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Practical Impedance Measurement

Author: Steve Temme
Loudspeaker impedance measurements are made for many reasons. In the R&D lab, these range from the simple task of identifying a speaker’s resonant frequency to more complex functions such as calculating the speaker’s Thiele-Small parameters. On the production line, impedance measurement is a key quality control parameter that verifies that the speaker’s motor properties are correct, that the magnet is charged correctly, the voice coil number of turns is correct and that the moving mass (cone and voice coil) is within specification.
There are two basic methods of making impedance measurements on loudspeakers, micro-speakers and headphones using sound card and software based systems. These are basic single channel measurements, and more complex, but more accurate, dual channel methods. Both methods are implemented in SoundCheck, and with some additional hardware these tests are simple to carry out.

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Automated Perceptual Rub & Buzz Distortion Measurement

Author: Steve Temme.  Reprinted from the September 2011 issue of Voice Coil.

In this article, Steve Temme discusses Listen’s latest work on perceptual Rub & Buzz measurement.
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Are You Shipping Defective Loudspeakers to your Customers?

Author: Steve Temme

Loudspeaker distortion is undesirable. The type and level of distortion, however, can greatly influence the perceived annoyance. In addition, identifying the type of distortion can also help pinpoint the mechanism or mechanisms in the loudspeaker that are causing the distortion. “Rub & Buzz” is a good example of a particularly annoying type of distortion that is very difficult to measure. Pinpointing the cause of the problem from the measurement is an even more difficult task. Understanding why this type of distortion is so annoying and how to measure it is critical in being able to properly test loudspeakers on the production line.
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Evaluation of Loudspeaker Performance at Low Frequencies

Authors: Steve Temme and Christopher J Struck

Evaluation of loudspeaker performance at low frequencies is complicated by long wavelengths, room interaction and cabinet/baffle diffraction. Since low frequency measurements have traditionally required large, impractical testing environments, different techniques have been developed in an attempt to overcome this requirement. Anechoic chambers, outdoor measurements, half-space measurements, ground plane measurements, cepstral liftering, parametric modelling and near field techniques are compared with respect to accuracy, speed, bandwidth and practical implementation.
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Time Selective Measurements with a Logarithmically Swept Sine

Author: Martin Rung

A time selective measurement of a frequency response is (directly or indirectly) based on a measurement of the impulse response, where a well-defined time window is applied to the impulse response. The frequency response is simply the Fourier transform of the impulse response. Time selective measurements are often used in electroacoustics to make simulated free-field measurements of transducers. This is to isolate the directly transmitted, “freefield” sound from reflections due to the surroundings. By using a time window applied to the impulse response, it is
possible to obtain results similar to those obtained in a non-echoic environment.
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