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Amir Buys a New Audio Precision Analyzer (APx555)!!!

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amirm

amirm

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@amirm , can your AP tool be used to measure cables (without adding another box)? My point is this: Samsung made a design choice recently to send all TV signals via optical fibres:
I can test optical cables but they need to be Toslink. This one is proprietary with its own custom connections so no, I can't test the Samsung cable.

Even if I could, the endpoints matter and not testing that would not be conclusive.

If it were a Toslink cable, the APx555 can do really neat analysis on it like demodulating it and then performing traditional audio measurements on it !


So if this were a Toslink cable, we could all kinds of interesting things with it.
 

RayDunzl

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I wonder if the Samsung Cable mentioned above can really be routed with such low radius bends as illustrated...

1529292851236.png


https://www.samsung.com/us/televisi...sories/televisions/vg-socm15-za-vg-socm15-za/
 
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From the picture, it doesn't seem possible. Seems like a flat cable of sorts which obviously won't bend 90 degrees.

There is fiber though that has essentially zero bend radius requirement. I ran it in my house. It is called Cleerline. It is remarkable. You can actually tie it in the nut and it causes almost no attenuation! Jump to 3:00 time to see it:


It is also dead easy to terminate. It is too good to be true but it works and saved my bacon in my nearly quarter a mile run in our property!
 

Sal1950

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is also dead easy to terminate. It is too good to be true but it works and saved my bacon in my nearly quarter a mile run in our property!
What are you transferring over it?
 
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What are you transferring over it?
It is the extension of my home network to my woodshop and remote garden. Our property is narrow but very long so it was past the reach of Ethernet. It used for general networking and feed from security cameras. It is fed into conduit that is underground.
 

SIY

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I managed to acquire a new toy as well, though it's on long-term loan rather than owned. Sigh. Not quite as nice as the 555, but the I/O capability is amazing. As well, I've got POLQA and ABC-MRT options running.

The AP crew is great. Amazingly helpful and generous.
 

Dana reed

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Would be interesting to see some comparisons on this audio analyzer:
https://quantasylum.com/collections/frontpage/products/qa401-audio-analyzer
It looks like it has good enough performance to measure most of the DACs/Amps in this forum, and is only $450. Looks like it has only SE I/O, but for $450, it's cheaper than most of the "audiophile" DACs people buy. Everyone could test and compare each new piece of gear they buy, and it could all be put in a DB on this site for review
 
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Dana reed

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One of our members has had one for a while (BE718). He has moved on from it. I think he was unhappy with noise modulation of it (noise floor rises as signal gets stronger, hiding detail).
What's the next step up from this that doesn't cost multi-thousands of $ ? I suppose technically, with the right software, one could use the RME-ADI2 pro or any other ADC and measure anything having significantly worse noise and distortion. You just wouldn't get the automation features of the dedicated hardware/software.
I also like the idea of the ABX distortion tester to see who can actually reliably hear various kinds of distortion, and on what kind of transducer
https://quantasylum.com/blogs/news/abx-testing-and-distortion
 
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What's the next step up from this that doesn't cost multi-thousands of $ ?
I wish I knew. :) The cheapest "professional/trusted" entry is Prism Sound dSound at $5000+.

The question is, why would one want to own one. It is a lot of money to spend just to measure one or two thing and have it not be trusted after all that.

Even I struggled with that thinking I should get a lower end unit than APx555 and eventually decided I had to get the best or not bother.
 
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I can't figure out what that is. Is it software or hardware or both? It is not on his products page.
Just software that imparts distortion of various types into a PCM file, then tests the user to see if they can statistically tell the original from the distorted. I see a link to it on their github page. It was mostly the concept that I liked where the results could be signed and the test could be performed by several people at different locations with different gear to see what imperfections "matter"
 

Dana reed

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I wish I knew. :) The cheapest "professional/trusted" entry is Prism Sound dSound at $5000+.

The question is, why would one want to own one. It is a lot of money to spend just to measure one or two thing and have it not be trusted after all that.

Even I struggled with that thinking I should get a lower end unit than APx555 and eventually decided I had to get the best or not bother.
I'd just be getting it for fun, as I could test various gear with it, and also check setups of various guitar/pedal/amps/microphones for noise level/distortion etc.
If no one's paying me to measure stuff, I'm not going spend that much on one. Just like $1200 was my max on a camera, with a couple thousand in lenses, not being a paid photographer.
For the really expensive equipment, I just get my employer to buy it, and then I can use it to test their products. So I can play with cool toys and they can sell better product. But my employer doesn't make audio equipment, so I have to use mass spectrometers at work not audio analyzers.
 

andreasmaaan

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What's the next step up from this that doesn't cost multi-thousands of $ ? I suppose technically, with the right software, one could use the RME-ADI2 pro or any other ADC and measure anything having significantly worse noise and distortion. You just wouldn't get the automation features of the dedicated hardware/software.
I also like the idea of the ABX distortion tester to see who can actually reliably hear various kinds of distortion, and on what kind of transducer
https://quantasylum.com/blogs/news/abx-testing-and-distortion

The ADI-2 Pro FS has better specs than the QA401 so probably would be the better choice for testing (but it is triple the price lol).

I know there is freeware available for running audio tests, but I'm not sure what's best. Perhaps someone else can chip in?
 

SIY

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What's the next step up from this that doesn't cost multi-thousands of $ ? I suppose technically, with the right software, one could use the RME-ADI2 pro or any other ADC and measure anything having significantly worse noise and distortion. You just wouldn't get the automation features of the dedicated hardware/software.

You'll need some signal conditioning as well- Jan Didden's Autoranger will work beautifully for that. ARTA or Virtins MI running a high quality ADC-DAC will give you a pretty powerful measurement tool.
 
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I'd just be getting it for fun, as I could test various gear with it, and also check setups of various guitar/pedal/amps/microphones for noise level/distortion etc.
It will be good for that then.
 

restorer-john

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I must admit I like the Stanford Research SR-1 with options at less than half the price of the AP. Also it's self contained, but with a full interface (keyboard/mouse/USB/LAN etc).
 
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