That's very unfortunate. Thanks!IIRC @IVX said NO.
You understand the difference between a simple ADC and a full blown test station? The ADC comprises maybe like 1% of the cost and effort of an APx machine (or any other full-featured audio analyzer).Maybe this has been answered before but does @AVX plan to make an industrial version of this ADC/DAC/Filter system to present a genuine rival to the AP $50K plus system?
Well, yes and no.You understand the difference between a simple ADC and a full blown test station? The ADC comprises maybe like 1% of the cost and effort of an APx machine (or any other full-featured audio analyzer).
It's like the difference between, say, an injection system and the complete F1 car.
Wow...yes, I know the difference between the two but thank you nonetheless! A superb ADC/DAC system is the heart of a precision audio test system. Add some powerful hardware DSP and / with sophisticated software on a powerful PC platform and you have a system that's almost ready to go. Add extras H/W and S/W features to distinguish yourself from the competition and you are ready to go.You understand the difference between a simple ADC and a full blown test station? The ADC comprises maybe like 1% of the cost and effort of an APx machine (or any other full-featured audio analyzer).
It's like the difference between, say, an injection system and the complete F1 car.
A 3rd party could use his modules as the foundation of a full-blown test system, and add more HW and SW features (if AVX is willing to license his code or simply write their own) and you'll have a test system with a BOM cost well under $10K...then some serious 3X profit and you could have a rival system for under $30K.Well, yes and no.
Imagine a Cosmos ADCiso, Scaler, and 9039S all in the same box. Use larger connectors (maybe), add a couple relays to the Scaler so that it would attenuate in addition to gain to facilitate power amplifier measurements, add build out resistors to the 9039S outputs to reduce the possibility of "oopses", and use an external power supply. This would then be similar to the basic AP product. No tracking filter, of course, but fixed filters like the Cosmos APU could be added either internally or externally if desired. It wouldn't have digital outputs and inputs, if those are needed, and wouldn't have the very high sample rates of the AP, but it would be quite serviceable and useful.
A big thing would be to rely on externally build software, like REW and Multitone, rather than building his own. The software is a giant part of what makes the AP unit the price it is.
BUT... Ivan has mentioned here or elsewhere that the APU, which is purely for making high quality measurements, hasn't sold well at all. So, that could be a signal that the market isn't there for a modestly priced AP type unit for hobbyists and repair shops. He certainly knows his business better than anybody - WAY better than I could imagine - so I understand why there isn't a Cosmos AP in his web store. All we can do is ask and hope.
Well, anyone interested in audio-testing and having the skills *) can do this already (and many people already do it, me included), use the Cosmos building blocks and add your own hardware (safety features, connectors, routing, helper circuits etc) in a box around those blocks. Then use REW as the software (or Multitone).Imagine a Cosmos ADCiso, Scaler, and 9039S all in the same box. Use larger connectors (maybe), add a couple relays to the Scaler so that it would attenuate in addition to gain to facilitate power amplifier measurements, add build out resistors to the 9039S outputs to reduce the possibility of "oopses", and use an external power supply. This would then be similar to the basic AP product. No tracking filter, of course, but fixed filters like the Cosmos APU could be added either internally or externally if desired. It wouldn't have digital outputs and inputs, if those are needed, and wouldn't have the very high sample rates of the AP, but it would be quite serviceable and useful.
A big thing would be to rely on externally build software, like REW and Multitone, rather than building his own. The software is a giant part of what makes the AP unit the price it is.
Well, I've done all that, too. But, having a bunch of boxes spread across the workbench isn't good test procedure because there's variability every time you reconnect things.Well, anyone interested in audio-testing and having the skills *) can do this already (and many people already do it, me included), use the Cosmos building blocks and add your own hardware (safety features, connectors, routing, helper circuits etc) in a box around those blocks. Then use REW as the software (or Multitone).
*) If you don't, I see no reason why lay-people should deal with sophisticated audio testing anyway, you have to fully understand what you are doing, why you are doing it and in general, what's the background of all this. If you don't understand the background, leave it to the pro's.
I fear these kind of issues are still present even when you have sophisticated pro equipment. I'm a happy owner of an AP SYS2322 and found you always have to implement baseline/sanity checks and best practice is to measure some known DUT to see whether the setup is still consistent and stable.Well, I've done all that, too. But, having a bunch of boxes spread across the workbench isn't good test procedure because there's variability every time you reconnect things.
@IVX kindly sent me a sample of the new Cosmos ADC to try out. Here are my impressions of it so far.
The Cosmos ADC does have one drawback in that the input impedance is relatively low, ranging from 640 Ω to 3.5 kΩ (measured at 1 kHz) depending on the the sensitivity setting. This may be too low for some sources.
That's all I have for now. I'll update if I think of any more relevant tests to perform. Suggestions are of course welcome.
It seems like one should always use their Cosmos Scaler except for when measuring equipment which will be driving a low impedance device.
Was this an unbalanced connection?Let me show you an example. This is a measurement of an ES9023-based I2S DAC that I bought for about $10, with the Scaler set to 0dB between the DAC and the Cosmos ADC. The input range of the Cosmos ADC was set to 4.5 Vrms (1.66k ohms). The vertical axis is voltage. The signal is 1.8Vrms, THD is -95.3dB, SINAD is 92.7dB. They are good for $10, and will sound fine when connected to an amplifier.
Yes, it was an unbalanced connection, so the input impedance of the Scaler to the DAC was 100k ohms as you pointed out. The output impedance of the Scaler was 10 ohms and the input impedance of the ADC was 1.66k ohms.Was this an unbalanced connection?
If so, based on the Scaler's 200/100kOhm (bal/unbal) input impedance specs, your DAC's output was loaded with 100kOhm.