Am 25.06.20 um 10:25 schrieb Fons Adriaensen: I love the linux way using one (professional grade) tool for different hardware! Still, there's one point that makes me prefer an all-in-one recording solution Zoom is offering: How is gain calibration working with an ambisonics mic like the Tetramic and f.e. a recording setup I have with a Presonus Digimax FS and a RME HDSP 9652? It can be nasty gaining a stereo mic correctly - normally I'm going in front of it, shouting, clapping and snapping around in the middle axis and compare the two level meters till the gain is about the same. I can't do that with tetrahedral mics, can I? I do have an old 90dB sound level calibrator, but it's built for measuring mics with 1/4 inch capsule - besides the fact that it is not built for comparing different capsules and therefore only offering one single frequency (1KHz). Is this the kind of way to go (with - don't know - a pink noise sound calibrator) or do the ambisonics pros have other tricks? The Zoom does make it easy, here. Guess, they calibrate the input gain for each mic as the final step before packaging it for shipping. The downside of the Zoom will be that they won't offer a calibration service if the microphones alter their frequency or gain response over time. So: Electronical waste, sooner or later. (Sooner in comparison to multi-part-solutions…) Greets! Mitsch

On 6/25/20 5:59 AM, Michael Jarosch wrote: Hi Fons, is this using your own calibration for both microphones? ... AFAIK they do not individually calibrate the microphones, I have not seen any options that suggest they do. I imagine (a guess again) that they match the capsules before assembling. I did a couple of recordings and they sound decent (their interpretation of "flat" is different from mine - it showed some boost in high and low frequencies). But I have not done yet precise measurements to see how the polar patterns stack up - it is in my long list of things to do... -- Fernando

On 6/25/20 11:42 AM, Fons Adriaensen wrote: Hey, good to hear from you... Same here, home-officing as well, a few short trips to ccrma to pick up things or first stuff that cannot be done remotely. Not really doing whatever I want, though (well, a little bit :-). Been working on (trivial) stuff for our weekly streaming online concerts / jam sessions (the "Quarantine Sessions", up to #14 this coming Saturday, see ccrma's web site). Some SuperCollider code to "spatialize", reverberate and control them remotely and then feed the ambisonics 3rd order mix to a binaural decoder and mastering processor for the remote audience :-) At home?? I imagine this was pre-covid? Good to know. I have to re-start my measurements (curious about the Zoom), there is just too much to do. But as I am at home I don't know if it would be worth it (smaller rooms, so shorter ir's - at ccrma I was down to only about 200Hz already) -- Fernando

Am 25.06.20 um 15:02 schrieb Moshe Werner: I bought the Zoom H3-VR, made some atmosphere recordings and got a 40dB signal to noise ratio. Today, I'm going to send it back to the dealer. Indeed, that package was just too good to be true. Well, don't know… I should try to get some used devices on ebay-kleinanzeigen.de. There are several "mixpre 6" selling for around 700€. The ambisonics plugin for that device costs another 50€. But I guess that's the price for getting a noiseless experience… Still, there is a microphone to buy… Coresound "Tetramic" seems not to be available in germany. As well as the Soundfield "SPS-200". Sennheiser "Ambeo" is a bit too pricey. Røde NT-SF1 costs 2/3 of the Sennheiser, but still: a lot of money for me. No used mics at all. Greets! Mitsch

On Tue, Jul 21, 2020 at 10:13:37AM +0200, Michael Jarosch wrote: You can buy it directly from Core Sound. You'll have to pay some taxes probably. If you are using linux, you don't need a plugin, Tetraproc (jack client) and Tetrafile (file processor) are free. -- FA