Sample Delay Calculator
Detailed App Info:
Application Description
UPDATE: One user reported that the app won't pass the startup screen - we have tried to simulate the issue here but could not find any problems. Please remember to close background applications; If you're having trouble with the app, please contact us at shout@3gsounds.co.uk with details before leaving a negative review. Thanks!
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Thanks to customer feedback, our next update will include imperial units of measurement for our friends across the pond, plus greater language support! We're working on it as fast as we can, thanks ever so much for your patience.
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The Sample Delay Calculator is a quick and easy reference calculator for time-aligning speaker systems and microphones for both live sound and recording applications.
Useful for all live sound, classical recording and broadcast engineers, and even for sound installations.
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- Why time align sound? -
The propagation speed of electricity down a copper cable is virtually infinite, at two-thirds the speed of light. The speed of sound through air, conversely, is a lot slower, and is dependent on air temperature. Therefore, for two point sources of a coherent sound, wavefronts will arrive at different times at a specific point depending on the difference in distance between the two sources. This causes audible blurring of transients and comb filtering, or even a distinct echo in the instance where the time of arrival differences are greater than 50ms. This problem also affects recording, whereby microphones capturing a single source may have great distance variations between them, for example in orchestral recording. By delaying the spot mic on an instrument to the main array, the engineer can ensure that the sound will arrive time coherently when printed onto tape, thus improving the clarity of the mix.
Time aligning and sample-level digital delay is a luxury recently found with the introduction of DAWs and digital mixers. Before this, when sound was mixed on analog desks, there was nothing much the engineer could do to correct the alignment error. In recording applications, arguably, the subtle time of arrival differences captured by the microphones contributed to the Haas effect, allowing more accurate aural localisation to the human ear when listening back in stereo. However, we were not able to overcome transient issues and the effects of comb filtering, and could only go by our ears. Many gigs and recordings still came out well thirty years ago though - as we all know - so always trust your ears!
- How does the app work? -
The Sample Delay Calculator is provided to give quick delay calculation and ease of mind for precision alignment of speaker systems to a single location, and time alignment of microphones, where accuracy is key. It works based on the simple Speed = Distance/Time equation, but fully expanded using the most accurate derivations to compensate for other imperfections including air temperature. It specifies the required delay in milliseconds and samples, which you can then input into your digital mixer, DAW or speaker management controller.
Please note that the app calculates the delay for direct sound, not diffuse such as those reflecting from walls and other surfaces. Therefore, you should always still trust your ears, as the Sample Delay Calculator is only theoretically accurate when used in a strictly free-field environment. However, it does mean you won't have to drag a calculator with you to your next gig, or go loosely by the "1ft=1ms" rule.
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App design and development by Malgorzata Zarczynska
Concept and theory by Chris Kalcov
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©2013 3G Sounds
For more information, visit ww.3gsounds.co.uk
----
Thanks to customer feedback, our next update will include imperial units of measurement for our friends across the pond, plus greater language support! We're working on it as fast as we can, thanks ever so much for your patience.
====
The Sample Delay Calculator is a quick and easy reference calculator for time-aligning speaker systems and microphones for both live sound and recording applications.
Useful for all live sound, classical recording and broadcast engineers, and even for sound installations.
====
- Why time align sound? -
The propagation speed of electricity down a copper cable is virtually infinite, at two-thirds the speed of light. The speed of sound through air, conversely, is a lot slower, and is dependent on air temperature. Therefore, for two point sources of a coherent sound, wavefronts will arrive at different times at a specific point depending on the difference in distance between the two sources. This causes audible blurring of transients and comb filtering, or even a distinct echo in the instance where the time of arrival differences are greater than 50ms. This problem also affects recording, whereby microphones capturing a single source may have great distance variations between them, for example in orchestral recording. By delaying the spot mic on an instrument to the main array, the engineer can ensure that the sound will arrive time coherently when printed onto tape, thus improving the clarity of the mix.
Time aligning and sample-level digital delay is a luxury recently found with the introduction of DAWs and digital mixers. Before this, when sound was mixed on analog desks, there was nothing much the engineer could do to correct the alignment error. In recording applications, arguably, the subtle time of arrival differences captured by the microphones contributed to the Haas effect, allowing more accurate aural localisation to the human ear when listening back in stereo. However, we were not able to overcome transient issues and the effects of comb filtering, and could only go by our ears. Many gigs and recordings still came out well thirty years ago though - as we all know - so always trust your ears!
- How does the app work? -
The Sample Delay Calculator is provided to give quick delay calculation and ease of mind for precision alignment of speaker systems to a single location, and time alignment of microphones, where accuracy is key. It works based on the simple Speed = Distance/Time equation, but fully expanded using the most accurate derivations to compensate for other imperfections including air temperature. It specifies the required delay in milliseconds and samples, which you can then input into your digital mixer, DAW or speaker management controller.
Please note that the app calculates the delay for direct sound, not diffuse such as those reflecting from walls and other surfaces. Therefore, you should always still trust your ears, as the Sample Delay Calculator is only theoretically accurate when used in a strictly free-field environment. However, it does mean you won't have to drag a calculator with you to your next gig, or go loosely by the "1ft=1ms" rule.
----
App design and development by Malgorzata Zarczynska
Concept and theory by Chris Kalcov
----
©2013 3G Sounds
For more information, visit ww.3gsounds.co.uk
Requirements
Your mobile device must have at least 38.61 MB of space to download and install Sample Delay Calculator app. Sample Delay Calculator is available on iTunes for $1.99
If you have any problems with installation or in-app purchase, found bugs, questions, comments about this application, you can visit the official website of Malgorzata Zarczynska at http://www.3gsounds.co.uk/.
Copyright © 2013 3G Sounds
