[larft]

monomer, thanks for the reply, I grabbed the new file.

4 decimal places on the sensitivity seems a bit over done like they should have rounded it but I'm nitpicking.

I'm just starting to learn REW and thought the sound card cal was necessary to get an accurate test signal output from the computer, especially if I have to use the analog out, at least the instructions from what I can see tell you that you need to do so, but I haven't read through all of them yet. Also, I'm playing around with several scenarios and I'll need analog and digital connections so I started there. Part of the problem I'm seeing with the USB mic now that I have it is the cable length limitation, my HTPC is cabled through the wall to the next room where my HT is set up, I'm beginning to wish I had gone the more expensive route of a phantom powered mic with a conventional cable, oh well.

Finding out that the cal files had changed again through this forum is a testament to how good this forum is but not so much for MiniDSP, it would have been nice to see an Email from them announcing the change.

 

[phazer99]

I'm just starting to learn REW and thought the sound card cal was necessary to get an accurate test signal output from the computer, especially if I have to use the analog out, at least the instructions from what I can see tell you that you need to do so, but I haven't read through all of them yet.

Depends on what you want to measure. If you, like me, play music through the same digital output that you are using in REW, you don't want to use a sound card cal file. You want to measure the entire sound reproducing system in this case.

Part of the problem I'm seeing with the USB mic now that I have it is the cable length limitation, my HTPC is cabled through the wall to the next room where my HT is set up, I'm beginning to wish I had gone the more expensive route of a phantom powered mic with a conventional cable, oh well.

You can use a 15 feet USB extension cable. Is that not enough?

 

[larft]

phazer99,

Depends on what you want to measure. If you, like me, play music through the same digital output that you are using in REW, you don't want to use a sound card cal file. You want to measure the entire sound reproducing system in this case.

Yes the whole system is one of the things I want to measure although I would think that using the soundcard cal file would just help to eliminate the computer from the picture, if it's a digital connection it won;t make much difference however, analog from what I've seen is a different story. I'm interested in speaker building and another thing I want to be able to do is profile raw drivers as well as complete speaker systems so the more accurate the test signal the better

You can use a 15 feet USB extension cable. Is that not enough?

Barely and I'm at the maximum length, maybe over when adding in the length of the cable with the mic.

 

[monomer]

Wait so I haven't read the whole thread I'm sorry. Did the first batch of mics have bogus cal file sensitivity?

And what are the dates for the first and second batches?

Thanks guys!

Whoa, let's not start any rumors! I have no idea if the sensitivity factor on the first batch was correct or not... however, there is something amiss in the second batch. The first batch of UMIK apparently sold out like back in December I think. All new orders were immediately backordered... finally when the shipment (second production batch of UMIKs) arrived, it was like 3 days before Chinese New Year celebrations and miniDSP personnel was so intent on filling all of the backorders and getting then shipped out before the weekend festivities started that no one ever even look at a single calibration file from this new batch. It was obvious something was really screwed up but no one saw it until I got mine and looked at the file. I'm no expert in these things but I could tell some things looked strange and so I inquire about it in this thread and I also began a thread over on the manufacturer's website to find out more about it. Well, things were very slow to being resolved due to Chinese New Years, which apparently is like a week long or so affair. A week later the calibration files got rescaled so they now make sense but then the sensitivity factor was changed to the same number for all files, which lead someone else to take notice and ask about that. Turns out that too was a mistake and they reverted it back to the first sensitivity values they had published... then offered an explanation for the confusion saying they'd made some sort of mod to the second batch of UMIKs to increase sensitivity by 6dB (I was told this was an engineering decision made in response to customer feedback from the first batch of UMIKs). Now it apparently seems those values are wrong... if my own comparison to my EMM-6 (and RS SPL meter using pink noise) is valid, then it seems no significant mod was made to the sensitivity of these UMIKs at all and if one were to simply reduce the current sensitivity factor by 6dBs they will arrive at what is the correct sensitivity for their UMIK. (Example, if the file currently states the sensitivity factor as -18dB then replace it with -12dB.)

I contacted them about this yesterday and I did get a response back from the DevTeam over at miniDSP (took less than a day) and though the question of them accepting a return from me was sidestepped (not a complete surprise to me) they did offer more explanation about my specific concern with the missing values below 20Hz... hopefully we are still working on a solution from my particular situation. They also admitted that they are aware that there is something wrong with the current sensitivity factors in those files and said the mic's manufacturer was looking into it and it would be resolved very soon. I responded by thanking them for the fast and curteous response and also suggested that after they correct the sensitivity factor that they then send out an email to every owner of a second batch UMIK notifying them of a new updated file replacing the one they downloaded. Hopefully this will end the 'excitement' of the last two weeks concerning those crazy bogus calibration files and we can all get down to using the mic with REW.

Hope that takes some of the confusion out of it for you... its been a wild ride.

 

[brausch1]

When using a UMIK-1, does the internal sound card need to be calibrated prior to using REW?

 

[Rob41]

When using a UMIK-1, does the internal sound card need to be calibrated prior to using REW?

I haven't yet received mine, but from what I've read calibrating your sound card is not necessary with this mic.

I'm sure others with first hand knowledge will let you know for sure.

 

[monomer]

When using a UMIK-1, does the internal sound card need to be calibrated prior to using REW?

No, its essentially a "plug-n-play" operation. If you can, I suggest you use an HDMI connection from computer to receiver.

 

[brausch1]

No, its essentially a "plug-n-play" operation. If you can, I suggest you use an HDMI connection from computer to receiver.

Thanks for the quick reply. I wasn't sure if my soundcard would be processing information, hence the need for calibration. My laptop doesn't have an HDMI port, so I will need to use the headphone out.

 

[monomer]

...Barely and I'm at the maximum length, maybe over when adding in the length of the cable with the mic.

I'm thniking all you need do is add a repeater right? They sell various lengths with "booster" or repeater built into the female end, I've even seen some with lengths up to 50ft, however I believe 15ft to be that max between repeaters so get two or even three 15-footers with booster and conect end-to-end.... check out eBay.

 

[monomer]

Maybe on page one of this thread?

Ah, thank you... I was beginning to question my sanity there.

 

[ack_bak]

Whoa, let's not start any rumors! I have no idea if the sensitivity factor on the first batch was correct or not... however, there is something amiss in the second batch. The first batch of UMIK apparently sold out like back in December I think. All new orders were immediately backordered... finally when the shipment (second production batch of UMIKs) arrived, it was like 3 days before Chinese New Year celebrations and miniDSP personnel was so intent on filling all of the backorders and getting then shipped out before the weekend festivities started that no one ever even look at a single calibration file from this new batch. It was obvious something was really screwed up but no one saw it until I got mine and looked at the file. I'm no expert in these things but I could tell some things looked strange and so I inquire about it in this thread and I also began a thread over on the manufacturer's website to find out more about it. Well, things were very slow to being resolved due to Chinese New Years, which apparently is like a week long or so affair. A week later the calibration files got rescaled so they now make sense but then the sensitivity factor was changed to the same number for all files, which lead someone else to take notice and ask about that. Turns out that too was a mistake and they reverted it back to the first sensitivity values they had published... then offered an explanation for the confusion saying they'd made some sort of mod to the second batch of UMIKs to increase sensitivity by 6dB (I was told this was an engineering decision made in response to customer feedback from the first batch of UMIKs). Now it apparently seems those values are wrong... if my own comparison to my EMM-6 (and RS SPL meter using pink noise) is valid, then it seems no significant mod was made to the sensitivity of these UMIKs at all and if one were to simply reduce the current sensitivity factor by 6dBs they will arrive at what is the correct sensitivity for their UMIK. (Example, if the file currently states the sensitivity factor as -18dB then replace it with -12dB.)

I contacted them about this yesterday and I did get a response back from the DevTeam over at miniDSP (took less than a day) and though the question of them accepting a return from me was sidestepped (not a complete surprise to me) they did offer more explanation about my specific concern with the missing values below 20Hz... hopefully we are still working on a solution from my particular situation. They also admitted that they are aware that there is something wrong with the current sensitivity factors in those files and said the mic's manufacturer was looking into it and it would be resolved very soon. I responded by thanking them for the fast and curteous response and also suggested that after they correct the sensitivity factor that they then send out an email to every owner of a second batch UMIK notifying them of a new updated file replacing the one they downloaded. Hopefully this will end the 'excitement' of the last two weeks concerning those crazy bogus calibration files and we can all get down to using the mic with REW.

Hope that takes some of the confusion out of it for you... its been a wild ride.

I contacted them, very professional and courteous, about the calibration file and spec issue and asked if they were going to correct the issue or allow us to send the mics back for refunds and nothing. I have now tried contacting this company three times and have never gotten a reply.

Their communications are poor. It would be nice if someone from the company would respond to this thread about the issue and what they are doing to resolve it (if anything).

On a side note REW works like a champ. I just don't know how much I can trust these measurements.

 

[minidsp]

Dear All,

Sorry for not being active in this thread! We actually got asked by some of you to participate in this thread. It does make sense as we try to communicate better with everybody. We try out best to answer all questions on already few public forums (inc ours) which is already quite resource intensive for our team so I appreciate your understanding. I'll give a general summary here but unfortunately can't promise in my position (Director) that I'll spend my days answering posts here. I love being part of communities, just too little time these days unfortunately :-( . If you have any urgent questions, sending an email to our team is the easiest way to get in touch with us! Sounds good?

Now, I didn't get a chance to read the 36p of threads here (but did read quite a few) and I can see from most comments that the focus of this calibration file is triggering quite a lot of questions/emotions! That's normal, it's Audio a passion and we all want you to have a great measurement kit! On our side, Audio is also a passion and we're aware of the issue as we already communicated one miniDSP website.

This mishap caused all of us trouble and I understand your point as a customer. You can rest assured that we're working hard on finding closure to the matter by communicating daily with the supplier to iron out all remaining minor issues (sensitivity/low freq extension). Sometimes, the fact that we don't have a daily update doesn't mean that we're slacking. Behind the scenes we're just making sure we know all elements before we make announcements. Hoping this makes sense.

I also read from some posts that we're not answering your emails. :-( I'd be happy to personally check all this for you on what could be the reason for not hearing back from us! We have server logs which could tell us maybe what's the issue? One of our Moto is to make sure we work hard to answer all emails even though we do receive a lot of inquiries on a daily basis. [email protected] is the easiest address or the website contact page. IMPORTANT NOTE: Gmail may have a junk filter that did in the past file the email in the wrong folder. Please double check in case.

@ ack_bak. I see that you couldn't hear back from you from some inquiries? Sorry to hear that. :-( Please PM me to see what's going on here. If your first name is Tim (my guess from order and server logs), we can see all emails answered here from our server but we did receive an error from Hotmail on some of them (Remote host said: 550 Requested action not taken: mailbox unavailable Giving up on 65.54.188.72.). Please get in touch with us via email for more info. Most likely that your account is setup with an incorrect address.

That's all for today! We'll make sure to keep everybody updated when we have more info hopefully in the next few days as final review is about to be finalized by our supplier. If you have further question, don't hesitate to contact our team ([email protected]) or through the miniDSP forum for more info.

May the REW force be with you!

Tony Rouget
(Director @ miniDSP)

 

[Rob41]

Thanks for the update Tony.

I also have received an answer to my e-mail inquiry I sent yesterday. Devteam/miniDSP said, "we're currently waiting to confirm one calibration file issue with regards to the sensitivity. In the mean time, we've been putting holds microphone shipment since Monday to confirm that data first".

It's good to see they are working on fixing the sensitivity issue and I hope they will make the corrected file available publicly.

Mine would be arriving any time now if it weren't for their corrections. At least things should be more accurate once it does arrive. I have to ship out soon and I hope it gets here before then.

 

[ack_bak]

Tony,

Thanks for the reply. I will try contacting you from a different email address than my hotmail account if there are issues with that account for some reason (I rarely use that account).

Thanks for the update on the situation. I know, for me, it helps answer what you are doing to address the issue and I certainly don't expect you to answer every little question posed in this thread, but when there is a major issue(s) such as what we have had recently, updates from your company are appreciated.

Hopefully you will have an ETA as to when the issue will be resolved and can share it with the forum.

 

[monomer]

@Tony Rouget... thank you so much for responding in this thread. It makes me feel better to know that miniDSP is working on a resolution to the issues outlined in this thread.

 

[8086]

Depends on what you want to measure. If you, like me, play music through the same digital output that you are using in REW, you don't want to use a sound card cal file. You want to measure the entire sound reproducing system in this case.

You can use a 15 feet USB extension cable. Is that not enough?

The USB 2.0 Spec says you can have a maximum (sum) cable length of 15 feet. No more or you will encounter power issues and data errors. The solution to cable length is to use a laptop. If you don't have one, borrow one.

 

[AudiocRaver]

A USB repeater cable will work with SOME devices. I have this one, have used it successfully for a total length of 16 feet (the repeater) + a 12 foot USB cable with an audio interface. Other REW users use similar cables successfully with a UMIK-1. It seems to work where the data stream is primarily in one direction. It does NOT work with bidirectional data like an external hard drive.

 

[8086]

A USB repeater cable will work with SOME devices. I have this one, have used it successfully for a total length of 16 feet (the repeater) + a 12 foot USB cable with an audio interface. Other REW users use similar cables successfully with a UMIK-1. It seems to work where the data stream is primarily in one direction. It does NOT work with bidirectional data like an external hard drive.

Nice device. Bookmarked.

You could also use a USB network device server, but it will add latency to your device. I can imagine getting improper room measurements when it comes to anything in REW which requires precise timing. I suspect this repeater will affect latency as well, just as they do in real world networking. JohnM might have to chime in on this one.

Also, the USB repeater cable is BUS powered. So it will reduce the amount of current availble to your microphone. I don't know the Behringer's specs; but If it requires 500ma, then this won't work at all.

 

[monomer]

...have used it successfully for a total length of 16 feet (the repeater) + a 12 foot USB cable with an audio interface. Other REW users use similar cables successfully with a UMIK-1...

...I can imagine getting improper room measurements when it comes to anything in REW which requires precise timing. I suspect this repeater will affect latency as well...

...but If it requires 500ma, then this won't work at all.

These are obviously conflicting statements... which to believe?
I actually just got the identical cable in the above link today in the mail, except I purchased it on eBay (came in from California) for almost half the Amazon price and shipping was free. I also have a straight (unboosted) 10-foot USB extension cable that I was using with REW and the UMIK yesterday to take some measurements. Tomorrow I will compare the results between the two and note if there is any difference between the measurements recorded in REW, and hopefully that should settle this bit of confusion as to whether an extension cable with a repeater (booster circuit) will work or not.

 

[8086]

These are obviously conflicting statements... which to believe?
I actually just got the identical cable in the above link today in the mail, except I purchased it on eBay (came in from California) for almost half the Amazon price and shipping was free. I also have a straight (unboosted) 10-foot USB extension cable that I was using with REW and the UMIK yesterday to take some measurements. Tomorrow I will compare the results between the two and note if there is any difference between the measurements recorded in REW, and hopefully that should settle this bit of confusion as to whether an extension cable with a repeater (booster circuit) will work or not.

A better solution is to use a laptop.