Setting U P T He M Ic; Choosing A C Alibrated M Ic - Omnia .9 Installation And Operation Manual

Client F ile R ecorder
Just a s i t i s p ossible t o r ecord a udio f rom v arious p atch p oints w ithin t he p rocessing c hain o n t he
actual O mnia.9 i tself, y ou c an a lso r ecord a udio s treamed t o t he c lient P C. T he r ecorders i n t he
client s oftware w ork i n e xactly t he s ame w ay. D etailed i nformation o n h ow t o u se t he f ile r ecorders
can b e f ound o n P age 1 4 o f t he m ain O mnia.9 U ser M anual.
Speaker C alibration
As m entioned e arlier, t aking t he t ime t o c alibrate a t l east o ne s et o f s peakers t o a ct a s y our
reference m onitors i s t ime w ell s pent. I n o rder t o p erform a s peaker c alibration, y ou n eed f our
tools:
A c alibrated m icrophone t o c apture t he a udio.
A p ink n oise g enerator t o p rovide a udio f or m easurement ( pink n oise h aving a n e qual
amount o f " noise p ower" i n e ach o ctave).
A r eal-­‐time a udio a nalyzer ( RTA) t o v isually d isplay w hat t he m icrophone i s h earing.
Some m eans b y w hich t o c orrect f or s peaker a nd/or r oom i naccuracies ( such a s a p arametric
equalizer).
Omnia.9 p rovides t hree o ut o f t he f our t ools – t he p ink n oise g enerator, t he R TA, a nd t he E Q. A ll
you n eed t o a dd i s t he c alibrated m ic.
Choosing a C alibrated M ic
It i s i mportant t o u nderstand t hat y ou m ust u se a c alibrated m icrophone d esigned f or s ound
measurement p urposes t o p erform a p roper c alibration. S tudio o r r ecording m ics – e ven t he h igh-­‐
end, h igh-­‐dollar o nes – a re o f n o v alue w hen c alibrating a s ystem.
You c an s pend t housands o f d ollars o n a s cientific-­‐grade, h igh-­‐precision c alibrated m icrophone, b ut
the g ood n ews i s – y ou d on't h ave t o. E ven t he l east e xpensive m odels w ill p rovide g ood q uality
results a nd a re w orthy o f c onsideration.
While w e a re n ot i n t he b usiness o f s elling m icrophones, n or d o w e h ave a ny i nterest i n p romoting
any b rand o r m odel o ver a nother, w e c an t ell y ou t hat B ehringer E CM8000 w orks q uite w ell a nd c an
be p urchased a t l ocal m usic s tores a nd f rom v arious o n-­‐line v endors f or u nder $ 100. I f y ou p refer t o
connect y our m ic v ia U SB o r F irewire, s everal m anufacturers ( M-­‐Audio, E -­‐Mu, a nd B lue c ome t o
mind) o ffer X LR t o U SB a nd X LR t o F irewire c onverters s tarting a t u nder $ 50).
Setting U p t he M ic
Place t he m icrophone a s c lose a s p ossible t o t he p osition y ou w ill o ccupy w hen m onitoring s o t hat i t
hears w hat y ou w ill h ear. I n c ases w here y ou a re c alibrating t wo o f t he s ame s peakers, a nd b oth a re
placed i n s imilar l ocations i n t he r oom, y ou c an c alibrate b oth t he l eft a nd r ight c hannels
simultaneously. I f y ou f ind y ourself i n a s ituation w here t he s peakers w ill b e a ffected d ifferently b y
their i ndividual p lacement i n t he r oom – o ne i s s uspending f rom t he c eiling i n a c orner a nd t he o ther
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