Help GoldenSound / GoldenOne Get An Audio Precision Analyzer

[opus101]

Colour me rather skeptical that an AP is going to uncover measurements which correlate with SQ differences in cables. An AP is great for verifying that a piece of kit is functioning within its design parameters but its a device for testing a piece of kit in isolation and that's both its supreme strength and its primary weakness. Many SQ differences are due to interactions between devices - in particular how they respond to CM noise - as far as I'm aware the AP has no means of quantifying CM noise.

[opus101]

10 hours ago, GoldenOne said:

Though I also don't think that professional qualifications are necessary for much of what I'm aiming to achieve. And I think that credentials top trumps is a bit of a problem in some other audio forums and not constructive in the slightest.
We should be encouraging EVERYONE who has an interest to try this sort of stuff.

 

I agree - the people who impress me the most in audio are those who have zero establishment credentials. An excellent example of being self-taught is Paul Frindle - the most imaginative, curious and determined audio guy I've come across.

[opus101]

4 hours ago, GoldenOne said:

Which actually I suppose is a good question, what are some measurements that people wish were taken of more products?

 

Measuring sensitivity to common-mode noise would be at the top of the pile for me. Shouldn't be too difficult to measure but probably you'd need an external wideband power amplifier (not just an audio power amp) to get sufficient signal. AP's generator last time I used one went up to 200kHz - but that was decades ago - have they increased that top limit on their newer models?

[opus101]

The measurement closely related to output impedance is 'damping factor'. That's the ratio of a typical speaker impedance (normally 8ohm) to the output impedance. Its often specified but I think it would be better replaced by output impedance, at a given frequency.