REQ Wizard connections

  • Thread starter Thread starter RobbieD
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RobbieD

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Hey can someone tell me if i can use a sure beta 58 A mic to use in the room? and also, in my motu 8 pre im not sure wat the REQ is asking me to do, connect the speaker out to an input chaneelll? im really confused lol, and on the soundcard settings where it asks for the device, i want it to ask for motu, but only on the output device is gives me motu, on the input device side it just gives me default, will it use motu if i pick default for both sides? plz help
 
Let's back up the bus a bit... :)

1.) Is this the the Room EQ software you are taking about that let's you check the sound reproduction quality of your room?

You would want be able to send the signal out of the speakers, into the room, capture it by the mic and bring it back into the DAW to be analyzed. What "speaker out" is it talking about? The speaker out is what comes out of the front of the speakers.......???




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sorry i mean the sound card output, so basically i can put a mic on the first channel and thats it right? cuz the way im reading it, it sounds like i hvae to connect the output of the soundcard to the input of channel 1????
 
REQ/DAW--->Motu--->Speakers

Mic--->Motu--->REQ/DAW


You are sending a signal from the REQ out of the DAW through the speakers. That gets captured by the mic, back into the DAW, and analyzed by the REQ. You need to just make sure that the signal is patched correctly.

Just look at the signal chain, it's basically a "loop"...though of course, it's two different channels...signal goes out, is played through the speakers, gets picked up by the mic, and is recorded back into the DAW and read by REQ.

Make sure you have the mic placement correct, as per instructions. The 58 is not the best mic choice...but go with the best/most accurate/trasnsparent microphone you have, as the mic will add its own "color" to the signal.
 
Back to the start -- Room measurement requires a very (VERY) specific type of mic. No cardioids (certainly no hypercardioids), etc. You need some sort of measurement mic.

I could go on and on for hours on how much I hate Behringer -- But theirs isn't bad. And it's so cheap (around $50 if I recall) that it's probably illegal. It's an omnidirectional electret condenser (as basically every measurement mic is) and its actually somewhat worthy of the task.

I would suggest NOT going with the 58 -- Or anything else for that matter -- other than some sort of reference measurement mic. It's non-negotiable.

There are times in the audio world where you can get away with using a hammer to drive in a screw - this isn't one of them.
 
Massive Master said:
I would suggest NOT going with the 58 -- Or anything else for that matter -- other than some sort of reference measurement mic. It's non-negotiable.
Click to expand...

Yes...very true, though I wonder how many folks that ever used the software had or got a true reference measurement mic? :D

I'm not downplaying the need to use one...just saying that most probably don't.
Of course, you then have to consider what "color" the non-reference-grade mic is adding to your measurements and how accurate then is the measurment...?
Like....do you get ANY benefit at all using a high-end, but not a "reference grade" mic to take some measurements...?

I used the REQ once awhile back...and can't for the life of me remember which of my mics I used....though it was probably one that had the flattest response.

Since you're pluging the Behringer... ;) ....I may drop the $50 and get it. :)
 
so should i just get The Galaxy CM-140 meter like the req wizard suggests?
 
hey guys i dunt think REQ wokrs with my motu because its connected via fire wire, i just read this "Unfortunately Apple's Java runtime has a bug that prevents Java applications accessing the inputs of firewire-connected soundcards. They show no signs of planning to fix it, a fix may come when Oracle start providing a Java runtime for OS X." maybe thats why its not reading my motu, cuz i go to calibrate it and i do it with the shure, just to see if it works (not gonna use that mic) and it doesnt wrk, does this mean i have to get a new sound card?
 
miroslav said:
Yes...very true, though I wonder how many folks that ever used the software had or got a true reference measurement mic? :D
Click to expand...
If they're not, then what they're doing is basically useless.

I'm not downplaying the need to use one...just saying that most probably don't.
Click to expand...
I would hope that it's inherently understood that a measurement mic is a necessity. It's certainly in the instructions somewhere...

Of course, you then have to consider what "color" the non-reference-grade mic is adding to your measurements and how accurate then is the measurment...?
Like....do you get ANY benefit at all using a high-end, but not a "reference grade" mic to take some measurements...?
Click to expand...

Not really, no. Well, let me clarify -- If you're using an Earthworks M30, Avenson STO2, some sort of omnidirectional electret condenser with a freakishly small capsule and freakishly fast response that might not be marketed as a measurement mic, it could theoretically be used as such (with the proper calibration file, of course). At the very least, it would hopefully be flat (or at least consistent) enough, fast enough, have zero proximity effect and zero off-axis rejection, etc.

I used the REQ once awhile back...and can't for the life of me remember which of my mics I used....though it was probably one that had the flattest response.

Since you're pluging the Behringer... ;) ....I may drop the $50 and get it. :)
Click to expand...
Get two. I can't even imagine not having a pair of omni condensers for recording...

It's not the raw quality of the mic here -- It's simply what the mic is designed for. You can't (CAN'T - as in "It's not possible, period") measure room response with a cardioid element. You can't do it with a $9000 Sony 800 either -- The "high-endness" of the mic isn't the problem. The highest-quality table saw would be terrible tool for hammering a screw into a board.

You DO have to consider what coloration your mic is adding -- with reference mics. There are calibration files to use with different reference mics (even for the Behringer). But you still need a reference mic. There are cheap-n-effective reference mics out there all over the place. Many are "no-name" (the kind you get with JBL subs and what not) that will work fine. Even without a calibration file for the most part.

You need a SPL meter to do any of this anyway -- Usually the mic built-in to those meters are flat enough (assuming it has an output).
 
Massive Master said:
Get two. I can't even imagine not having a pair of omni condensers for recording...
Click to expand...

I have a few...I just don't have a specifc "reference/test" mic.

Massive Master said:
You need a SPL meter to do any of this anyway -- Usually the mic built-in to those meters are flat enough (assuming it has an output).
Click to expand...

Ahhhh...DUH!!!
Now that you said that, now I remember what I used....my trusty Radio Shack SPL meter, which has an output!
It was awhile back...and my mind is going..... :D
 
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