Only sound engineers have access to large spaces (or anechoic chambers) for measuring purposes.įrom a DIYer point of view crossover design software should be combined to a 'Baffle Diffraction Step' module. As a consequence crossover design becomes ' blind' at very low frequencies and our speaker's sound balance gets compromised. Typical measurement software removes SPL response values below this limit. As we have already explained in the tutorials' section, reflections in our lab environment make SPL response measurement inaccurate below approximately 300Hz-400Hz. So what crossover filters are expected to do is to suppress the sound pressure level above 400Hz so that it maintains a relatively small (or none at all) difference with respect to the 100Hz level.įor this task a designer must have an accurate woofer SPL response illustrating the baffle diffraction step in order to import it into the crossover design software. If the sound pressure dB level at 400Hz is 5 or 6 dB above the sound pressure level at 100Hz the speaker will sound 'empty' music 'body' will be absent.
A speaker to sound well must have a sort of balance between its 100Hz and 400Hz sound pressure levels. What they can do is to manipulate its mid-frequency range above 200-300Hz. Passive crossover filters can not 'adjust' the woofer's SPL response below 200-300 Hz. Most woofers with low-to-medium sized diameters, exhibit a significant SPL step in the 100-500Hz frequency range due to baffle diffraction. On the other hand we must be aware of the fact that crossover design is subject to one major flaw which is elaborated below:
A detailed discussion of this issue is given in one of our tutorial articles on crossover design. Therefore successful crossover design often depends on human factor only. This usually helps the optimization procedure find the proper components' 'solution'. In most cases we have to change our circuitry by adding extra components. However this optimization process may easily fail either if our design targets are impossible to fulfil or our circuit topology is too simple to realize them. In that sense no differences are expected to exist between different software implementations. Most crossover network software include an automatic optimization procedure which delivers the 'best' set of component values for a given set of design targets and circuit topology. The designer is expected to change filter component values in a repetitive manner and in a way that gets simulated responses closer to design targets. This allows for the prediction (simulation) of overall speaker SPL responses which -in turn- verify whether design targets have been achieved or not.
It is free to try and $29 if you decide to upgrade later, and it works well with every type of audio file we tested, all with excellent output and fast response times in editing.Įditors' note: This is a review of the trial version of Sound Studio for Mac 4.6.6.Generally speaking crossover design software combines loudspeaker SPL responses (that we have previously measured) with filter circuit data (also defined by us, the designers).
If you enjoy the basic interface, stripped-down core tool suite, and ability to expand as you learn how to use or need more powerful tools, Sounds Studio may be the perfect audio editor for you.
While ideal for podcasts, digitizing or recording live events, Sound Studio for Mac works very well for a lot of other things, too it's a powerful tool in many ways.
So it looks fairly basic, at first glance, but when you move beyond the core interface, you'll find dozens of advanced features in the menu bars, including dozens of noise and background filters to make the audio fit just right. There are a few immediate functions onscreen to normalize the audio, add fades, or crop and delete any part of the audio. You can record or you can drag and drop or import audio to work with.
When you install Sound Studio, it boots up fast and you can start editing audio immediately. It isn't overwhelming to look at, nor is it lacking in any of the features that you need for those basic audio tasks, making it a good investment for anyone that needs a solid, well-executed audio editing tool for their Mac. Sound Studio for Mac offers a number of useful audio editing tools in a clean, accessible interface for creating spoken word tracks or converting existing music tracks to new formats.