Events
Upcoming Events
Smart Device Testing Seminar
June 6th, 9am & 2pm Eastern time; June 7th, 10am China time
Testing smart devices such as smart speakers, hearables, watches and more involves a combination of tests from many different application areas. Ranging from simple transducer tests to open loop tests, Bluetooth measurements, voice activation tests, telecoms standards, hearing aid measurements and more – the list is endless. In this demo-focused seminar, we demonstrate how SoundCheck makes all the measurements you need throughout the entire smart device design process from component selection to pre-qualification testing.
Presenters: Steve Temme, Mark Latshaw, Steve Tatarunis
Duration: 1 Hour
Enhanced Loose Particle Algorithm Launch Event
May 25, 2023. 9:00am and 2:00pm EST (6:00am and 11:00am West Coast)
June 1, 2023. 10:00am China time
Join us for a launch seminar for Listen’s latest algorithm, enhanced Loose Particles (eLP). This new algorithm significantly improves production line transient distortion measurement. It offers high accuracy, easy correlation to human perception, and identifies transient distortion artifacts separately from harmonic distortion for easy troubleshooting. It’s also ideal for identifying rattling buttons in audio devices, and automotive Buzz, Squeak and Rattle (BSR) measurements. This new algorithm is based on original research, and uses techniques not previously used for distortion measurement. Join us in this short online seminar for a demonstration by Steve Temme, and a detailed explanation of how this algorithm works.
We’re running three sessions of this event for the convenience of our customers around the world. Please register using the buttons below.
SoundCheck Online Basic Training, May 2023
Registration is now open for our Online SoundCheck Basic Training class from May 9th-18th.
The course will again consist of 6 x 2-hour sessions over a 2 week time period, and will cover all the same content as our standard in-person basic training course. Each session is led by a live trainer and will include instruction, demos, quizzes, breakout sessions and discussion. Hands-on exercises will be provided to be completed between sessions and reviewed in subsequent classes.
We are restricting attendance to 30 attendees to better facilitate breakout sessions, so sign up early to secure your spot. Registration closes on May 1st, and a 10% early booking discount will apply to all registrations received by April 17th.
Dates: May 9th, 10th, 11th, 16th, 17th, 18th
Time: 6 x 2hr sessions from 11.00am-1.00pm Eastern US Time (8.00am-10.00am Western US Time)
Attendees must attend all 6 sessions to complete the course.
Cost: $295 ($195 for support contract holders). Additional discounts for multiple people from the same company signing up together (2-3 people: 10%; 4 people: 15%; 5+ people: 25%). Additional 5% early bird discount when signing up prior to April 17th.
Instructors: Mark Latshaw and Pranav Swaroop
Course Outline
Session 1: Hardware & Calibration – Configuring audio interfaces and external equipment; certified audio interfaces; Calibration of different DUT types (telephones, speakers, etc.)
Session 2: Memory list, Data management, Virtual Instruments (Spectrum Analyzer, RTA, Multi-meter, Signal Generator, Oscilloscope), Sequence Editor Basics
Session 3: Sequence Writing Part 1 – Introduction to the sequence editor; stimulus; acquisition; basic analysis
Session 4: Sequence Writing Part 2 – Limits; Displays; Autosave; Recall; Printing
Session 5: Sequence Writing Part 3 – Messages & sequence logic; Post Processing; Statistics
Session 6: Sequence Writing Part 4 – Sequence Writing Examples
Group discounts are available for multiple attendees from the same company:
2-3 attendees: 10% discount
4 attendees: 15% discount
5+ attendees: 25% discount
Early bird discount: 10% until April 17th.
Note about late signups: As training starts imminently, we do not have time to ship demo keys. This means that in order to participate fully, you must have a relatively up-to-date (version 20 or 21) hardware key available to use. If you do not, you can still follow along with the training in demo mode, but you will be unable to complete some of the hands-on exercises.
Past Events
New Transient Distortion Measurement Algorithm
At Listen, we’re at the forefront of audio measurement research, and we’re always looking to improve on existing audio measurement techniques, even our own! Loose Particle detection has been a valuable production metric for analyzing transient distortion since we launched it in 2004. This new iteration uses our own original research to improve accuracy and reliability, show a clear correlation to audibility, and simplify limit setting. In addition to production line testing of speakers, headphones, drivers and other devices, it is also valuable for automotive Buzz, Squeak and rattle (BSR) measurements and measuring rattling components such as keys and buttons on a variety of devices. All is explained in the short video below.
Transient Distortion Detection Launch Video
Watch our launch video (broadcast date 05/25/2023) for the full details.
Ready to Measure your Transient Distortion?
If you have SoundCheck 21, you already have this new algorithm! Download our free complete end of line test sequence with enhanced Loose Particles to start using it right away.
If you don’t have SoundCheck 21, but have an older version, you can send us your recorded waveforms and we’ll analyze them for you and send you the results. Please contact sales@listeninc.com for a test sequence to record the waveforms.
No SoundCheck system at all? No problem! You can send us your speakers and we’ll test them for you. Or we may be able to arrange a system loan. Contact your sales engineer at sales@listeninc.com for more information.
Prefer to Read About It?
We know not everyone has 15 mins free to watch a video, although its hard to beat the benefits of a proper demonstration. So here’s a brief summary of the information about this new algorithm that is presented in the video:
What it does
The new algorithm measures transient distortion caused by loose particles that may become trapped in a device during manufacture and create an unpleasant sound when they vibrate in the finished product. This is measured in the time domain rather than the frequency domain as these artifacts appear randomly over time, and not periodically in the same way that harmonic distortion artifacts are presented. This algorithm has a couple of unique features:
1) It measures transient distortion separately from harmonic distortion which gives deeper insight into the failure mode and accelerates troubleshooting, particularly on the production line.
2) It’s easy to correlate with audibility as the algorithm removes the stimulus waveform to allow the user to listen to just the distortion artifacts. As well as enabling the user to truly understand how measured results correlate to listening, this also facilitates limit setting.
3) It’s reliable even in the presence of transient background noise since it relies on a cumulative event count rather than a single event triggering a fail. Limit setting is simple as it is not frequency dependent
Applications
- Production line driver test
- Production line finished product test (rattling buttons, keys, grills, and other components)
- Buzz, Squeak and Rattle (BSR) / Impulsive distortion measurements in cars
How it works
Like Listen’s original 2004 transient distortion detection algorithm, enhanced Loose Particles relies on a time domain analysis of the waveform. However, rather than simply filtering and counting transients, it removed the stimulus, performs a time domain analysis of the remaining transients, then applies a unique Prominence calculation to evaluate each transient in the context of the surrounding waveform. A threshold is applied, and the number of transient events above that threshold are counted. The event count indicates whether a device has a transient distortion problem. Transient events caused by speaker manufacturing issues tend to repeat many times as particles bounce around in side the speaker, or components vibrate. In contrast, background noise events occur infrequently during the duration of the measurement. The threshold is set based on audibility, and the Loose Particle count limit can be set according to the environment to fine-tune the algorithm for the specific operating conditions.
4 Stages of the enhanced Loose Particles algorithm for transient distortion measurement: Response waveform, Loose Particle waveform, Prominence and enhanced Loose Particles.
For additional background, comparison to other methods, such as Crest Factor Analysis, and live demonstrations, please check out the video above.
SoundCheck Basic & Advanced Training, Feb/Mar 2023 – Denmark
We’re excited to be back training in-person later this month in Copenhagen – a great location easily accessible from much of Europe.
We’re offering both our 2 day basic training and our 1 day advanced training consecutively. Attend either, or if you want to seriously power up your SoundCheck knowledge, come to both for 3 action-packed days!
Dates: Basic Training Feb 27th-28th. Advanced Training Mar 1st
Location : IDA Copenhagen, Kalvebod Brygge 31-33, 1780 København V (just 15 minutes from the airport).
Presenters: Mark Latshaw and Steve Temme
This training is being held in partnership with our Scandinavia distributor, Vibrakustik. You can find full information about the training including course outlines and cost here: SoundCheck Training 2023.
If you would like to register for the training, or have any questions please contact Vibrakustik directly.
Communications Testing Seminar
Dec 14th, 9am & 2pm Eastern time; Dec 15th, 10am China time
Communications tests are not just for telephones! Join us for a demo-packed seminar with communications industry expert, John Bareham as we show how to evaluate devices such as smart speakers, headphones and wearables as well as all types of phones using industry standard procedures. We’ll talk about equipment, standards, and demonstrate sections of the TIA920B and TIA5050 standards, as well as Doubletalk measurements and POLQA analysis, all within SoundCheck.
Presenters: Steve Temme, John Bareham, Les Quindipan
Duration: 1 Hour
通信测试研讨会 / Communications Testing Seminar
中国时间12月15日上午10点 / Dec 15th, 10am China time
通信测试不仅适用于电话！ 与我们一起参加由通信行业专家 John Bareham 主持的演示研讨会吧，我们将展示如何使用行业标准程序评估智能扬声器、耳机、可穿戴设备以及所有类型的电话等设备。 我们将讨论设备、标准，并演示 TIA920B 和 TIA5050 标准的部分，以及 Doubletalk 测量和 POLQA 分析，所有这些都能在 SoundCheck 中找到。
主持人：Steve Temme、John Bareham、Les Quindipan
Communications tests are not just for telephones! Join us for a demo-packed seminar with communications industry expert, John Bareham as we show how to evaluate devices such as smart speakers, headphones and wearables as well as all types of phones using industry standard procedures. We’ll talk about equipment, standards, and demonstrate sections of the TIA920B and TIA5050 standards, as well as Doubletalk measurements and POLQA analysis, all within SoundCheck.
Presenters: Steve Temme, John Bareham, Les Quindipan
Duration: 1 Hour
External Control of SoundCheck Seminar
Oct 18th 9am & 2pm Eastern time; November 2nd, 10am China time
SoundCheck has led the way in production line audio measurement for over 25 years with its sophisticated suite of audio measurement algorithms that offer precise measurement, fast throughput, excellent noise immunity, and world-class reliability. However, many audio manufacturing factories are moving towards large, highly customized, integrated test configurations to evaluate products, not only for audio integrity, but often video, visual and other performance defects. This seminar explains how to bring the advantages of SoundCheck into your automated test environment using any programming language compatible with TCP/IP including C, C+, Python, LabVIEW and more.
We will run through several demonstrations of SoundCheck integration including:
- Enabling TCP-IP in SoundCheck, and an overview of commands
- Using external control to open up and run a SoundCheck sequence using a python script, and returning data for use in any application
- Changing test parameters via external control, so that test procedures can be simplified by adapting test conditions on the fly for different products
- Loading, playing and controlling volume of a test signal on a DUT using a custom step in a SoundCheck sequence.
- Using external control to automatically equalize wave files loaded into SoundCheck via TCP/IP
- Using MATLAB with SoundCheck.
Presenters: Mark Latshaw, Pranav Swaroop
These events are now over, but you can watch the recording here.
AES 2022, New York, October 19-20, 2022
At AES New York, Steve Temme will participate in presentations and discussions on ‘In-car audio measurement’ (with Jayant Datta) and ‘Moving beyond traditional measurements’ (with Jayant Datta and Jonathan Gerbet). Exact schedule and timings are yet to be announced.
ISEAT 2022,October 29-30 2022, Shenzhen, China.
Listen President, Steve Temme, will be presenting a paper entitled ‘Enhanced perceptual rub & buzz measurement for loudspeaker production test’. Due to Covid-19 regulations, this paper will be presented by video.
SoundCheck Online Basic Training, October 2022
Registration is now open for our Online SoundCheck Basic Training class from October 4th-13th.
The course will again consist of 6 x 2-hour sessions over a 2 week time period, and will cover all the same content as our standard in-person basic training course. Each session is led by a live trainer and will include instruction, demos, quizzes, breakout sessions and discussion. Hands-on exercises will be provided to be completed between sessions and reviewed in subsequent classes
We are restricting attendance to 30 attendees to better facilitate breakout sessions, so sign up early to secure your spot. Registration closes on September 26th, and a 10% early booking discount will apply to all registrations received by September 15th.
Dates: October 4th, 5th, 6th, 11th, 12th 13th.
Time: 6 x 2hr sessions from 11.00am-1.00pm Eastern US Time (8.00am-10.00am Western US Time)
Attendees must attend all 6 sessions to complete the course.
Cost: $295 ($195 for support contract holders). Additional discounts for multiple people from the same company signing up together (2-3 people: 10%; 4 people: 15%; 5+ people: 25%). Additional 5% early bird discount when signing up prior to September 15th.
Instructors: Mark Latshaw and Pranav Swaroop
Course Outline
Session 1: Hardware & Calibration – configuring audio interfaces and external equipment; certified audio interfaces; Calibration of different DUT types (telephones, speakers, etc.)
Session 2: Memory list, Data management, Virtual Instruments (Spectrum Analyzer, RTA, Multi-meter, Signal Generator, Oscilloscope), Sequence Editor Basics
Session 3: Sequence Writing Part 1 – introduction to the sequence wizard; stimulus; acquisition; basic analysis; limits
Session 4: Sequence Writing Part 2 – Displays; Autosave; Recall; Printing
Session 5: Sequence Writing Part 3 – Messages & sequence logic; external control; sequence & step parameters
Session 6: Advanced Sequence Development – Post Processing; Statistics
Group discounts are available for multiple attendees from the same company:
2-3 attendees: 10% discount
4 attendees: 15% discount
5+ attendees: 25% discount
Early bird discount: 10% until Sept 15.
We are also running Advanced Training, November 15-17th. Learn more.
