too small space Even for the Chair listening environment it is important to spread out the microphone positions in a sphere of at least 1 meter of diameter A too small a space will result in over compensation that will sound very dry and dull 2 Place the microphone in the indicated position O The first measurement should always be taken in the center of the listening region in the desired sweet spot as this will be used for alignment of levels and delays between loudspeakers Direct the microphone upward pointing to the ceiling to get the most omnidirectional recording of th
30. never switch Wrong source or connect devices at a high Preamplifier volume setting selected on on the preamplifier select the source corresponding to the input that the sound card has been connected to Volume too low Increase volume on a Preamplifier b DAC If this does not help then reduce the volume to a reasonable level before attempting any other fixes Measurement signal Preamplifierinputis overloaded Decrease the sound card output volume sounds distorted Loudspeakers are distorting Decrease the playback volume Page 30 5 1 3 Measurement problems Possible Cause Level test meter does not Microphone disconnected Connect microphone to mic preamplifier and connect microphone preamplifier to sound card or to computer Microphone needs phantom Enable the 48V phantom power on the microphone preamplifier Switch off sound playback power while attempting to fix this input Depending on the microphone preamplifier this could TT ic be a physical button or a software setting problem Instead clap your Microphone preamplifier is pny 9 hands make some other OFF sound to detect a reaction Volume too low on the level meter Measurement does not Error message Follow instructions given in the error message complete successfully 5 1 4 Filter design problems Possible Cause Switch on microphone preamplifier Filter optimization does not Client is offline the client mem to th
31. ning optimal room correction filters so follow the tips below to get the best result Now would also be a good time to save and name your project before proceeding with the measurements You can save the project at any time by clicking the Save button in the lower left corner Always use a stage type microphone stand similar to the On Stage Stands MS7701B Euro Boom Microphone Stand to firmly place the measurement microphone in the indicated positions Do not hold the microphone in your hand during measurements as this will likely cause handling noise and taint the measurements significantly Page 17 am onm m Merakure bubarial tiitO LH Use a microphone stand with a boom arm FP OSSES attachment A boom arm allows you to vary the height rd Bjorn and placement of the microphone position within the INED Hm listening area which is important to get an accurate aromana 1 he ype o ace microphone wa acoustical model 2 the hi hi lighted position taking measurement 1 Hub e Chair Sola o to um amp 2 Place the i arkki with 1 s LL at pair Vm Net e Minimize external noise such as talking opening or closing doors windows and playback of sounds gt gt during the measurements This is to avoid interruption nid mt Su E that r 134 4214 in the
32. or each sample rate available on your DAC The iRC Measure application measures the acoustical properties of your sound system and designs customized Amarra iRC filters including impulse response correction for your room and loudspeakers To apply the resulting Amarra iRC filters to music you will have load your saved filter set into Amarra or Amarra Symphony s iRC window see page 22 e Please note that your computer must be connected to the Internet during the measurements or during the filter optimization If the computer is not connected during the measurements then certain parts of the optimization will be delayed until a connection is available save time it is recommended having a connection during the whole process Any active firewalls have to allow HTTP The workflow is logically divided into a number of tabs at the left side of the window and these are meant to be worked through sequentially from the top down You ll find step by step instructions along the right side of the iRC Measure application window The content changes with the active workflow tab Simply click the tab to open and click to close Page 14 3 3 1 Sound system setup EN enc e sound system g S cS A This is the first tab in the Measure application soans carte 1 System configuration in the Choose system EM configuration drop down box A Please note that for IRC Measure the system configuration is preset for st
33. rrors below Ifthe problem remains would appreciate it if you would send us a description ofthe problem perhaps including a supporting screenshot and also provide information of the Amarra IRC version Mac model and OS version and the DAC you re using Submit a support request on http www sonicstudio com amarra amarra supportportal 5 1 Troubleshooting the IRC Measure application 5 1 1 Sound system setup problems Possible Cause DAC device does not show Cable disconnected up in selection list Power to DAC is OFF Connect a power source and switch on Connect a suitable cable between the DAC and the computer Ifthe problem persists then refer to the manual of the DAC to re install the device driver software Close all other audio applications press the Rescan button in the Sound System tab and try again Driver not installed properly Error message Could Device is in use by other not open recording device application make sure it is not in use Two USB devices share the Try connecting one of the devices to a different USB port same USB controller managed by a different USB controller Page 29 5 1 2 Playback problems Possible Cause Fix No sound from level test or Audio cable disconnected Connect audio cable to sound card output and to sound system measurement playback pre amplifier input Amplifier is OFF Switch on amplifier Caution To protect ears and equipment
34. te staging clarity and bass reproduction You ll be amazed IRC will Improve the imaging of your sound system Improve the clarity of your music Produce a tighter bass Reduce listening fatigue Improve the timbre Remove resonances and room modes Reduce early reflections Page 6 1 1 About This User This user manual is divided into multiple sections It describes the use of Sonic Studio s e IRC Filter Bank and Measure app in Amarra Symphony e iRC b Filter Bank and iRC b Measure app options for Amarra Unless otherwise noted features and workflow discussed in this manual apply to all of the above 1 2 IRC vs IRC b What Is The Difference The main difference between IRC and iRC b is in the Measure application e The Measure app in Amarra Symphony is full spectrum It processes frequencies from 15 Hz 20 kHz RC Measure Mf eom l enc E Dirac Liv B Sound system Sonic Pp Me cena Measurements Finer Design Opimce Save Auto Target Load Target Save Target Loa Save Evan L g 1 4 The IRC Measure apps Filter Design Tab Note the wide frequency correction spectrum Page 7 e he iRC b Measure app option for Amarra is designed for lo mid range and bass management It Is limited to processing frequencies from 15 Hz 500 Hz Au Sound sysiem Sonic Mic Lewe
35. ts reme awe Design The iRC b Measure apps Filter Design Tab The Quick guide in the next section lists the main steps to get started with IRC Measure More detailed instructions are provided in the Step by step guide starting on page 12 and thereafter divided into four sections about Software Installation Equipment setup and Using the respectively Additionally there is a section on Understanding more section beginning on page 24 followed by aTroubleshooting section on page 29 If you are reading this document as a PDF file on a computer then you should be able to click on the underlined links in the text to jump to the referenced section The same applies for the entries in the Table of Contents Page 8 Useful remarks are preceded this lamp symbol Warnings and important remarks are preceded by this caution sign Page 9 Chapter 2 QUICK Guide The following steps will get you started immediately In the Step by step guide on page 12 the process is described in more detail 1 Run the Amarra or Amarra Symphony Installer License IRC or IRC b for use See page 12 Note that you can run IRC or iRC b on two Macs at the same time 2 Set up your measurement mic Measure 48k sample rate Use a microphone stand Holding the mic in your hand Is not recommended 3 Connect the audio output of your computer or your DAC to the input o
36. ut in an imperfect environment performance suffers and it s impossible get the full benefit from your speaker investment Imaging clarity and bass tightness are all affected by the limitations imposed by your listening room and the result is that your listening experience can be significantly diminished Amarra with iRC b and Amarra Symphony with IRC combines our industry defining music player with leading edge room correction technology to optimize the sound of your system to its best possible performance The Measure app with Amarra Symphony and option for Amarra measures the acoustic characteristics of your loudspeakers within the listening environment and then optimizes for timing phase and frequency anomalies imposed by your room The result is massively improved imaging and sound staging because now your room will be working with your sound system not against It IRC integrates premium mixed phase room correction technology from Swedish technology leader Dirac SE Dirac room correction technology 15 used in cinemas studios as well as the world s most famous luxury car brands including BMW Bentley and Rolls Royce to bring sound into harmony with the listening space Amarra IRC is very different from standard room correction technologies that rely on simple minimum phase EQ technology Amarra iRC optimizes not only the frequency response but also the impulse response at the listening position which is a critical factor for accura
37. ve front to the listener Amarra IRC uses mixed phase filters to optimize the impulse response while applying a desired magnitude response 4 4 Target curve design guidelines In the Measure application the desired magnitude response for each loudspeaker can be drawn manually reason for providing this feature instead of just optimizing for a flat magnitude response is that different loudspeakers and different rooms may require slightly different target curves for the best result Normally you want to have the same target curve for identical pairs of channels like the left and right front speakers Therefore these are automatically grouped together by the IRC Measure application Correcting for differences between the channels will often give a substantial improvement in the stereo image The shaded regions in the target editor illustrate regions where the magnitude response will be left untouched These regions are adjustable by dragging in the handles on the shaded regions Normally you want to correct the whole spectrum that is within the frequency limits of the loudspeaker All loudspeakers tend to have a low frequency limit below which the response is dropping rapidly It is important to not boost the bass too much under this low frequency limit because it can easily overdrive the loudspeakers and lead to distortion IRC Measure application tries to identify the frequency where the response starts to drop and the automatically
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