Modern/ compact  Signal Analyzer starting under 9KHz - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: psykok
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2014, 06:57:21 am
content: Hi,I was looking around to maybe find a replacement to my current HP 3562A (named the big beast) and my Ono Sokki Cf350 to have something more modern and to spare space on my bench.I'm doing more audio and in general LF stuff, so I don't need really a bandwidth up to many GHz.For me the critical point is to have a Signal Analyzer starting around 0 Hz or under 10Hz.All new SA I have seen by Rigol, Antec, Agilent .... are all starting at 9KHz, if I'm correct it's due to the low pass filter used to protect the inputsDo you now any compact and "mordern" signal analyzer covering the frequency range I need?Regards,Alex

author: Gunb
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2014, 07:50:33 am
content: For that purpose you should use special equipment for audio measurement and not the analyzers you've mentioned.I've set up a dedicated PC with a special audio card to get better SNR and audio measurement software special for that purpose.Another solution would be to use FFT analyzers which work fast enough and with high resolution. Many scopes have got FFT includedbut most scope manufacturers disregard this feature, i.e., number of points cannot be adjusted and measurement with cursors is bad.Have a look at the Hameg HMOs if interested to use a scope for that purpose. Forget RIGOL, they have a bad implementation comparedto the HMOs and are not very comfortable of features.If you want to do more professional measures have a look at ARTA software package and soundcards from M-Audio. They've got their own mixer with moresetup options than the classical Windows mixer has got. These cards are intended for professionals without the toys for games.There are also professional ebooks (written in German) for using this software and assemble your own hardware around this toolchain.RgdsGunb

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2014, 01:33:47 pm
content: Quote from: psykok on October 13, 2014, 06:57:21 amI always figured this was because the first mixer uses one of the AC coupled ports for the input instead of the DC coupled port. I know of old spectrum analyzers were this was configurable by swapping the mixer ports allowing the input to respond down to DC but then if DC is applied, the first mixer will likely be blown out unless a high pass filter is added and that would compromise performance at both high and low frequencies.QuoteIf I were doing this on the cheap, I would use a PC and sound card:http://www.clarisonus.com/Research%20Reports/RR001-SoundCardEval/RR001-PCsoundCards.htmlThere are a couple of low frequency network analyzers which might be suitable but they will not be good enough for low distortion audio measurements:http://www.syscompdesign.com/CircuitGear_p_8.htmlhttp://www.syscompdesign.com/CircuitGear-Mini_p_29.htmlA DSO with FFT functionality might be acceptable.I always thought one of these would be neat but the price is outside of my range:https://www.picotest.com/products_BODE100.htmlIf I had an unlimited budget, I would consider something like this:http://www.thinksrs.com/products/FFT.htmhttp://www.thinksrs.com/products/SR1.htm

author: psykok
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2014, 02:06:55 pm
content: Hi,I now all these solution based on PC .... the disadvantage is ... you need a pc and play with mouse and keyboard.If I would go this way my choice would be to sell all my equipment and by an Audio Precision S1 or S2I'm not a pro and I'm not doing audio stuf all the time ... so I thing that my big monster is still the best solution.No I understand more why this kind of old DSA a still so pricey and search by amateurs.For the FFT option available in some DSO, I'm still not convinced about the quality of such modules and specially on all affordable scope.Alex