The designs I present as part of the LM series don't need any of the measurement tools here. You can buy the parts, cut the holes and solder the crossovers without them. What I'll be doing with these tools is showing the entire design process so that those who are interested can go on and create their own designs. Much like Dr. Leach did for me in enabling me to think and understand processes that were completely opaque to me before I sat in his class, I hope I can do for a few of you.
In the 21st century the DIY builder has access to buying or downloading tools that only graduate students or professionals in the audio or car industry had in the 1980's. We'll take full advantage of modern tools and while I'll point out some free tools, I'm pretty set in my ways with the inexpensive commercial tools I use. However the steps and processes won't change much regardless of what measurement tools you use. The primary measurement and analysis tools we'll use are:
- Dayton Audio OmniMic Precision Measurement System
- DATS V2 Audio Test System - Driver Impedance and Thiele/Small
- XSim - Free crossover simulation tool from Bill Waslo
You can save $50 by buying OmniMic and DATS together via the Parts Express website. Free alternatives to OmniMic include Room EQ Wizard and others but I'm afraid I don't know much about how to use them. Of course, even if the software is free you'll need a decent microphone. At about $20 the Dayton iMM-6 is pretty much the cheapest there is.
XSim is just an amazingly accurate simulator, allowing you to try alternatives in seconds what before would have taken real hands on experimentation. We'll take the outputs from OmniMic and DATS to analyze our design from start to finish. When we're satisfied then we'll order crossover parts.
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