Display Analyzer

[Blaser]

Hello,

I was wondering if a cool display analyzer can be found in the markets. I am looking for something versatile, it should have a large screen, lots of bands/bars, analog indicators (older ones).... This is just to have fun watching it when listening to music. Need a good representation of the bass area as well.
Normally that kind of display analyzer would be integrated in equalizers, but I am not in need of any eq.. Just wondering if something like that exists...

[Mike P.]

Audio Control makes stand alone spectrum analyzers that start around $1000.
http://www.audiocontrolindustrial.co...50&l1=5650&l2=
There are lots of computer based software for analyzers. A Google search turned up quite a few.

[Blaser]

Mike P. wrote:

There are lots of computer based software for analyzers. A Google search turned up quite a few.

Hi Mike,

Indeed I need a stand alone hardware thing, no computer software.

[Blaser]

Mike P. wrote:

Audio Control makes stand alone spectrum analyzers that start around $1000.
http://www.audiocontrolindustrial.co...50&l1=5650&l2=

Wow, this is way too sophisticated. This is doing measurements equalization and much more. What I do is just a display to be connected out of the BFD to show the input signal on a screen with few cool display options for fun. Nothing more than that.

[Mike P.]

Spectrum analyzers are the only device I know of that have a large screen, and lots of bands like you requested. Hopefully someone will know of something else that will meet your requirements.

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Blaser,

AudioControl used to make the R-130 back in the early to mid 90s, which was a consumer version of the SA-3051 without all the bells and whistles. Just a display with a pink noise generator and calibrated mic for room measurements. I’ve had one of them for nearly 12 years - you can see it in the pic below.

System w- RTA.JPG

I am looking for something versatile, it should have a large screen, lots of bands/bars, analog indicators (older ones).... This is just to have fun watching it when listening to music. Need a good representation of the bass area as well.

Yeah, I’ve always enjoyed mine. Lets you know what’s going on in a movie’s bass. If a male voice seems particularly boomy, or if the program seems to have really soft highs, the RTA will show it, and give you the assurance that it’s not your system or speakers.

While the R-130 and most RTAs can be switched to show the vertical rows of LEDs like your picture above, I found that to be too much of a good thing and stuck with the “top LED only” display. The display can also be switched to fast or slow action (didn’t like fast), and from a 4-dB window (shown in the picture) to a finer-resolution 2-dB window – i.e., each LED on the vertical scale represents a 2 or 4 dB change. With a 2 dB window, the display in the pic above would look more like a hump. I stay with the 4 dB window as it keeps most of the full 25 Hz - 20 kHz range on the screen; with the 2 dB window much of the frequency range typically falls off the bottom of the screen or “maxes out” at the top. The 2 dB window is most useful for checking room response w/pink noise rather than program monitoring.

The R-130 is the only RTA of its kind that I’ve ever seen, designed for consumers, that would look good in a home system. The reason, I imagine, is that these things aren’t cheap – even without the SA-3051’s bells and whistles, the R-130 listed for ~$650 when new. Pretty pricey toy for the casual home user, which explains why they are so rare and why they weren’t offered for long. Even used I’ll be surprised if you can find something like this cheap. An R-130 recently sold on eBay for $500, without the mic.

http://search-completed.ebay.com/sea...is=200&guest=1

I really don’t know if you’ll be able to find something suitable, even in the pro audio market. Most of the reasonably affordable ones I know of are things like Phonic’s hand-held model, or a single-rack-space unit Rane makes (or used to, perhaps) that only had a few vertical LEDs per frequency – i.e., more useful for pink noise system set-up than program monitoring. Rack-sized models from companies like Klark Teknik and Goldline are extremely expensive. Your best bet might be to do a Saved Search on eBay and patiently wait for an R-130.

Normally that kind of display analyzer would be integrated in equalizers, but I am not in need of any eq.. Just wondering if something like that exists...

Typically RTAs have been separate units from equalizers (although a particular Rane model comes to mind as an exception), but I expect with today’s digital technology that is changing, if it hasn’t already.

Regards,
Wayne

[Blaser]

Thanks a lot Wayne! Very helpful and cutting things short

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Forgot about the Behringer DSP8024. It’s an EQ/analyzer, but the price is so cheap you probably won’t care, as long as you don’t mind its gaudy looks. The display is kind of small. Not sure if it will do an RTA display from the input jacks (which is best for program monitoring), or if it's "mic-only" – the manual might tell you.

Regards,
Wayne