///M5

Unified Remote ftw btw. No longer need to carry a slide projector indexer. Pointer would be nice, but oh well.

And no, I don't need it "now" but if I am going to go Win8 in the car I will.

Aargh. Windows 8 handsfree telephony thing won't control my phone. No option. Works fine in Windows 7. Pissing me off!

weather

Won't matter what the level. The mic you have won't work if you change other variables. Well it could, but it is also likely it won't.

You forgot linear or at least approximating it Matt.

Oh, and btw the TL sensor does not measure sound pressure accurately or linearly either. It is repeatable though which is the only reason it can be used for judging comps.

I eventually may end up with the Russian SPL meter(TermLabs alternative). But it is way in the back of my list. Environment sure does play a big roll. Just slightly opening my window makes it louder. It may be easier to not use the on-board mic. A wired one for easier maneuver may do the trick as well. Tons of problems with wired ones as well. There is a reason that the TL does not use one. Only two mics made in the world that can actually measure SPL vehicles in operation with accuracy and they start around $6k. Made by Bruel & Kjaer.

Your RTA won't truly be an octave analyzer like it claims. Instead it will synthesize the 1/nth octaves from an FFT. The FFT is done based on a sampling amount of time. Changing this time will change your results. So will changing the resolution of the FFT. You can't have both frequency resolution and amplitude resolution in the same FFT as one or the other will compromise the other. Needless to say this makes results less than consistent. Add to that a mic that has a non realistic response and a sound field that will not let you be consistent (change the space, change the potential standing waves) and you don't really stand a rats chance in hell in knowing whether or not it improved your score. If it is only to ear you care about, then use your ear.

As I said, the louder one may show up quieter on that mic.

Measurement mics are not cheap. The one I have is nearly $2k although you can get by much cheaper. The cheaper ones will be reasonably accurate to within a dB or so. Mine is 0.1dB. Environment will vary a shitload though as will the effect of the processing you use.

Move it around the car with the same sub playing, near other surfaces and such and check out the variation. Change the time sampling and such as well. It should clear things up a bit.

Mic in your pc may not show the true result if that is your goal.

They have WAY better tools to do all that. I should know since we supplied them. Great little advertising though.

Don't expect a cheap mic to have a linear response. Could measure both non-linear in output and frequency. ie, 100dB at 50Hz and 60Hz could show 90dB and 100dB respectively or 100dB, 90dB, 80dB at 60Hz could measure 100dB, 92dB, 50dB or whatever Location dependent AND orientation will change the results as well. Free field mics are normally used perpendicular to the sound field.

Good time to buy them then. Don't collect, use.

If it's cheap, beware of LF roll off and potential non-linearities.

Don't saturate the mic

Outside of the processors I am using (minidsp = cheap) nearly everything in my audio closet/vehicles is over 7 years old. Much of it way older. One other exception are the amplifiers on my boat as I expect the condensation cycles to destroy it so even if they were quality they'd depreciate to nothing so they are newer low cost pieces. If you want budget that is the cure.

Last time I was in our facility in Waldbronn Rainier & Marco were in our lab. What they are showing in the video is extremely antiquated, lol.

If the AMG were American I'd keep it and boost it as well. That'd be a fucking hoot.

With this idea, you shouldn't be purchase audio in all honesty. Just about 99% of all brands out right now will have such a loss in value in a 10 year time that it wouldn't be worth purchasing if that is your end goal. Perhaps a car our a house would be a better purchase from that mind set. You missed the point completely. He is looking at budget. To me that is over time. Buying cheap now and throwing it away later is more expensive than buying nicer now and selling for something later. Same argument for buying a used car versus taking the 20% hit for driving it off the lot.

Hope they aren't stainless. Flaring stainless I'd pay someone to do.

Absolutely. Flush mount is the ONLY method for mounting a driver IMO. While this "can" be done with the baffles separate it is more work and has a larger chance of failure. Glue them up first!

And in 10 years the value of it will be zero. Depends on what you really define as cost of ownership. Personally I am absolutely not into things like it, but I weigh my costs as purchase price - selling price and yes, I never keep anything forever.