BDS PP-131 Spectrum Analyzer

[dougi]

So who is interested in a perfectly executed one and what features would you want in it?

Me! SPDIF in and loop out, true peak and EBU loudness, left, right or mono, choice of display colour, choice of peak hold and decay, number summary of peak (ala RME).

 

[Postlan]

I have absolutely no idea who would buy this piece of junk. If you genuinely just want a meter, TC Electronic makes a much flashier, highly accurate, and practical one that pros actually use.

 

[kyuu]

I have absolutely no idea who would buy this piece of junk. If you genuinely just want a meter, TC Electronic makes a much flashier, highly accurate, and practical one that pros actually use.

And how much does it cost?

 

[xanalog]

...Together with mix (cassette) tape...

I got nostalgic when you said the above... simply because and in those days, we practically prayed to those VUmeters in our cassette decks.
Prayed that they did not breach into their 'red' zones, during recording mixes; all the while, never considering how accurate that they may have been.
Ahhh, the good old days!

 

[DrZingo]

And how much does it cost?

I believe he's referring to this one:

TC Electronic Clarity M Stereo Loudness Meter | Sweetwater

Only at Sweetwater! ✅ Easy Payments, ✅ FREE Shipping, and ✅ FREE Product Support for your TC Electronic Clarity M Stereo Loudness Meter!

www.sweetwater.com

 

[amirm]

I have absolutely no idea who would buy this piece of junk. If you genuinely just want a meter, TC Electronic makes a much flashier, highly accurate, and practical one that pros actually use.

If it is the Clarity M, that is digital only. Do they make one with balanced analog input?

 

[kyuu]

I believe he's referring to this one:

TC Electronic Clarity M Stereo Loudness Meter | Sweetwater

Only at Sweetwater! ✅ Easy Payments, ✅ FREE Shipping, and ✅ FREE Product Support for your TC Electronic Clarity M Stereo Loudness Meter!

www.sweetwater.com

Ah yeah that's definitely better for a professional tool, and price isn't bad either. I don't think that's what nostalgic audiophiles are looking for on their equipment though.

 

[PristineSound]

None of that applies to this box in person.

For a professional setting, it's passable. But for a home setting, there is no way I would have this thing showing.

I know you have a very visually good looking space and system with the R2R on display, perhaps you may say publicly that you would put that thing in your rack, but I would have a hard time believing it.

 

[amirm]

For a professional setting, it's passable. But for a home setting, there is no way I would have this thing showing.

I know you have a very visually good looking space and system with the R2R on display, perhaps you may say publicly that you would put that thing in your rack, but I would have a hard time believing it.

Compared a bunch of black boxes for DACs, amps, etc., this thing actually has a bling factor. Controls don't look or feel cheap. Enclosure is what you get with products in a few hundred dollars. Nearly 100 bar graph LEDs, etc. Not saying everyone would want this but as this kind of product goes, for this price range, it is fine.

 

[Jcrow]

I have something like the analyser reviewed here. Purchased from Aliexpress for around $300 aud ($215 usd) including shipping. I was surprised at the quality of the external build quality.

I bought it purely for aesthetics and fun. I’ve noted similar limitations mentioned by Amir, such as the limited dynamic range of the visualiser. As a working around you have to balance the input gain very carefully. Once it’s set, though, it’s great to look at when listening to music and provides a nice ambience.
I assumed it would degrade the signal, so have only used the device with the rca outputs of my dx5 ii. The device is generally accurate at representing the frequencies, however, I think the low frequencies show up a bit funny.
For me, this has been one of the more satisfying hifi purchases. That being said, it would be great to get a more accurate one that enabled cleaner pass through and maybe had digital in and out.
EDIT: I forget to mention the display is a vacuum fluorescent display, which is getting quite rare these days. It looks way better than LED!

 

[Jcrow]

So who is interested in a perfectly executed one and what features would you want in it?

I would pay good money for one, especially if it came in a nice silver box!

 

[Philbo King]

So, to paraphrase youknowwhom - it's a PINO (professional in name only)

Reminds me of the new anti-diuretic wine: pino more

 

[xanalog]

Purchased from Aliexpress for around $300 aud ($215 usd) including shipping. I was surprised at the quality of the external build quality.
I bought it purely for aesthetics and fun.

NobSound (OneLittleBear) model VU56 is supposed to be a 112-bit (segment) LED stereo/mic/splitter/spectrum/analyzer/display. Priced at $85USD

SunBuck Model EQ8000 is an EQ w/a built-in LED spectrum display, under $100USD (w/remote):

Many other varieties of audio spectral displays are available at AliExpress (if you are a gambler):
GeekTone and Musikken (near $300USD) appear to be similar units but re-badged.

 

[respice finem]

Reminds me of the new anti-diuretic wine: pino more

People will believe any stull LOL

Pinot More or Pinot Moir or Pinot Moor (pronounced…

Pinot Noir is a a red-wine grape variety. There is no "Pinot Moir"/"Pinot Moor"/"Pinot More" (pee no more), but there…

barrypopik.com

 

[PristineSound]

Compared a bunch of black boxes for DACs, amps, etc., this thing actually has a bling factor. Controls don't look or feel cheap. Enclosure is what you get with products in a few hundred dollars. Nearly 100 bar graph LEDs, etc. Not saying everyone would want this but as this kind of product goes, for this price range, it is fine.

I don't know if I am convinced by your display of enthusiasm Amir.

Maybe I am a pessimistic (or realist) but I really think if someone gave this unit to you for free, even if it had excellent performance, I don't believe you will pop that into your main system as a permanent fixture (maybe for few days to play around at most). My gut feel is that you probably will relegate it to your garage system.

I don't know, my bar for aesthetics is very high. Life is too short for ugly stuff.

 

[solderdude]

This is eyecandy ...

 

[Yersinia Bestmate]

It has real uses. Let's say you are getting no signal out of your headphone or speaker. With this device, you know right away if it is the source or the amp. You also learn quickly the spectrum of the music you play and with it, learn if that is the source of distortion. With streaming music, doing this offline is more difficult now. I use both of these features all the time in my desktop setup that has these included.

If the device was accurate and acted as an instrument, you could also use it for calibration, level setting, gain, etc. The hope was that this device would do it.

For entertainment, there is also joy to see real-time changes in the display with your music, e.g. when the dynamics arrive.

I suppose in an age when music consumption is a background task, it is not of value. But as a focused experience, many of us like it and something we miss that we had in analog days of the past.

Well, as I wrote - to each his own.

In my opinion gimmicks like this draw the attention away from the music. Occasionally I do select the spectrum analyser on my Dx5 II when listening to music from my desktop setup to get some peace for a while, as my 1,5 year old likes to stare at it. He finds it fascinating so there indeed can be entertainment value.

 

[Sernyl]

This is eyecandy ...

Wow !
Dedicated to tube amp users ?

 

[Sernyl]

Well, as I wrote - to each his own.

In my opinion gimmicks like this draw the attention away from the music. Occasionally I do select the spectrum analyser on my Dx5 II when listening to music from my desktop setup to get some peace for a while, as my 1,5 year old likes to stare at it. He finds it fascinating so there indeed can be entertainment value.

+1, draws the attention away.
But a bit educative for for an audiophile-to-be ;-)
In another domain, although it is audio, most of the ham radio transceivers on the market have spectrum analyser/panoramic display. Otherwise they won't sell.

 

[Sloppy Joe]

I had a AudioControl R-130 sinds 1996, see picture. Was happy with it until I got the RME ADI-2 DAC fs, because as you can see, there is quite a difference between the two. The RME is quite a bit faster in response time, but unfortunately quite a bit smaller screen too.