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via Udemy |
Go to Course: https://www.udemy.com/course/acoustics-201-loudspeaker-measurements/
The course "Acoustics 201: Loudspeaker measurements" on Coursera offers a comprehensive and practical introduction to measuring the frequency response of loudspeakers and sound systems. Designed for both hobbyists and aspiring audio engineers, this course emphasizes hands-on techniques that you can implement in your own space, even without a professional anechoic chamber. **Course Overview and Content** The core of this course is teaching you how to measure the frequency response of various audio drivers, loudspeakers, and sound systems. One of the standout features is its focus on achieving anechoic measurements within a typical living room environment. Through the use of intuitive software like Room EQ Wizard (REW) and various measuring techniques, you'll learn to accurately capture the full frequency bandwidth of your audio systems. In addition to acoustics, the course dives into electrical engineering concepts, including impedance measurement and creating impedance plots. You'll learn how to test electrical components such as capacitors, inductors, and resistors, and measure Thiele/Small parameters for unknown speaker drivers—valuable skills for DIY audio enthusiasts. A significant aspect of the course is introducing you to the process of generating FRD (frequency response data) and ZMA (impedance data) files. While it doesn't cover crossover design in detail, it clearly demonstrates how to prepare data for use in crossover design software, laying a solid foundation for future exploration into speaker crossover engineering. **Practical Equipment and Software** The course advises on necessary equipment, including a measurement microphone (e.g., miniDSP UMIK-1) and an impedance measurement device (e.g., Dayton Audio DATS v2 or V3). These cost approximately $100 each, and the instructor provides alternative options and affordable accessories to make setup accessible for learners with different budgets. For software, Room EQ Wizard (REW) is used for acoustical measurements—it's free, user-friendly, and quite comprehensive. To compensate for its missing features, the instructor has developed an Excel spreadsheet to aid in data analysis, making complex measurements more approachable. **Updates and Improvements** The course has been kept current with updates that enhance clarity and accuracy, including adding subtitles, correcting measurement errors, and updating equipment recommendations. These updates show a commitment to providing a reliable and up-to-date learning experience. **Review and Recommendation** "Acoustics 201: Loudspeaker measurements" stands out as an excellent entry point for anyone interested in understanding and improving loudspeaker performance through measurement. Its practical focus, affordability, and step-by-step guidance make it suitable for beginners, while also offering valuable insights for more experienced audio enthusiasts. While it doesn't delve deeply into crossover design, it provides essential tools and knowledge to facilitate this next step in loudspeaker development. The combination of theoretical knowledge, practical techniques, and accessible tools makes this course highly recommendable for DIY audio projects, audio engineering students, and anyone passionate about audio fidelity. **In Summary:** - **Pros:** Practical, hands-on, affordable equipment list, free software, easy-to-follow. - **Cons:** Does not teach crossover design directly. - **Recommendation:** A must-take for those interested in measuring and understanding loudspeakers in real-world environments, especially for DIY enthusiasts or audio students. Embark on this course to develop a solid foundation in loudspeaker measurement techniques and bring a scientific approach to your audio projects!
Learn how to measure frequency responseThe first thing you will learn from this course is to measure the frequency response of a certain speaker driver, loudspeaker or sound system. The difficult part is to get an anechoic response without an anechoic chamber. Using different measuring techniques and with the help of intuitive software, you will learn how to measure the full frequency bandwidth anechoically in your own living room. This will help you set up your audio system using measured data, or it can be used to design crossovers for your particular DIY loudspeaker.A little bit of electrical engineeringA sound system is a combination of both acoustical and electrical parts. You will also learn how to measure impedance and create impedance plots. Measure different electrical components like capacitors, inductors and resistors. Also, if you have an unknown speaker driver you will learn how to measure the Thiele / Small parameters without much fuss.Dip your feet into crossover designWhile this course will not teach you how to design a crossover, it will show you how to create FRD and ZMA files. These are frequency response and impedance files which are used in crossover design apps. At the end of the course I will show you how to load these files into such program, and tryout different circuits and see how adding crossover components behave. A comprehensive course about crossovers will be released in the near future.Do I need certain equipment?Yes, you will need 2 core pieces of gear:A measurement microphone (like miniDSP UMIK-1).A device for measuring impedance (like Dayton Audio DATS v2 (recently released v3 as of 2020).These are roughly 100$ each, but you will get a more comprehensive list of the equipment needed inside the course. With alternatives that you can buy, or more cheaper options. Also, some accessories that will make your life easier are included in the list.Software optionFor the different acoustical measurements we are going to use Room EQ Wizard (or REW). This is a free to use software. Usually, acoustics software are quite expensive and difficult to follow. However, REW is free and quite intuitive to use. Pretty much a complete package. It only misses one function, which I consider important. Don't worry, we're are not going to step up to those complicated application. I devised an Excel spreadsheet which handles this shortcoming. You will find the spreadsheet inside the course.Nov 2018 Update - Added English subtitles.June 2019 Update - Corrected a measurement error for the 3-way speaker and added more info to that sectionJan 2020 Update - Update the equipment list