Notes from the Test Bench
By Bruce Hofer, Chairman & Co-Founder, Audio Precision
Hello addressee_placeholder
Happy new year! I hope your holidays were restful and that you’re recharged ready for 2008. Lots of new things are happening in audio test, and I think this is going to be a memorable year. But as I promised last month, I’m handing over this Notes from the Testbench to AP’s new president Dave Schmoldt so he can introduce himself and share his thoughts on what’s in store for AP in the new year.
Hello, this is Dave Schmoldt. I’m honored to have been entrusted as president of Audio Precision. My sincere desire is to uphold and build upon Audio Precision’s brand promise of providing the world’s best solutions for audio test and measurement.
2008 is going to be an incredible year. Anyone walking through CES this year could see the profound changes sweeping the marketplace. More manufacturers are coming out with HD media players and more devices than ever before have an audio component.
AP will continue to provide the test gear you need to meet the market’s demand for new and innovative products. APx v2.1 was released January 15, and the next six months will see major releases of new modules to support new formats and interfaces. AP’s tech support department is ratcheting up our applications engineering effort to provide packaged solutions for specific audio test situations, starting with the High Speed Tester (see below) for production line testing of an audio device in just 6 seconds per unit (not counting cabling!). More are on the way…
I’m very proud of the team we’ve built here at AP and I’m confident that 2008 will be a year of exceeding expectations in every arena. Thank you for your support, and I look forward to meeting many of you at this year’s shows or out on the road.
Dave Schmoldt
President
Output: Tech tips and new applications from AP
AP is pleased to kick off 2008 with the release of two major applications:
High Speed Tester v2.0
“Quick and Reliable Testing against Limits for
Amplifiers, Broadcast, DACs, ADCs, Signal Processors & MP3 / DVD / CD players”
The AP High Speed Tester (HST) application was originally developed to test playback only devices on the production line. The objective was a fast, accurate and easy-to-operate test station with a limited graphical user interface that displayed just test results and had the ability to save results to a log file. HST was a success, and many customers requested the same functionality for testing other devices.
HST is an ideal application for customers looking for high-speed production test: DC offset, output level, frequency response, phase, distortion, noise in the presence of signal, and crosstalk are all measured in just six seconds.
The key to HST's speed is the use of a multitone stimulus which allows HST to derive all its measurements from a single acquisition. HST provides single value results for each measurement but also allows you to view the FFT spectrum of the acquisition.
In addition testing play-back devices, HST 2.0 can use the instrument's generator to drive the input of the device under test. Both input and output can be set to digital or analog, and limits, user prompts and sample rate can be defined easily via a new setup utility.
This flexibility allows HST 2.0 to test almost any type of audio device - amplifiers, DACs, ADCs, signal processors, MP3 / DVD players etc. - quickly and easily.
HST can be used in other areas too. For example, testing broadcast transmission networks using a 1 second multitone to trigger HST automatically and measure transmission quality.
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 The HST 2.0 user interface |
Other customers are using HST simply for its convenience and ease of use.
HST v2.0 is documented in Technote 102, Using Audio Precision HST: Quick and Reliable Testing against Limits. For more information please visit http://ap.com/library/technotes.htm#102
Related downloads
APx500 v2.1 now available for download.
“Automation for the next generation of audio analyzer”
The new release focuses on simplifying automation in audio test. Improvements to the award-winning Measurement Navigator allow users to build a sequence of measurements across multiple signal paths with operator prompts, customized pass/fail limits, calls to external applications and automatic graphic reports.
Users can also employ the comprehensive API to write custom applications or incorporate an APx analyzer into a larger automated setup. To support developers, the API documentation is supplemented with a library of sample tests written for LabVIEW, VB.NET and C#. For more information please visit http://ap.com/products/apx_programming.htm.
The new software also supports switchers, allowing for a new maximum channel count of 192 in and out.
Concurrent with the software release, all new APx instruments will ship with a new AES/EBU digital I/O as standard. A hardware upgrade to the new digital I/O is available for existing APx instruments. Please contact your local AP rep for more pricing.
For more information, please visit http://ap.com/products/apx.htm.
Related downloads
Sound Advice: Audio Test Q&A
Question: How do I print from an AP Portable One or ATS-1 to a modern printer?
Several third party manufacturers sell Parallel to USB adapters for converting the data sent from a parallel port to USB.
The AP Tech Support Department recently tested three different USB printers with current and discontinued models of the Portable One and ATS-1 using an “Lpt2USB Parallel To USB Printer Adapter” (Item#122 0202, CyberGuys.com, $79.99). |
The Lpt2USB adapter |
Please note these findings apply only to the test setup described below. We cannot guarantee the results of your particular printer or Parallel to USB adapter.
Test summary
- Current model P1s and ATS-1s printed successfully.
- Older models (the discontinued original P1 & ATS-1, and P1 Plus) were not compatible with the Lpt2USB adapter and were unable to print.
Table of test results
AP Instrument |
Result |
Production status |
P1 Access |
Print OK |
In production |
P1 DD |
Print OK |
In production |
ATS1 Access |
Print OK |
In production |
ATS1 DD |
Print OK |
In production |
P1 |
Print Failed |
Discontinued September 1995 |
ATS1 |
Print Failed |
Discontinued September 1998 |
P1 Plus |
Print Failed |
Discontinued March 1999 |
Printers Tested
- HP Business Inkjet 2300
- Ricoh Laser AP610N
- HP Deskjet 825c
Notes:
- The Deskjet 825c indicated an error condition, but the print was OK. No errors were reported by the other printers.
- Printer must be PCL Compatible (HP's Printer Command Language).
- Instrument must be set to PCL Print Mode.
- AP does not support third party applications or products unless specifically stated.
Test Results: AP News & Events
Events
AP in the news
- Stereophile magazine
Audio Precision recently loaned John Atkinson of Stereophile magazine a SYS-2722 to assist with his reviews of high-end audio gear. You can see his results starting with the January issue.
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