How often is it that you can get something for your systemfor nothing? Almost never. Below are six of our favorite free pieces ofsoftware that we think every audio enthusiast should download and try out. FromCD ripping to improving your ability to critically listen, this list hassomething for everyone. Enjoy, and let us know if you have any othersuggestions by posting in the comments below.
Welcome to sonic beacon. S onic beacon has been designing premium quality data acquisition and loudspeaker analysis software for the Windows Operating System since 1997. Our latest free of charge download allows the PC or laptop user to perform loudspeaker test and measurement using a low cost audio power amplifier, a measurement microphone and pre-amp and a multimedia compatible sound. An award winning speaker designer, under Larsen’s leadership, Loudsoft went on to create precision speaker design software and specialized speaker testing equipment. The company also offers consulting services for brands looking to offer optimal audio solutions.
1.Exact Audio Copy
Exact Audio Copy, or EAC as the cool kids say, is theSwiss Army Knife of CD ripping, copying, and burning. The goal of this program,as the name suggests, is to rip audio from a CD without adulterating the file.It does this through jitter correction and read error detection. When rippingin “secure mode”, EAC reads every audio section at least twice, or relies onextended error information that some drives are able to return with the audiodata. Let’s say there is an error while reading a disc, the program willre-read up to 82 times, compare the results, and give you the best copypossible. If the program is less than 99.5% sure the audio stream is correct,it will alert you with a read error. Beyond accuracy, the program is endlesslycustomizable while still managing to be easy enough to use for the less-technicaluser.
Exact Audio Copy
- Speakers are some inexpensive MS 691 Multi-Media 2' speakers Microphone is a Labtec AM-242 plastic boom mic This is a pair of tones. The Left speaker is about 6 inches from the mic and the Right speaker is about 1 inch from the mic Notice the relative amplitude of the two tones, showing the lower amplitude.
- REW is free room acoustics and audio device measurement and analysis software for room, loudspeaker and device responses. The audio measurement and analysis features of REW help you optimise the acoustics of your listening room, studio or home theater and find the best locations for your speakers, subwoofers and listening position.
EAC can save the ripped files in uncompressed WAV format,and supports external MP3, WMA, flac and OggVorbis encoders. It can alsodecompress some files back to WAV. There are a host of other features, like CDwriting, pre-track gap detection, and metadata editing. If you are looking totake your CD collection and turn it into a digital library, EAC is the way todo it.
2. TT Dynamic Range Meter
We’ve written about compression and the loudness war foryears (see: CurrentTrend in the Recording Format Arena and CDCompression Depression for two examples), and we’re not alonein our frustration. The Pleasurize Music Foundation created TT Dynamic RangeMeter with the goal of fighting the over-compression of music. The programtells you the dynamic range of songs, so you can find out if you have justpurchased a quality recording or not. One fun use of DR Meter is to compare differentreleases of the same song or album. The program is incredibly easy to use,simply select the track or folder you want analyzed ... and that’s it. It takesa few seconds for the program to spit out a number telling you the dynamicrange of the album or track. It can also create a log file telling you thedynamic range of each individual track if you scan an entire folder. Accordingto their website, a DR of 7 “is low for rock music or very low for Jazz, [but]it is quite acceptable for electronic club music which has nowadays oftenvalues below DR4. All values above DR12 have generally a high dynamic quality.”
DR Meter Offline DR Meter Log Sheet
DR meter comes in two flavors, what they call an offlineversion (pictured above) and as a foobar2000 component. For those of you who are wondering what foobar2000 is, checkout our MusicPlayback Software Comparison. If you do decide todownload DT meter, we encourage you to sign up andsupport their campaign to end the loudness war.
3. Room EQ Wizard
Room EQ Wizard, or REW, was one of the original room andloudspeaker measurement systems available to the home theater enthusiast. Oncesetup properly, it’s a joy to use. Actually, I find it much more intuitive thanOmnimic, a costly alternative. REW is packed with useful features, the mostprominent being an SPL meter, RTA, waterfall plot, and spectrogram. REW canhelp you figure out the best placement for speakers, listening position, andacoustic treatments. Figuring out how to use all of the functionality packedinto REW can be a little tough at first, but there is a large online communityto provide support.
RoomEQ Wizard
Like we said, once up and running, REW is a powerfulpiece of software. However, getting it up and running can be difficult, andresults can be inaccurate depending on the quality of measurement equipment youare using. You will need to invest in a microphone, cables, tripod, andexternal soundcard (external soundcard is optional). You may also needsomething like the NadySMPS-1X phantom power supply for the mic, depending on thefunctionality of the soundcard you purchase. If you are willing to spend someextra time during setup and invest in decent quality measurement gear, you willbe rewarded. For people who want a more seamless experience, kits from Omnimic or XTZ(review in progress) come with everything you need and work right out of thebox with little to no setup.
4. Harman How to Listen
This is the only program we know of that is designed toimprove your critical listening abilities. Originally created to train Harmanemployees, it has been made available, for free, to the public. It’stechnically still beta, but it has been that way for a number of years, sodon’t expect an update anytime soon.
2 Band Test 24 Band Insane Test
The program works by asking listeners to identify how atrack has been manipulated. For example, the image above-left shows a verybasic Band ID exercise. The user can switch be an unaltered “flat” version ofthe song, and the modified “EQ” version. The goal is to identify which of thetwo Eqs shown is being applied, number 1 or 2. The tests become increasinglydifficult. Above-right is an image of the most difficult Band ID test theprogram has to offer. As you can tell, the tests become very difficult. Thereare a number of different training exercises, including reverb, coloration, andnoise. If you become tired of the tracks that come with the software, you caneven upload your own to demo.
5. Audio DiffMaker
Have you ever made a change to your system and wonderedif there was any actual change in the sound? Let’s say you just spent $3,800 perfoot on a Audioquest WEL Signature power cable,and you want to know if that made any difference, audible or not. That’s thepurpose of Audio DiffMaker. You record a reference track. This can be done with a mic to capture the actual sound output from your speakers, or using various other methods to capture the audio output from a device. Next, make the change inthe system, and then record a compared track. The software compares the twotracks and extracts the difference.
Diffmaker Screenshot
The designers (Liberty Instruments) went through a lot oftrouble to ensure accuracy. For example, it automatically accounts for samplerate drift and level differences, so the difference recording is only what hasactually changed between the two recordings. Anyway, that’s what they claim,and they seem to have taken all of the necessary steps to achieve that goal.Note that this system does not require your equipment be completely linear orof the highest quality, by its very design all of the characteristics of yoursystem are part of the reference and comparison recordings. Even though theconcept of Audio DiffMaker is simple, be warned that its actual implementationcan be difficult and time consuming. The two recordings need to be verycarefully taken so as to isolate only a single variable. Still, if you arereally into small system tweaks and DIY projects, this is a fun program to seeif each change makes a difference or not.
6. Audacity
Audacity has been around for a long time, and like someof the other software on this list, is opensource. Unlike the other software onthis list, which serve specific purposes, Audacity has a wide range of uses.Essentially, it’s a sound recording and editing program. It can record liveaudio or computer audio, and then be used to edit the recording. One of thecommon uses of Audacity is to record and edit podcasts, and is employed by AVrant podcast forthat very purpose. Quality is also key with Audacity. It can import and export WAV,AIFF, AU, FLAC and Ogg Vorbis files, and record at 24-bit depth and 192,000 Hzsampling rate (384,000Hz on OS X and Linux).
Audacityscreenshot
One of the reasons it made this list is because of a cool“show clipping” feature. The program will highlight red any portion of theaudio waveform that clips. Like DifMaker, this can be used to compare thequality of different tracks. The above screenshot shows a song from HDtracks’free sampler. The image below shows Dire Straits “Walk of Life” downloaded fromiTunes … notice any clipping?
ImageCourtesy of AVrant Podcast and their loyal listener John
Conclusion
We thoroughly enjoy using the software on this list, andhope you will too. We didn’t cover everything out there, so let us know whatyour favorite software is. Finally, we want to say a quick thanks to all of theindividuals who invest their time and effort into creating software that therest of us can use for free. Richard Stallman would be proud.
To create a wonderful sound system, there is a need to have all the factors put into consideration. This is because designing of speakers is as much as science it is an art. To create most effective speakers, here are some of the best speaker design software that can guarantee you the top performance of the designs. As a matter of fact, the majority of them are the choice of the leading brands in the industry.
Related:
Audio Subwoofer Design Software
Clio Speaker Testing Software
Audio Subwoofer Design Software is a powerful software application that will allow the users to be in a position to create quality subwoofers and speakers. The software features an easy to use interface that makes it easy to monitor and calculates all the aspects that require.
WinISD
WinISD is a great speaker design software that is designed for the Windows platform. The software is 100% free and offers quite a wide range of features. With this, it is easy and possible for the users to create vented, bandpass as well as closed boxes that will deliver quality sounds.
Boxnotes
Box notes is an excellent speaker design software both for DIY enthusiasts as well as for professionals. It is the best loudspeaker design software available in the market and one that will guarantee top performance. It is well detailed as well as simple to use making it quite ideal for all users.
Other Platforms
As it is the case with the majority of the applications that require being installed into computer systems including those that are portable, the platform is key. This is critical in filtering the applications that can work for your case as well as those that don’t go to establish.
Speaker Designer for Android
Speaker Designer is an Android speaker design App that allows users to find some guiding parameters when it comes to designing various speakers. The App being on smartphones and tablets make it quite convenient for the user to access the required info and consequently come up with the best speaker.
GSpeakers for Mac
GSpeakers is a Mac-based 3D speaker box design software that was conceived out of the necessity, the fact that there is a lack of an appropriate software on the platform. However, the software is quite powerful and other being accessible on Mac OS, it can also be accessed from Linux and any UNIX system.
WinSpeakerz for Windows
WinSpeakerz is a free speaker design software that is provided for evaluation purposes to give an opportunity to sample the premium software. With this, it is possible and easy to realize the full power as well as the future of loudspeaker simulation and designing.
Most Popular Software for 2016 – FINEBox
FINEBox is the leading speaker design software. With this application, it designing of headphones, micro loudspeakers, PA systems, and Hi-Fi systems is greatly simplified and results much more effective. The software also offers rich features such as 3D display of the various elements as well as a simulator for different designs.
What is Speaker Design Software?
A speaker design software is a computer application that is developed to assist the designers of speakers in bringing out the best designs that will have various effects. Essentially, the software in this category will pick all the components of the speaker being developed in terms of measurements as well as the type of materials being used. You can also see Music Editing Software
From these, the software is able to simulate the sound quality that the speakers being designed will be in a position to produce. As a result, it is possible to expect the very best in terms of performance as well as optimization. You can also see Digital Music Player
Computer aided designs as well as simulation are areas that have led to the development of products that could have otherwise been very challenging to have. There is no exception in the field of speaker designs as it can be noted that there are quite a good number of these applications.