dsp mobile

Here are the frequency responses of the iDevices running iOS6 via line in of the headset input (iPod touch 5 coming soon):

iPhone 3GS

iPhone 4/4S

iPod Touch 4

iPad2, iPad3, iPhone5

We made some measurements with the Analyzer 2 (beta version). As Apple disabled the built-in (software based) low cut in iOS 6 we are now able to get the responses of the iDevices directly (using the headset input). The results are great news: On iPad2 & iPad3 and iPhone5 the response is virtually flat from 20Hz – 20kHz! On iPhones 3GS, 4 and 4S there is still an attenuation of the lower frequencies which we will compensate for in Analyzer 2.0.

We made the measurements on different devices and shared them through the Analyzer’s new features: iCloud, png export, email and dropbox – that was fun! 🙂

Here are the graphs:

We are working on a completely new version of the Analyzer (v2.0). It will take advantage of the new possibility to turn off the built-in lowcut (iOS 6 only). We also included real pinch zoom, snapshots, data storage and export, iCloud support, a much better graphic engine and many more exciting features! This major update will be available in a few weeks, hopefully still in october – we’ll keep you informed!

We have been working on this and the bug is fixed. An update has already been submitted to Apple and we are waiting for the review. The update comes along with some minor improvements and will probably be ready for download in the App Store in the beginning of next week.

All iDevices running iOS 5 have a built-in low cut filter for the built-in microphones and the headphone jack input.

schematic frequency response of iDevices running iOS 5.x

This issue has been solved by Apple since iOS 6.

The reason for the low cut of the pre-iOS 6 devices is – as we believe – that they are designed mainly for recording and processing human speech. This high-pass represents a serious drawback for all kinds of frequency related measurements based on the use of the built-in microphone or the headphone jack. We gave this problem a lot of thoughts and decided to develop a compensation.

Please note: the compensation curves (offered as In-App purchases in the Analyzer and the Spectrograph) compensate for the corresponding device, microphone and (in the case of running iOS 5.x) the heavy low cut filter. In the latter case we are aware that the compensation pushes the noise in the low frequencies, but after much testing done by experienced sound engineers we are very happy with the results! Compensation curves are available for the built-in microphones (on Analyzer included), selected headsets and the i-series mics i436, i456 and i266 from MicW. We offer the frequency responses as In-App Purchases. You can get them by visiting the store in the menu.

The compensation for the measurement microphone i436 from Mic-W includes a setting for the individual sensitivity given in the manual of each i436. In Germany, Switzerland and Austria all products from Mic-W are distributed by Synthax GmbH. 

If you are running our Apps on iOS 6 or later, the compensation curves linearize the frequency response of the corresponding microphones and devices.

Frequency responses of the iDevices running iOS 6 (measurement mode activated):

iPhone 4S, 5, iPad 2-4 headset-in frequency response

iPhone 4 frequency response

iPhone 3GS frequency response

iPod Touch 4 frequency response

Here are the frequency responses of some external mics available for iDevices attached to the headset input:

Mic-W i436 frequency response

Mic-W i266 frequency response

Mic-W i456 frequency response

The MicW i436 manual provides an individual sensitivity value. We integrated this as a setting in the i436 info page:

our crew making measurements…

Hi everybody, there’s a new update available: we improved the facebook performance and enlarged the facebook button – get it now!

One step further: our next app has made it! With dB Volume+ you can post everything on facebook: noise level, geodata, picture, comments… You could use it for analyzing noise levels in National Parks, around airports or for documenting your nights in the clubs – but let’s see what you’ll make out of it…

Our next App made it through! We are proud to present our free of charge App dB Volume. You can measure the sound pressure level (SPL) and share it directly on facebook – we are really curious, how you will like and use this feature!