Dayton OmniMic Precision Measurement System - Page 65

It's been a while since I dwelt with room treatments but it seems that most are intended for mid and low frequincies. Is there anything practical that can be done for higher frequencies to control them?

Then again, it might only be a benefit for speaker design.

Anything that works with the midbass and mids also works with the highs. The thickness of the material required goes down as frequency goes up.
http://www.realtraps.com/articles.htm

Any sign of the DVD tracks being available for download?

 I just sent an E-Mail asking when.

 Still nothing back from Dayton.

How will the delay measurements work? Sounds fun!

$20 + about $7 shipping?  Price is a bit much if you ask me.

Wait till you're spending $80+ more and get free shipping.

Sorry but my personal opinion is that this should be included with the mic from this point forward not a separate purchase. Another 20 plus bucks for the disk, sorry but no thanks. I will find a way to use the mic with REW and some other type of multi-channel tests if needed.

James

Does it sound like it'll do a phase check between speakers?

But, you can use the OmniMic V2 with REW 5.01 already. You just need to connect the OmniMic to your PC and REW will automatically detect it and it will ask you for the calibration file to use.

Cheers!

Completely agree...

This DVD should be offered to all of us early adopters as a DL at least...

Yeah, I have used REW with the mic before but not with any 5.1 testing, that is the part I will have to examine.

James

I just do not like the way this product is heading. Needing to e-mail PE with information to get software updates (date of purchase is not something I remember or kept a note of), additional cost for 5.1 disk. I am sure others may not have a problem with this but this is not what I was hoping from them.

James

Now, that is unfortunate.

Really?

+1

I'm disappointed. I already have to send mine back for a proper calibration (which I haven't bothered to do cause I have been primarily testing subs).

Now, the Multi-channel DVD is an additional $20?? Sad.

True

But unless you have an hdmi output on your laptop, and the drivers work, you won't be able to do 5.1.

Do wish it had been 7.1

I'm glad that it's been released and look forward to getting one.

Go to Parts Express then check under your orders, the date of purchase will be listed there.

DangeRuss,

True this can be done and maybe I should have worded my post better to just state the fact I should not have to do this kind of stuff to get software updates. I should just be able to go to the Dayton site and download it.

Since I do not order stuff all the time from PE I will have to hope I remember my password there or go through the steps of getting another one generated.

James

Correct! I probably missed that "important" point due to the fact the last 4 laptops that I purchased in the last 5 years, all of them have HDMI working outputs. So, your comment is 100% valid....no HDMI output = no luck...

Cheers!

+ 1

I totally agree

Bill doesn't seem to chip anymore either and communication isn't there anymore.

I talk to Bill all the time He has been busy working on some other projects so there isn't quite as much time in the day, but he is still there if you care to reach out.

Guys, we appreciate all of your comments and suggestions. When we were co-developing the OmniMic we spent numerous hours and resources trying to create a breakthrough measurement device. We feel we accomplished that. As we have added additional features and improved the product we have tried to keep costs down along the way. We do listen to you, most often without comment back to you. We perform recalibration of the mics for only the price of sending it back to us. We have improved the software and offered features not on the original release yet maintained the costs, though countless man hours were spent by Bill and our team creating and testing these improvements. We appreciate the users of the OmniMic and this forum as a vehicle to comment and improve the product and services we offer. If any of you need to communicate to us directly, you can email me, richt_at_daytonaudio.com anytime.

Some general feedback from a very recent buyer (for whatever it is worth):

I spent about 30 minutes looking at this product and skimming though this thread before pulling the trigger. I saw that it was tied to Bill and figured if I was going to buy *another* measurement system, it would be nice to support Bill in some very small way. My existing meaurement systems can be a bit buggy since they rely upon external sound cards and mic preamps to work with laptops... with mixed results at time thanks to older drivers, aging equipment, etc......and it was a bit clunky carrying it all around to customer's houses and having to plug it all up.... and then sometimes having issues with drivers and getting things recognized while you're trying to look semi-professional in front of the customer... this seemed like an easy plug and play setup with little fuss. I paid my money and bought the unit in December.

I'll be honest, I bought it incorrectly assuming that the surround capability was coming as an upgrade not far down the road. That's entirely my fault for not reading more closely and fully understanding that I'd have to pay more for the DVD... I *assumed* it was going to be a download, like a version upgrade and folks could burn their own discs.

So what did i get for my modestly discounted from full $399 MSRP purchase price?

As far as I can tell, a $60 microphone (unless there is some dramatic difference between the mic included with the kit and the UMM-6 that PE sells separately), and the rest covered the person to do the calibration on said microphone and the actual OmniMic software itself.

The software is fairly clean and relatively straight forward to use. Not world class, but not bad at all compared to some software I've used in the past. Not quite as much of a learning curve as REW and slightly easier interface, I guess, to use. It's not buggy and has good help files. I've personally not used anything in the software that I couldn't already do with REW and/or HolmImpulse for free. I thought I was going to be able to use it with theater setups and tuning those without having to swap RCAs around (for pre/pro and amp combos) or swap speaker wires (if using a receiver based system). But it appears I have to pay more for that capability.

Honestly, if I'd known the DVD was going to be an additional expense before my 45 day window was up, I likely would have taken advantage of PE's generous return policy...... having to pay even more for the DVD is rubbing me the wrong way no matter how much I'd like to support Bill in some small way. As it stands, even if the DVD were included, I'm not really seeing the value for dollar over buying a better USB mic than my current mess of stuff and using the other free software options. It pains me to say it, too. The extra charge for the DVD is the little extra kick in the teeth that is leaving a bad taste......

IMHO, YMMV, blah blah blah, etc. etc. etc.

The umm-6 is also now calibrated from CSL for $90 Mine should arrive tomorrow or the next day. I plan to run it up against a calibrated OM mic and see what the differences look like in REW. Hopefully it will be very informative as I haven't seen anyone do this yet with the two "USB" mics...

^^^^I compared measurements in the latest version of REW with my OM mic (before returning it) to my UMM-6 (2 different measurement sessions so another variable).  HST, the only "significant" difference I measured was the increased noise floor of the UMM-6 over the OM mic.  Another member in the REW USB mic thread (kbarnes701) still has his OM kit and I'm sure could provide some measurements if requested.

Interesting, so was your Umm-6 calibrated from CSL? My omnimic (uncalibrated) was falling off hard above 10hz, so I am very interested to see if the umm-6 will have the same problem. I am positive I have enough firepower to go flat much deeper than that as well

Refresh my memory: was that the CSL calibrated UMM-6 at 90 degrees? I've also got the UMM-6 from CSL, but haven't had the time to test it wirh REW yet due to Real Life.

Re the OM, as I was using it in the past year, I'll probably pick up the DVD for kicks, as I'd like to see how the individual channels are testable compared to the two channel output that REW natively supports. As I have powered Mythos ST mains and CS-8080 HD center + two ULS-15 subs, I wish I could capture the whole picture to gauge bass/mid bass, but it's debatable if that's appropriate in REW.

However, given that the hardcore 'enthusiasts' using Audyssey Pro have collectively moved to REW for room assessment, I'll probably have to stick with learning REW to stay in the loop.

It would be nice if OmniMic could read the CSL calibrated 90 degree file, and allow production of multiple graph formats (FR, Waterfall, ETC) from one set of measurements, though. That would justify continuing to OM over REW IMO.

Problem with using OM mic in REW is the cal file is for 0 degrees.  I didn't compare my UMM-6 with the 0 degree cal file, only the 90 degree one.  I can't speak for below 10Hz though...

 

As for OM vs. the new USB mic and REW conundrum, I've found REW to be far more robust and even easier to work with using RCA (not HDMI) connections as I no longer need to have my other equipment running to generate test tones.  If cost was the same, I'd still prefer REW for its robustness in generating multiple graphs from a single set of measurements as well as the ability to send my measurements to more advanced users for analysis.  HST, the fact that OM is significantly more expensive with a slightly lower learning curve for taking basic measurements, I've found the time invested in REW to be time well spent as ultimately, I know treating my room is inevitable to get the SQ I want from it.  I just don't see how the current version of OM can compete (at a higher price).