Stand Prototypes Built

After a thoroughly exhausting day of working on the project, a pair of speaker stands were constructed, functioning as the working prototypes for the testing that will occur throughout the week.

Due to the lateness of the hour and the amount of combined fatigue from group members, a detailed post with the detailed record of the day's activities, along with the Fusion 360 CAD models that were used as the basis for the build.

Below is a picture of the two different stands supporting the speakers.

Sound Analysis Software

For some time, we have been considering how to test the stand quantitatively. We decided that we will record the speaker and then compare the recording to the original audio file and find a way to calculate the difference between the two files. This left the question of what software we could use to do this analysis with. After some research, I identified several programs that may be able to compare two audio files and give a numerical representation of the difference between the two. Among them are Sonic Visualiser, Praat, Audio DiffMaker, and musicg. All of these programs have been downloaded and will be experimented with to see if they can produce the desired results, and of them, which can produce the best results.

Week 4 Lab Activities

During our time today in the innovation studios, a variety of issues were discussed in detail, including:

1. Logistics for this weekend's build: An mutually acceptable time was chosen for travelling to purchase the materials and build the stand and isolation system prototypes.
2. Parts List: A materials list was also created in order than the trip to the hardware store might be as efficient as possible. This also ensured that the project stayed within budget.
3. Iterations of stand design: After the logistics were completed, much time was spent discussing the progress of each of the stand designs, and of the ideas related to the isolation system which will decouple the speaker from the stand, hopefully producing a much more agreeable sound.
1. Designs chosen include a single-column, 3" PVC structure with plates on the top and bottom, and a multi-column, 2" PVC structure, again with plates on the top and the bottom. We are still determining the exact number and orientation (2 in a line, 4 in the corners) of the PVC, and this decision will obviously come in the next few days before the build itself. Connections to the isolation system also still need to be ironed out.
2. Isolation component debate: Much of the class was also spent determining the different isolation systems that will be utilized to decouple the speaker itself from the stand in order that the stand won't interfere with performance. Research included an analysis of the resonance of different materials and especially the composition of industry-standard soundproofing systems which are advertise to decouple the sound from the surrounding environments. This research will be continued and will inspire the systems that we choose to actually construct (albeit with a DIY, low budget perspective).

As each of the designs are finalized and decided upon, updates to the blog will reflect this progress.

Speakers

Blake brought the ELAC B5's back on Sunday 4/17/2016. These were tested on the same day by playing a variety of standard-quality music while all members of the group tried to listen to the music and determine if there was a significant improvement in the quality of sound. Ultimately, it was decided that the quality of the speakers was more than sufficient. In the future, we plan to listen to high-fidelity music tracks to see if the speakers are capable of producing a noticeable difference.