Listen is excited to announce its biggest ever training event on the West Coast the week of Feb 4^th– 8^th (Chinese New Year week) with 5 full days of training events.

Monday Feb 4th: Electroacoustics training with Chris Struck. This one-day course covers the fundamentals of electroacoustics and is ideal for anyone new to the industry or who wants to learn more about the electroacoustics theory behind the measurements they are making. You do not need to be a SoundCheck user to benefit from this class! Course Outline. Register.

Tuesday and Wednesday Feb 5th & 6th: Basic 2 day SoundCheck training with Steve Tatarunis. 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. Course Outline. Register

Thursday Feb 7th: Advanced SoundCheck training with Steve Temme. 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. More details to follow. Register

Friday Feb 8th:  Smart speaker testing seminar (half day plus networking lunch). By popular demand we are bringing our free smart speaker testing seminar back to the West Coast. Steve Temme will present this seminar covering many aspects of smart device testing including open loop measurement, telephony measurements and voice quality measurements. Although the demonstrations will be done with smart speakers, the techniques and methods are relevant to anyone testing voice-controlled devices including hearables, watches and other wearables, robots, smart home devices and automotive entertainment systems. FREE. Course Outline. Register.

Scroll down for full class outlines.

Location: Hilton Garden Inn, 10741 N Wolfe Rd, Cupertino, CA 95014.

Costs:
We have simplified pricing this year so that each day is the same cost and you can combine any number of days, with a discount for each additional day that you take. In addition, support contract holders and multiple attendees from the same company receive additional discounts

1 Day: $495 ($350 with valid SoundCheck support contract)

2 Days: $950 ($665 with valid SoundCheck support contract)

3 Days: $1350 ($950 with valid SoundCheck support contract)

4 Days: $1725 ($1200 with valid SoundCheck support contract)

Smart Speaker Seminar: FREE

 

Multi-person discount:

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. Multi-attendee discount is only applicable to Mon-Thurs training since the Friday Smart Speaker Seminar event is free.

 

1- Day Electroacoustics Class Outline. Instructor – Christopher Struck (CJS Labs)

Introduction

• • Transducers & Reciprocity
  • Subjective & Objective Tests
  • Loudspeaker and Microphone Test Systems

Basic Acoustics and Measuring Sound

• Sound Pressure & Sound Pressure Level
• Wavelength & Frequency
• The Decibel and Working with Decibels
• Weighting Networks
• Detectors, and Time Constants

Sound Sources and Sound Fields

• Ideal Sources, Sound Radiation, and Sound Fields
• Transmission, Reflection and Diffraction
• Elementary Room Acoustics
• Anechoic Chambers and Reverb Rooms

Psychoacoustics & Hearing

• Frequency and Dynamic Range
• Masking & Critical Bands
• Directional Effects
• Anatomy of the Ear
• Detection and Signal Processing within the Ear
• Loudness & Hearing Loss

Measurement Microphones

• Principles of Operation
• Frequency & Dynamic Range
• Microphone Types, Selection and Applications
• Field Calibration

Frequency Analysis

• Signal Types
• Filters and Filter Analysis
• Confidence Limits, and Averaging Time
• The FFT
• Time Windows, Overlap & “Real Time” Analysis

 System Analysis

• Time & Frequency Domains
• Causal Linear Time-Invariant Systems
• Analysis Methods: Dual Channel FFT, MLS, TDS
• Stimulus Signals

Simulated Free Field Measurements

• Sound Paths, Correlated and Uncorrelated Noise
• Quasi-Anechoic Test Methods
• Near Field Measurements
• Time Selective Techniques

Distortion & Non-Linearity

• Non-Linear Systems & Distortion Order
• Distortion Audibility
• Transducer Defect Detection
• Harmonic, Intermodulation & Difference Frequency Distortion Tests
• Measurements of Band-Limited Systems
• Multi-Tone Distortion
• THD + N
• Signal-to-Noise Ratio and Non-Coherent Power
• Time Variance and Linearity Measures

2-Day Basic SoundCheck Training: Class Outline. Instructor: Steve Tatarunis (Listen, Inc.)

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. Instructor Steve Temme

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. WE are finalizing content and a more detailed outline will follow shortly.

 

 

Free Seminar: Smarter Measurements for Smarter Speakers! Instructor Steve Temme (Listen, Inc.)

Learn how to test smart speakers, hearables, watches and other wearables, robots, smart home devices, automotive entertainment systems and other smart devices in our practical half-day seminar taught by industry expert Steve Temme of Listen, Inc.

Although acoustic testing of smart speakers and other voice-activated devices presents challenges such as injecting and extracting response signals, time delays, and triggering the system using voice commands, it is still possible to measure the same parameters as traditional loudspeakers, In addition we can also measure microphone array performance, speakerphone performance and more.

We demonstrate how to do this, focusing on:

• Stimulating and capturing responses from a device where you don’t have direct access to the microphone or speaker (open loop testing).
• Delays, asynchronous stimulus / acquisition, and working with the ‘cloud’
• Testing with real world signals such as speech and music, and how to analyze results from these test stimuli
• Voice Recognition – key word spotting, wake word testing, directionality, and the effect of background noise on voice recognition performance
• Telephony – testing smart speakers for hands-free calling

There is no charge for this seminar and lunch will be provided.