MiniDSP UMIK-1 Microphone
MiniDSP is a sponsor here at Home Theater Shack!
The UMIK-1 is an omni-directional USB measurement microphone providing Plug & Play acoustic measurement. From speaker & room acoustic measurement to recording, this microphone provides low noise and accurate results you can rely on. Forget about driver installation, OS compatibility and un-calibrated mics. The Umik-1 is a USB Audio class 1 device automatically recognized by all Operating Systems (Windows/Mac/Linux). It is provided with a unique calibration file based on the serial number. Time to finally focus on your measurements with three simple steps: Unpack, Plug, Measure!
No more mic preamp, no more phantom power, no more sound card calibrations... and USB Plug 'n' Play.
JohnM is currently working on a few tweaks to make using the UMIK-1 with REW a real convenience, however it can be used with REW as it is now.
See also: Using the UMIK-1 and REW with HDMI output
Cost is $75 and that includes the calibration file.
The following measurements show a comparison of the three mics I have on hand, the UMIK-1, IBF Akustik EMM-8 and the Behringer ECM8000.
These measurements are from a first use and quick setup of a Denon 4520 receiver that I am currently reviewing. It has been setup with Audyssey XT32, but not fully optimized for my HT room. I will get into more of that later with my review, but I wanted to at least get the mic comparison out of the way.
This is not a professional lab test my any means, although care was taken to do the best I could to get the mics equally aligned. There are no doubt some minor variances due to an imperfect test, but it is sufficient to show that the UMIK-1 is a worthy choice, especially taking into account the ease of use with REW.
All mic measurements were adjusted to align at 100Hz.
Here is a comparison between my IBF EMM-8 (calibrated in Germany) vs my ECM8000 (calibrated by Cross-Spectrum Labs):
Calibrated in two different parts of the world, I have to believe these are fairly accurate.
Next we add in the UMIK-1:
I also wanted to compare my external USB sound card that I have been using with the HDMI output on my laptop. Here is that comparison using the UMIK-1 mic:
Here are all three mics with the additional HDMI output measurement included:
I am of the opinion that if you have an HDMI output on your computer, purchasing nothing more than the UMIK-1 and HDMI cable makes for a very simple setup to use with REW. No external sound card is needed, no mic preamp, and no SPL meter is needed. Even if you do not have HDMI, the UMIK-1 is still a worthy consideration... and would be my choice of mics.
I did try the headphone output, but I could never get the controls set so that they were not effecting the output signal and could not get an accurate output measurement. The HDMI output was much simpler to work with anyway.
MiniDSP is a sponsor here at Home Theater Shack!
The UMIK-1 is an omni-directional USB measurement microphone providing Plug & Play acoustic measurement. From speaker & room acoustic measurement to recording, this microphone provides low noise and accurate results you can rely on. Forget about driver installation, OS compatibility and un-calibrated mics. The Umik-1 is a USB Audio class 1 device automatically recognized by all Operating Systems (Windows/Mac/Linux). It is provided with a unique calibration file based on the serial number. Time to finally focus on your measurements with three simple steps: Unpack, Plug, Measure!
No more mic preamp, no more phantom power, no more sound card calibrations... and USB Plug 'n' Play.
JohnM is currently working on a few tweaks to make using the UMIK-1 with REW a real convenience, however it can be used with REW as it is now.
See also: Using the UMIK-1 and REW with HDMI output
Cost is $75 and that includes the calibration file.
The following measurements show a comparison of the three mics I have on hand, the UMIK-1, IBF Akustik EMM-8 and the Behringer ECM8000.
These measurements are from a first use and quick setup of a Denon 4520 receiver that I am currently reviewing. It has been setup with Audyssey XT32, but not fully optimized for my HT room. I will get into more of that later with my review, but I wanted to at least get the mic comparison out of the way.
This is not a professional lab test my any means, although care was taken to do the best I could to get the mics equally aligned. There are no doubt some minor variances due to an imperfect test, but it is sufficient to show that the UMIK-1 is a worthy choice, especially taking into account the ease of use with REW.
All mic measurements were adjusted to align at 100Hz.
Here is a comparison between my IBF EMM-8 (calibrated in Germany) vs my ECM8000 (calibrated by Cross-Spectrum Labs):
Calibrated in two different parts of the world, I have to believe these are fairly accurate.
Next we add in the UMIK-1:
I also wanted to compare my external USB sound card that I have been using with the HDMI output on my laptop. Here is that comparison using the UMIK-1 mic:
Here are all three mics with the additional HDMI output measurement included:
I am of the opinion that if you have an HDMI output on your computer, purchasing nothing more than the UMIK-1 and HDMI cable makes for a very simple setup to use with REW. No external sound card is needed, no mic preamp, and no SPL meter is needed. Even if you do not have HDMI, the UMIK-1 is still a worthy consideration... and would be my choice of mics.
I did try the headphone output, but I could never get the controls set so that they were not effecting the output signal and could not get an accurate output measurement. The HDMI output was much simpler to work with anyway.