all future in-person / real life events including trade shows, seminars, etc.
Come and see us at ALTI Expo 2022 in Las Vegas, June 5-6. We’ll be exhibiting SoundCheck 20, the latest release of our popular audio measurement software, as well as AmpConnect 621, our new multichannel hardware interface. Company founder and president, Steve Temme will present a paper on our new enhanced Perceptual Rub & Buzz algorithm, and Sales Manager Les Quindipan will introduce the new features of Soundcheck 20, as well as participate in the speaker builders workshop event.
We’ll be attending and exhibiting at the AES International Automotive Conference in Detroit, June 8-10. Stop by and visit our booth to learn more about the latest version of SoundCheck, including a host of new features designed for multichannel and communications testing, as well as the new enhanced perceptual Rub & Buzz algorithm. Listen founder and president, Steve Temme, will be presenting a paper on June 8th (paper session 1, 10.30 am) detailing this new algorithm, and will also participate in a panel discussion on Max SPL measurement in cars at 4.00pm on June 9th.
Weds May 25th, 8.30-12.30
Presenters: Steve Temme, Listen Inc.; Michael Trolle, VibrAkustik
Join us at SoundHub in Struer for a great day of presentations and discussion on the latest in audio measurement. The presentations will cover a variety of audio test topics including the end of line testing for improved efficiency and yield, measurement in real-world conditions, free-field measurements without a test chamber and more. There will also be consultation time when we are happy to answer your questions or discuss any aspect of audio test. This event is highly relevant for anyone needing to test audio products, both in R&D and production.
Schedule
8.30-9.00: Check-in, coffee & Welcome by VibrAkustik & Sound Hub Denmark (Michael Trolle and Rie Kold Pripsø)
9.00-9.30: Perceptual distortion measurements
9.30-10.00: Accurate measurement of headphones and hearing assistance devices under real world conditions
10.00-10.30: Coffee and discussion time
10.30-11.00: New features in SoundCheck version 20
11.00-11.30: Free-field speaker measurements without an anechoic chamber
11.30-12.30: Consultation time: Bring us your audio devices and your measurement challenges and we’ll discuss your measurement options and demonstrate how your devices can be measured
Note: there will be live demonstrations on all topics, and a display of hardware for a complete measurement chain including fixtures, measurement microphones and sensors, audio interfaces and turntable.
Detailed Content Information
Perceptual Distortion Measurements: Perceptual distortion measurements enable production line yield to be increased by rejecting only devices with audible Rub & Buzz defects rather than any distortion defects, and Listen’s new enhanced Perceptual Rub & Buzz (ePRB) algorithm is the first to perform even better than the human ear! Through proprietary noise reduction technology and advanced perceptual algorithms, its performance in a noisy factory environment is comparable to the performance of a trained listener under normal listening conditions. Learn more about the science behind this algorithm, see the results, and learn how to implement it in your end-of-line tests.
Accurate Headphone Measurements in Real World Conditions: In this demo-focused session, we will demonstrate how to accurately measure Headphones and Hearing Assistance Devices under real world conditions with real world signals such as speech and music. For example, we will demonstrate, in real time, how to adjust the headphone fit for a proper seal on the head and torso simulator and measure headphone ANC with real background noise with our Multi Signal Real Time Analyzer
New Features in SoundCheck: The newly released SoundCheck 20 is at the forefront of audio measurement with new features for multichannel and communications, increasing its capabilities for audio measurement of smart speakers, infotainment systems, headphones and hearables, and other voice-activated and multichannel devices. In this 30 minute session, we will demonstrate the new features and explain how they are used for testing a variety of audio products and applications.
Free-field Speaker Measurements without an anechoic chamber: Can’t afford or get time in an anechoic chamber? That’s not a problem if you have SoundCheck! In this practical session, we will demonstrate a method first developed by Listen president Steve Temme back in 1993, known as the ‘splice’ technique. This measurement technique is easy to configure and enables you to make highly accurate free-field measurements in an ordinary room, avoiding the expense of an anechoic chamber and enabling measurements in your home or office.
Registration is not available as this event has passed.
Covid times call for different ways of meeting our customers, and our solution is to go retro with the Listen Roadshow.
While we are happy to visit you in your offices (our entire sales team is fully vaccinated and masked!), we recognize that many of our customers are still not permitting external vendor visits. While we use online demos and seminars to great effect, we value face-to-face time with you, as it better enables us to truly understand your measurement needs and challenges.
We had a blast at our Fall roadshows in the San Jose area, and are planning further events on the West Coast in the Spring. Once the weather warms up, if Covid still prevents traditional visits, we’ll tour the East Coast and Midwest.
We schedule a day or half-day with you, where we will bring our truck and equipment and set up in your parking lot, or in one of your conference rooms (if allowed). We need permission to do this from the relevant people at your organization, and 3-4 parking spaces. Our vehicle is a large rental car, and we bring a pop-up table for demos. Depending on the event and weather conditions, we may also have a small (10’x10’) gazebo. We very much appreciate access to power and restrooms if available, although we can operate without it. We’ll bring giveaways, pre-packaged snacks, drinks and copious supplies of masks, hand sanitizer and wipes to disinfect the equipment after each touch.
In order to successfully plan, we need to schedule a date approximately 6-8 weeks in advance. This gives us time to plan a logical route, book flights and rentals, and promote the event. We’ll do this by contacting all whom we know in your organization, and inviting them to schedule a time to stop by. We also appreciate your help promoting the event internally.
To get on our schedule, or discuss further, please contact sales@listeninc.com or your local sales engineer.
How much space do you need? Indoors, any conference room will work. Outdoors, about 3-4 parking spaces. Our preferred spot is close to a building to facilitate power supply, but this is not critical – anywhere in your parking lot or building grounds could work. A small outdoor area with tables such as a patio or dining area also works well. The photos on this page are from one of our larger set-ups. We can be more compact if required.
How many people from Listen will attend? Likely 2 or 3
How long will you be here for? Our visit may last anything from a couple of hours to all day, depending on how many visitors we expect and what demos we are bringing.
Do you need power? If outdoors, it helps us immensely if we can run a power cord from your building, although we can run demos for a limited time period from the car battery if needed (we may need a jump start afterwards!)
Will you be noisy or disruptive? No – this isn’t a ‘party’ roadshow. There is no band, no amplified music, no entourage of trailers. Just 3 of us with a car and some audio measurement demos.
Do you need to come into our building? No. While we obviously have a preference for a comfortable conference room and are happy to meet in your building if it is permitted (we are all fully vaccinated, masked and follow Covid protocols responsibly), we can arrange for the entire event to be outdoors to minimize Covid risk. We appreciate, but do not require, bathroom access.
What are you doing about Covid Safety? Maintaining the entire event in the open air minimizes risk. Our entire visiting team is fully vaccinated and boosted. We wear masks and maintain social distance, and ask that attendees from your company do the same. We will provide hand sanitizer and disposable masks. All demo equipment will be cleaned with disinfecting wipes after each touch. Any food and drink offered is pre-packaged in single-serve portions. Please share any concerns or questions with us in order that they can be addressed.
What about crowds? This is not a crowded event. Usually people visit alone or in groups of 2-4 with other members of their team. We schedule meetings throughout the day to avoid congestion. Typically we have 20-30 visitors over the course of the day.
How will people know about the event? We will email the people we know at your organization. However, we greatly appreciate the assistance of your team leaders in sharing news about the event.
Interested in hosting us? Please contact sales@listeninc.com or your local sales engineer.
Visit us next week at our West Coast Audio Measurement Roadshow! We’re bringing our truck to various outdoor locations in the Bay area for Covid-safe product demos, previews, refreshments and giveaways (details below). If you haven’t received a personal invite yet, please let us know and we’ll send you full details!
February 25th, 2020. 8.30-17.00
Learn how to measure audio quality of both simple and complex modern audio devices, in both R&D and production environments. Get to know the basics of SoundCheck; one of the world’s most popular audio test software systems, and learn about how to build a test sequence incl. recommendations for the equipment used. Additionally, you will get familiar with specific methods and conditions applied for voice-activated audio testing for e.g. automotive among others.
Join us for an inspiring day, where the Founder and President of Listen, Inc., Steve Temme from US together with Danish representatives and people from GRAS share knowledge about do’s and don’ts.
Sound Hub Denmark has the software and recommended equipment in house to further assist you after this course.
Program Outline
8.30–9.00: Sign-in & welcome
9.00-12.00: Audio Measurement Basics: What to measure and why
12.30: Light lunch
13.15-16.00: Voice-Activated Device Testing, Automotive, smart speakers, hearables
16.00-17.00: Hands on and drinks
Space is limited so please sign up on the event page on the Sound Hub Website.
Although Listen won’t be exhibiting, president Steve Temme will be at the event and will be participating in two product development sessions detailed below.
Product Development: PD09 – Does Automotive Audio Need a Systems Approach?
Thursday, October 17, 1:30 pm — 3:00 pm (1E09)
Chair: Roger Shively, JJR Acoustics, LLC
Panelists: John Busenitz, Bose Corporation, Pietro Massini, Ask Industries S.p.A, Greg Sikora, Harman International, Steve Temme, Listen, Inc.
Some component specifications do not translate to good system performance. A good example is resonance frequency. This often does not correspond well to performance characteristics in the automotive environment. Some potential improvements would be low-frequency SPL, or a parameter combination such as Fs/Qts or EBP (Fs/Qes). The system performance goals should drive the transducer component specification. Hence, this workshop will host leading industry experts in automotive audio and test/measurement solutions to discuss pros and cons of component vs. system specifications.
Product Development: PD10 – Diagnostics for Production Vehicle Audio Systems
Thursday, October 17, 3:15 pm — 4:30 pm (1E09)
Presenters: Jonathan Gerbet, Klippel GmbH, Steven Hutt, Equity Sound Investments, Steve Temme, Listen, Inc.
Audio systems in production vehicles are known to exhibit vehicle to vehicle performance variance [1]. The root causes of variance can include loudspeaker driver manufacturing tolerance, mounting issues such as missing or misaligned gaskets, or wrong loudspeaker drivers mounted in the system. A diagnostics method to compare actual production vehicle audio systems is defined along with a method for correction and calibration of production vehicle audio systems. The diagnostics procedure may be implemented at production end-of-line, at vehicle distribution center or at a dealer service center in the field after delivery to a customer.
Listen is a gold sponsor and exhibitor at the AES International Conference on Headphone Technology in San Francisco on August 27-29.
Listen founder and president, Steve Temme, will be presenting a poster session on ‘The Challenges of Testing Smart Headphones’ in which he discusses various test methodologies for measuring smart headphones and hearables, covering such topics as active noise cancellation, assisted listening, communications, augmented reality, background noise measurements and more. He will also be running a series of demonstrations on these topics at the Listen booth through the show to enable attendees to see more in-depth testing and analysis on specific areas of testing.
On display at the the booth will be a complete set-up for testing smart headphones and hearables, featuring Listen’s flagship SoundCheck software, along with an AudioConnect audio interface, SoundConnect 2 microphone power supply and a Kemar head and Torso simulator.
Listen is a gold sponsor and exhibitor at the AES International Conference on Automotive Audio in Munich, Germany on September 11-13.
Listen founder and president, Steve Temme, will be presenting a tutorial on ‘Testing Voice-Controlled and Smartphone Integrated Infotainment Systems’ at 2pm on Sept 11th. In this tutorial he will discuss the challenges of implementing audio tests in cars when the signal path is often via a smartphone and/or the car’s own voice-controlled system, and demonstrate how modern test systems can use techniques such as frequency shift and resampling to enable accurate measurement of car audio characteristics ranging from simple frequency and distortion measurements to voice control and communications in the presence of background noise.
On display at the the booth will be various options for testing automotive audio including the SoundCheck test system, Listen’s own audio test hardware, and 3rd party hardware such as 6 microphone arrays and head and torso simulators. On the booth, Listen will also be demonstrating how SoundCheck fully integrates with, and controls, the Mentor A2B interface to enabled rapid automated testing of systems and components that use the A2B bus.
We will be participating in China’s leading electroacoustics event, ISEAT on November 9-10 with our exclusive China distributor, S&V Samford.
Steve Temme will be presenting a paper on ‘The Challenges of Testing Voice Controlled Audio Systems’. In this paper, he highlights the common factors in testing smart speakers, hearables, and automotive infotainment systems, such as open loop testing, measuring speech recognition, and testing in the presence of background noise, and explains how to correctly measure such devices.
On display will be our SoundCheck audio test system and associated hardware for testing a range of audio devices including smart speakers, headphones & smart hearables, automotive audio, microspeakers, microphones, smartphones, tablets and more.
Paper Abstract:
Smart devices that are voice-controlled such as smart speakers, hearables vehicle infotainment systems are notoriously complex to test. They have numerous connections from wired to wireless and contain much signal processing, both on the record and on the playback side. This means that their characteristics change according to ‘real world’ conditions of the environment that they are used in, such as background noise, playback levels, and room acoustics. Furthermore, their multifunctional nature means that there are many aspects of the device that may need to be tested, ranging from voice recognition to music playback and operation as a hands-free telephone, and in the case of hearables, hearing assistance. Due to their complex non-linear use cases, these devices often need to be tested at different levels and different environmental conditions. This paper focuses on tools and techniques to accurately measure the audio performance of such devices under the many various real-world conditions they are used in.
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