sonic beacon

 

Sonic beacon Loudspeaker Test Software

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Application Notes

 

 

 

Measurement Microphones

Low cost measurement grade microphones are usually of the condenser type. They consist of a diaphragm and a back plate that act as a capacitor. The diaphragm vibrates in a sound field changing the capacitance of the microphone cartridge and an output signal is generated. Condenser microphones usually require an external supply in order to operate. This supply is called phantom power and is usually supplied from some sort of preamplifier. It consists of a three wire balanced circuit that incorporates two signal lines that are 180 degrees out of phase and one ground. The signal lines are amplified by a differential amplifier that rejects noise that is common to both. 

The following characteristics are important in measurement grade microphones:

  1. Low Distortion.
  2. Low Internal Noise.
  3. Flat Frequency Response,
  4. Wide Dynamic Range
  5. Stability over time and under severe environmental conditions
  6. Ability to calibrate
  7. Documentation and compliance with standards.

The following table compares seven condenser microphones

Mike

ibf-akustik

IBF-EMM8  

Nady Systems

CM100 Measurement

 

Beyerdyamic

MM1

Measurement Microphone

 

Behringer ECM8000

Audix

TR40

Josephson Engineering

C-550H measurement microphones

Earthworks Audio Products M23

Type

electret condenser, omni-directional

electret condenser, omni-directional

electret condenser, omni-directional

electret condenser, omni-directional

electret condenser, omni-directional

electret condenser, omni-directional

electret condenser, omni-directional

Phantom

Power Requirements

1.5 - 10V,

 ~ 0.5 mA

15 - 48V,

~2mA

12 – 48V

~3.4 mA

 

15 – 48V

 

9 – 52V

 

15 – 50V, ~2mA

48 V,

 ~10mA

 

Sensitivity

6mV/Pa

10mV/Pa

15 mV/Pa

1mV/Pa

14 mV/Pa

 

10 mV/Pa

 

30mV/Pa

Impedance

600O

600O

330O

600O

 

200O

50O

600 vO

 

Peak Acoustic Input

> 120 dB SPL

>120dB SPL

128dB SPL

 

128dB SPL

135dB SPL

142dB SPL

Noise S/N ratio

>58 dB

 

> 57 dB

 

77 dB

 

22dB SPL

length

315 mm

190mm)

 

133 mm

 

 

 

 

350mm

max dia

20 mm

22.22mm

19/9 mm

 

 

12.8mm

 

weight

42 g

120 g

88 g

120 g

140 g

140 g

 160 g

calibration

Yes

 

 

 

 

Yes

 

output connector

RF phono jack

 

Gold-plated XLR

3-pin XLR male

gold-plated XLR

 

3 pin XLR

XLR

On Axis response

20-20000 Hz + 2dB

20Hz-20000Hz

50-16,000 Hz ą 1.5 dB

 

15-20000 Hz

20-19000 Hz +1/-3dB

 

20-20000 Hzą2 dB

 
 
9-27000Hz 
+/-1dB
 

Response Graph

 

 

 

 

 

 

Polar Response

 

 

Picture

 

 

 

 

Cost

US$45, €29 

US$49, €31

US$60, €39

US$69, €44

US$240, €155

US$400, €259

US$500, €324

 

What We Do

Sonic beacon produces electrical and acoustical data acquisition and analysis software for the Windows operating system.

 

About Us

Sonic beacon is a Canadian organization founded in 1997. It is located in Pakenham Ontario which is near Ottawa, Canada. Ottawa is also home to the National Research Council of Canada's anechoic chamber, a key facility for acoustics testing. The chamber has been instrumental in the development of Canadian loudspeakers, hearing aids and microphone arrays.

News and Events

July 8, 2009:  Sonic beacon Version 1.1.0.6 released. Data-Logger can now save in .FRD and .ZMA file format. Data-Logger and Spectrum Analyzer can perform .FRD and .ZMA clipboard copy transactions. Signal generator can output signal complements on each sound card channel to allow bridging in many consumer audio interfaces. Module status bar shows current data type, FFT size and sample rate.

Copyright Š 2007 sonic beacon. All rights reserved.