News & Events
Please use the filters in the right sidebar to narrow content by type of news.
AES Convention– New York – October 16-19, 2019
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.
Autosave Tutorial
This series of 6 training videos explains how to autosave data from SoundCheck in a variety of formats. The first video covers the basics, and the subsequent ones discuss the various autosave formats in more details.
Autosave 1: The Basics
Autosave 2: Autosave to Database
Autosave 3: Autosave to Excel
Autosave 4: Autosave to Matlab
Autosave 5: Autosave to Text
Autosave 6: Autosave to Wave
New Sales Director: Joe Kushi
Joe Kushi has joined Listen as Sales Director. Joe is an experienced international sales manager with over 25 years’ experience in both domestic and international sales and sales management. He also holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in business, languages and international business. In prior positions, he has sold a variety of hi-tech products including data acquisition and imaging systems, audio and video QA equipment, telecoms and security infrastructure equipment. He speaks 5 languages (with varying degrees of fluency), has lived in Paris and Brussels, and has opened offices and managed reps around the world. Outside of work, Joe enjoys traveling, listening to music, and playing drums.
AES International Conference on Headphone Technology – San Francisco – August 27-29, 2019
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.
AES International Conference on Automotive Audio – Munich – September 11-13, 2019
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.
ISEAT- Shenzhen, China – Nov 9-10, 2019
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.
Chicago SoundCheck Training Oct 2019
SoundCheck training returns to Chicago in October 2019. Please join us!
Basic 2 day SoundCheck training
Thursday Oct 10th & Fri Oct 11th, 8.30am – 5.30pm
This two-day class is designed to accelerate the learning curve for novice and basic level SoundCheck users. A combination of teaching, demos and hands-on exercises begin with the basics of system setup and calibration, using virtual instruments, and creating and modifying basic test sequences. On the second day, the sequence writing progresses to more complex techniques such as sequence loops, statistics and advanced post-processing.
Instructor: Mark Latshaw, Listen, Inc
Cost: $950 ($665 with valid SoundCheck support contract)
Location: Doubletree Arlington Heights, 75 W Algonquin Rd, Arlington Heights, IL 60005
Course Outline
Register
Scroll down for full class outlines.
Multi-person discounts:
2-3 people from one company: 10% discount;
4 people will receive a 15% discount
5+ will receive a 25% discount.
Note: to qualify for the discount, all attendees must register together, but do not need to attend the same days.
2-Day Basic SoundCheck Training: Class Outline.
In this class, we start with the basics – how to set up your system, calibrate your hardware and use the virtual instruments. We then focus on how to develop and modify test sequences, starting with stimulus, analysis and display options, and progressing to more advanced functionality such as sequence loops and jumps, statistics, and advanced post-processing. The class is a combination of classroom-style teaching and hands on practical sessions, so that when you leave the class you will be ready to go in practice as well as in theory.
This hands-on class covers all the major features of SoundCheck, including writing sequences, test signals, analysis, distortion measurements and more. The class is a combination of presentations interspersed with hands-on exercises to ensure that you are comfortable with all the concepts and methods taught before you leave the classroom. Although no previous SoundCheck experience is assumed, the course still offers plenty to users familiar with writing basic sequences. Content includes:
- Overview of SoundCheck software
- Software Options
- Hardware
- Configuring audio interfaces and external equipment
- Listen Certified Sound Cards
- Calibration
- Calibration of different DUT types (telephones, speakers, etc.)
- Virtual instruments
- Spectrum Analyzer, RTA, Multi-meter, Signal Generator, Oscilloscope
- Virtual Instruments – hands-on
- Online forum, bug and wish lists
- SoundCheck Steps & Sequences
- Philosophy & Architecture
- Creating and editing SoundCheck Test Sequences and Steps
- Using the Sequence Wizard
- Stimulus & Acquisition Step details
- Basic analysis
- Display
- Data Management Hands-on
- Limits
- Sequence Development – hands-on
- Printing
- Serial numbers
- Autosave and recall
- Messages – user prompts, calling external devices
- Post-processing
- Sequence Development (part 2) – hands-on
- Statistics
- Sequence loops and jumps
- Advanced sequence development
Note: This is intended as a 2-day class, but each day may be taken separately if wanted. The first day will focus more on setup, calibration, virtual instruments and some beginning sequence writing. The second day will focus on sequence writing in much more detail.
California SoundCheck Training Oct 2019
SoundCheck training (with advanced training) returns to the West Coast in October 2019. Please join us!
Basic 2 day SoundCheck training
Monday Oct 7th & Tues Oct 8th, 8.30am – 5.30pm
This two-day class is designed to accelerate the learning curve for novice and basic level SoundCheck users. A combination of teaching, demos and hands-on exercises begin with the basics of system setup and calibration, using virtual instruments, and creating and modifying basic test sequences. On the second day, the sequence writing progresses to more complex techniques such as sequence loops, statistics and advanced post-processing.
Instructor: Mark Latshaw, Listen, Inc
Cost: $950 ($665 with valid SoundCheck support contract)
Location: Hilton Garden Inn, 10741 N Wolfe Rd, Cupertino, CA 95014
Course Outline
Register
Advanced SoundCheck training
Wednesday Oct, 9th, 8.30am – 5.30pm
This is designed for users who have already attended the basic class or who need to make more complex measurements and want to take their SoundCheck use to the next level. This course will include topics such as simulated free field measurements, open loop testing of smart devices, advanced distortion measurements, selecting an appropriate test stimulus (including speech, music and compound stimuli), advanced sequence development including conditional branching and looping, advanced post-processing algorithms and more.
Instructor: Mark Latshaw & Steve Temme, Listen, Inc
Cost: $495 ($350 with valid SoundCheck support contract)
Location: Hilton Garden Inn, 10741 N Wolfe Rd, Cupertino, CA 95014
Course Outline
Register
Scroll down for full class outlines.
Multi-person discounts:
2-3 people from one company: 10% discount;
4 people will receive a 15% discount
5+ will receive a 25% discount.
Note: to qualify for the discount, all attendees must register together, but do not need to attend the same days.
2-Day Basic SoundCheck Training: Class Outline.
In this class, we start with the basics – how to set up your system, calibrate your hardware and use the virtual instruments. We then focus on how to develop and modify test sequences, starting with stimulus, analysis and display options, and progressing to more advanced functionality such as sequence loops and jumps, statistics, and advanced post-processing. The class is a combination of classroom-style teaching and hands on practical sessions, so that when you leave the class you will be ready to go in practice as well as in theory.
This hands-on class covers all the major features of SoundCheck, including writing sequences, test signals, analysis, distortion measurements and more. The class is a combination of presentations interspersed with hands-on exercises to ensure that you are comfortable with all the concepts and methods taught before you leave the classroom. Although no previous SoundCheck experience is assumed, the course still offers plenty to users familiar with writing basic sequences. Content includes:
- Overview of SoundCheck software
- Software Options
- Hardware
- Configuring audio interfaces and external equipment
- Listen Certified Sound Cards
- Calibration
- Calibration of different DUT types (telephones, speakers, etc.)
- Virtual instruments
- Spectrum Analyzer, RTA, Multi-meter, Signal Generator, Oscilloscope
- Virtual Instruments – hands-on
- Online forum, bug and wish lists
- SoundCheck Steps & Sequences
- Philosophy & Architecture
- Creating and editing SoundCheck Test Sequences and Steps
- Using the Sequence Wizard
- Stimulus & Acquisition Step details
- Basic analysis
- Display
- Data Management Hands-on
- Limits
- Sequence Development – hands-on
- Printing
- Serial numbers
- Autosave and recall
- Messages – user prompts, calling external devices
- Post-processing
- Sequence Development (part 2) – hands-on
- Statistics
- Sequence loops and jumps
- Advanced sequence development
Note: This is intended as a 2-day class, but each day may be taken separately if wanted. The first day will focus more on setup, calibration, virtual instruments and some beginning sequence writing. The second day will focus on sequence writing in much more detail.
1-Day Advanced SoundCheck Training: Class Outline.
This is designed for users who have already attended the basic class or who need to make more complex measurements and want to take their SoundCheck use to the next level. This course will include topics such as simulated free field measurements, open loop testing of smart devices, advanced distortion measurements, selecting an appropriate test stimulus (including speech, music and compound stimuli), advanced sequence development including conditional branching and looping, advanced post-processing algorithms and more. Content includes:
- Stimulus and analysis – choosing the right combination
- Open loop and Bluetooth testing methods in detail
- Advanced distortion measurements
- Advanced sequence development and post-processing
- Simulated free field measurements and SoundMap
- System and custom steps
- External control including Python integration
