Unofficial Mackie User Forums > DL1608/DL806/DL32R/ProDX Mixers

Is anyone using SSD AudioTools or other RTA with the iPad and DL1608 ?

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Kevin:
Yeah, I know there were some threads on this in the old Mackie Forum and I was planning to re-read these old threads last weekend to see if maybe I can ditch my rack mount RTA, but noooooooo....

So anyway, sorry if you've answered this before - but is anyone using SSD AudioTools, Sinusoid AudioKit or other RTA with the iPad and DL1608?

Specifically - I already have a Rane rack mount RTA with a reference mic. I'm hoping to ditch the rack unit,  plug the mic into one of the DL1608 inputs, dock the iPad during the room EQ check, and have the RTA app use the DL1608 docking adapter to send out pink noise through the "iPad" channel and get the mic response back through the same input that Master Fader uses for recording. That way all I should need is the RTA software and dont need to go out and get another reference mic that works with the iPad in order to EQ the room.

edit > turns out that this doesnt quite work because there is no way to get the reference mic signal to the DL's 32 pin connector, without also running it through the mains (which would cause feedback), so you have to bring the reference mic signal out through either one of the auxes or the solo headphones out - and from there to the iPad mic input. So an adapter like this one is necessary: http://www.kvconnection.com/product-p/km-iphone-mic42-a22.htm

From what I have read, once the room has been EQ'ed, the iPad's internal mic should be good enough for identifying feedback frequencies, should they appear. 

Is this possible? Is anyone doing this, and does it work well enough to lose the rack mount RTA? It looks like some of the RTA software is a big improvement in functionality over my rack unit, but I dont want to buy another reference mic or have to use the built in iPad mic if I can help it.

It would be nice if I could split the iPad screen with Master Fader on one half and an RTA on the other - then no need to swipe between Master Fader and RTA. Swiping to Master Fader takes waaaay too long for MF to re-establish communication with the mixer, although that is something that should be easy enough to fix in a release

RoadRanger:
Sounds like something they should add into Master Fader :) .

I use this app:
https://itunes.apple.com/ke/app/jl-audio-tools/id388648626

Kevin:

--- Quote ---Sounds like something they should add into Master Fader
--- End quote ---

I agree. From what I can tell from looking through the google cache of old threads, there are a few 3rd party iPad RTA apps that some members liked, but nothing that really does what I want without buying a lot of extra hardware. If I can find a reliable extender cable, then I think AudioTools is about as good as what I currently have for helping to tune for the room. Not really so much for helping to find feedback live because while the FFT is nice for telling you exactly the frequency that something is ringing, it doesnt help you find what input is the problem. On my old board, I ran the solo out to my rack RTA so that if I start to hear a ring I could start soloing the most likely suspect channels and often find the culprit before it got too bad. Sending the solo out to an FFT display instead would be much better, as you can often see a persistent ring on a FFT, even if its level is lower then everything around it... but no way to do this with 3rd party tools without a lot of jerry rigging.

So what I would really like to see in 1.5 is for Mackie to add just a single FFT block to their DSP code that is always fed by the solo, maybe with a variable time window.

On the iPad, when you hit the solo button for any channel or output, a 3x5 inch FFT display pops up over the slider area, showing the FFT output of the solo'ed channel or output. Touch any area outside the FFT display and the FFT window disappears. Touch any other solo button and that channel/output comes up in the FFT window. Touch inside the FFT window area and it pops to full screen, with the FFT on one half and the channel or output EQ (preferably parametric) on the other. This makes me probably 5X more effective on identifying the feedback source at the first start of a ring.

For ringing out the room, the LR output gets a solo button (which I admit seems non-intuitive, but it allows you to pull up the FFT and EQ window for the mains in a way that is consistent with everything else) and the DL would have an internal pink noise generator that is controlled by a button in the full screen FFT view. Since the iPad mics dont have good low frequency response, I dont really see an alternative to walking around with a reference mic - but since you also have the iPad, you can now walk around and have a much better idea of where the low frequency nodes and swells are, and now the EQ is already in your hands if you want to change something.

Something like that would kick my rack RTA's ass and would probably be relatively easy for Mackie to implement. Most DSP vendors already have canned FFT code blocks already available so most of the work would be on the iPad interface. Mackie gets the drop on berringer with a real useful new feature, I sell my rack RTA and pay off another chunk of my DL. Someone with an analog deck gets a sweet deal on a rack RTA. Everyone wins.


--- Quote ---I use this app:
https://itunes.apple.com/ke/app/jl-audio-tools/id388648626
--- End quote ---

Yep, I've been using that one too. If I can get it to work reliably with the extender, then I'll probably spring for the full version to get the pink noise and FFT. That will be almost as good as what I have now, but not as good as the RTA that I want Mackie to put in v1.5

RoadRanger:
Other sound apps I have loaded up:
Feedback Detector - Identifies the loudest frequency, maybe good for ringing out monitors.
FreqCounter - Similar to Detector except can show the five loudest.
UE SPL - Ultimate Ears SPL meter.
Decibel 10th - Yet another SPL meter.

If you only load up one make it the "JL Audio Tools" app :).

Kevin:

--- Quote ---If you only load up one make it the "JL Audio Tools" app
--- End quote ---

Yep, cant beat the price. Also here are some test audio files that you can put on your iPad and send to the DL via Airplay for evaluating room response
http://www.audiocheck.net/soundtestsaudiotesttones_index.php

Its too bad that the iPad doesnt have a better mic, because then you would have a nice portable RTA that you can walk around the room with.

The iTest mic looks nice, but pricey
http://www.studiosixdigital.com/itestmic/itestmic.html

The UMIK-1 looks good and only 75 bucks. Not sure if it would work with my USB/30 pin cable. Anyone work with one of these?
http://www.minidsp.com/products/acoustic-measurement/umik-1

edit > Looks like Dayton Audio iMM-6 iDevice Calibrated Measurement Microphone is the cheapest option for a reference mic - 24 bucks delivered - got one on order
https://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=390-810
 
BTW - What happened to Greg C? IIRC, he was using the SSD Smaart plugin, which looks interesting, but Im not sure how useful it really is without a better iPad mic and some way to get test  tones back to the DL

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