Sounds good brother.

 

Yes, The amount of speakers we tune, the RTA makes life easy. If you have a good ear like Haze and a few others you pick specific fz's that you hear and like or don't like and go from there. The RTA puts you on target a lot faster than just moving sliders and wondering what they do.

The DSP is not the magic fix, you still have to set gains correctly without distortion and ensure you are not out of phase. The DSP is a great tool for your x-over setting as well; highpass, lowpass and band pass which is one of the bigger factors for the speakers we are using on bikes ie.. mid-range and mid-bass.

Juice

 

I have a UMIK-1 and I use the REW windows software. A small investment and it can really completely change your setup. For the flatness or curve, I did a "custom house" curve on my setup so it just has a slight decibel increase on the lower end and goes flat from about 1k up. It's all up for experimentation. I highly suggest getting an rta mic and a dsp if you really want the most out of your system.

 

Just ordered a UKMIK-1... Looking at the software products. About to take it to another level.

 

Kris did you purchase an RTA???

 

No sir, Kevin did.

 

So when I was doing car stereo comps back in the day we used the RTA just like was stated above to make sure there were no huge "gaps" between frequencies. I think we tried to minimize it to no more than a 5db shift between frequencies (but someone with more knowledge can correct me if my memory fails me).
Randy

 

I took a closer look at the three products mentioned here, REW (Mac), Mobile Tools and Audio Spectrum (iOS on iPad). I picked-up a miniDSP UMIK-1 microphone and a USB to Lightning adapter to use the mic with the iPad

I am brand-new to this but comfortable with the basic concepts. Here's my observations and the process I went through – looking for feedback from anyone on anything I may have missed or could've done differently. Love to hear from some of the Pros and understand if I am on the right track!


My Observations:
Mobile Tools RTA has a host of options / settings that would likely provide a lot of customization in the right hands. I found it a bit overwhelming. There are links to YouTube videos that help to advise of all the options, but there is a level of knowledge in UNDERSTANDING all the options that I am surely lacking.

Audio Spectrum is slick – very polished and easy to use. Fewer options by far (allows for setting of FFT size and Octave Bands). The newb in me loved this app.

REW has a ton of stuff going on. Appears very advanced but wasn't overwhelming. The Mac-based product was simple enough to install and set-up. I basically relied on the RTA and SPL tools. Took a small amount of effort to dial-in the few options that I understood (I stayed away from anything else).

All three apps recognized the mic immediately, no issues. In REW it is a simple process to reference the calibration file for the mic. I decided to leverage REW for my tuning. I backed-up my existing tune and got started...


My process:
I set-up in my garage in order to control / limit outside noise from interfering with my measurements. I blocked my kickstand to get the bike close to perpendicular (I resisted the urge to put it in the Condor, but admit I considered it!). I tuned the bike in accessory mode while connected to my Battery Tender.

I had my sound output running from my iPhone, BT to the bike. Mic readings going into REW on the Mac. DSR-1 adjustments being made on my iPad – old eyes prefer the the larger view.

I set the mic in position based on my ride-height, ear-level and centered. I used this central point to make my time-alignment measurements, taking in consideration the additional distance to the speaker beneath the grills (e.g. my 6x9s are in in AHB 5x7 adapters and are 2+ inches below the grills).

I ran pink-noise through each pair of speakers independently and adjusted the EQ curve for each pair to get it flat. Once satisfied with the pink-noise adjustments I then switched-over to a music track to gut-check my sound quality. I was generally satisfied with where I got to each time. I completed this process for each pair of speakers independently.

Tunes used for the musical "gut-check": "She's Gone" (Hall and Oates), "Like the Way I Do" (Melissa Etheridge), "Billie Jean" (Micheal Jackson) and "Do it Again" (Steely Dan).

After the EQ-curve adjustment was complete on all three pairs, I used the SPL meter to check the output levels for each pair (measuring to 98~100db); I trimmed the fairing and lowers mildly to balance the measured output to the lids.

I then ran pink-noise through all three pairs simultaneously – the combined EQ-curve was close enough for me to keep me from revisiting anything.

Finally, the ear test. Damn, I am a happy man. My wife showed up just as I was wrapping-up and loved the bottom-end. I've a long-ride weekend planned and will get my final thoughts on the road, making any additional adjustments at that time.


Final Thoughts:
My system was professionally installed. It sounded great the day I rode it home. I am obsessive about fit and finish and more than a bit OCD. What is great work for 90% of folks out there isn't "perfect" for me. I fully recognize this is all about my head.

As a result, I've happily gone back through every element of the installation over the past few months. I've tweaked just about all of it, from wire-wrapping to wire-routing, from quick-release connectors to fabrication parts, maximizing space and efficiencies while minimizing waste and distractions. The process has afforded me the opportunity to understand how the installation comes together.

The tuning process is just another piece of the puzzle that I've now reviewed and tweaked to my liking. The adjustments I made tamed the mids, addressed a few minor mid-to-high peaks and provided a bit more from the lower-end. In getting a stronger bottom-end I "lowered the highs to increase the lows" in the EQ so as not to over-amplify the lower frequencies. Audio is now tight with a sharp bottom kick.

If and when there's a "next system" to install I'll be all over that on my own.

 

Glad to hear you dedicated some time in learning and figuring it out! When you put a little time into tuning, you find it's not overwhelming at all. Good luck chasing the unicorn now lol.