London – Copenhagen – Frankfurt
Join Axiometrix Solution’s Dan Knighten and James Kelly for this two-day, in-person workshop where we will explain everything you have ever wanted to know about measuring audio devices.
We will cover the basics of sound and fundamental measurements to automation and advanced measurement techniques. This workshop is ideal for both new and experienced users of AP and GRAS equipment.
This will be a hands-on workshop. Measurement techniques will be demonstrated by the instructor, and you will be able to follow along and complete simulated exercises using APx500 software. To facilitate this, please make sure that you have downloaded and installed the latest version of APx500 on your computer and bring it.
The latest software version is here: https://www.ap.com/download/apx500-measurement-software-26
Locations
| City | Date | Location | Estimated Cost* |
| London | October 6 and 7 Time: 9:00 -17:00 | Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel Bath Road, Hounslow, United Kingdom, TW6 2AQ Room: Waterloo Suite | £220 Per Day £47 Day 1 Dinner (Optional) |
| Copenhagen | October 10 and 11 Time: 9:00 -17:00 | Clarion Hotel, Copenhagen Airport Ellehammersvej 20, 2770 Kastrup, Denmark Room: Tyr | 1926.05 Kr. Per Day 408 Kr. Day 1 Dinner (Optional) |
| Frankfurt | October 13 and 14 Time: 9:00 -17:00 | Sheraton Offenbach Hotel Berliner Strasse 111, 63065 Offenbach, Germany Room: Isenburg | €260 Per Day €55 Day 1 Dinner (Optional) |
Syllabus
| Section | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Audio Measurement | What is sound? What’s special about audio measurement? Units of measure | Introduction to the basics acoustics, sound pressure, the speed of sound and wavelength, basic ear anatomy, and psychoacoustics. Developed from https://www.ap.com/blog/whats-special-about-audio-test/ Explanation of electrical, digital, and acoustic units, dB, etc… |
| Overview of APx based audio analyzers | Review all analyzers from APx555 to Flex as well as DIO options, switchers, and accessories | |
| Introduction to APx500 | High-level tour of the UI Signal Path Setup Sequence Mode Basics Bench Mode Basics | The standard tour of the APx500 layout, user-interface, and design philosophy Explain input and output configuration, verifying connections, and references. Basic test setup The measurement setup pane, results, limits, graph properties, and derived results Overview of the usage concep, meters, and custom sweeps |
| Fundamental Measurements | Level & Gain Distortion & Noise Frequency Response Phase Crosstalk Spectrum Analysis Sweeps vs Frequency, Level, Time | Everything you wanted to know but where afraid to ask about the most fundamental measurement in audio, RMS vs Peak and don’t forget about DC THD vs THD+N, all about noise, dynamic range, SINAD, and Q-Peak noise Frequency Response and basic introduction to sweeps Phase – Interchannel vs absolute and group delay All the ways we can look and channel leakage Introduction to the Fourier analysis Introduction to Frequency Sweeps, Level Sweeps, and the Measurement Recorder |
| Open Loop Measurements | Testing playback only devices, record only devices, record then playback devices, and file analysis | |
| Electro-Acoustics | Overview of measurement peripherals (mics, ear simulators, KEMAR, etc…) Acoustic Response, Loudspeaker Production Test, Impedance | Measurement microphone basics, ear simulators, mouth simulators, fixtures, and KEMAR Review the fundamental transducer measurements in APx500 |
| Why do we (almost) always use sine waves | Multitone & Transfer Function | https://www.ap.com/blog/why-sine-waves/ – Then explain practical uses of Multitone And Transfer Function analysis |
| Beyond THD | IMD, TD (+N), Coherence | Characterizing the non-linear performance of a device with tests beyond harmonic distortion. |
| Voice Communication Metrics | PESQ, POLQA, STI, & ABC-MRT | Making speech intelligibilty tests on communication devices with a variety of methods. |
| High Speed Measurements | Chirp, Multitone, & FastSweep | When time matters: Different techniques for the fastest possible audio test. |
| Sequence Mode Automation | Measurement Steps, Reporting | Deep dive into automating test sequences, especially the many advanced features we have hidden in SPS properties and sequence sub-steps. |
| Advanced Bench Mode | Time vs Frequency Domain Explanation, Sweeps | A more in-depth approach to bench mode, explaining the tradeoffs in frequency vs time-domain analysis, bench mode settling, transfer function for continuously updating frequency response, recorder for high-reading rate charting. a |
| Digital I/O Interfaces | Bluetooth DSIO PDM, PDM16 HDMI DIO, ADIO Jitter generation & measurement | Configuration of the Bluetooth interface especially discovery and pairing, roles/profiles, CODEC priority, optimization for production test Connecting directly to DACs/ADCs/DSPs and other chips directly. Basics of I2S, cable length limitations, and troubleshooting An explanation of Pulse Density Modulation and configuration of PDM inputs and outputs. Configuration of the HDMI, compare bitstream, and the metadata recorder SPDIF, AES3, and Toslink will never die Using AMC to measure jitter residuals and tolerance |
| Advanced Measurement Topics | Settling & Input Ranging | Poorly understood topic which is often the key to fast AND accurate measurements. |
| Hands-on Workshops | Electro-Acoustic (Speakers, Headphones, Microphones) Analog Electronics (consumer music player, power amplifier, small mixing deck) Digital Audio (Bluetooth speaker, I2S DAC, PDM mic, HDMI soundbar or TV) | Hands-on, real-word test of actual devices. |
| Additional Resources | Getting Help – Technical Support Whitepapers, technical notes, Youtube, & the blog Add-in’s, Plug-in’s, & Utilities Resources for Programmers | Tour of the many, many additional resources that are available online. |
