Industry's first 8-channel audio analyser

Audio Precision has introduced the APx585, the world's first audio analyser with eight simultaneous channels of analogue I/O.

Audio Precision, the worldwide leader in audio test and measurement, has introduced the APx585, the world's first audio analyser with eight simultaneous channels of analogue I/O.

The instrument is available exclusively in the UK from TTi (Thurlby Thandar Instruments).

Designed specifically for testing multichannel consumer audio products, the PC-controlled APx585 also features an innovative user interface that allows new users to take measurements almost immediately and to automate testsequences with no programming.

The APx585's measurement navigator presents a broad set of measurements that can be made simply by selecting with a checkbox and then clicking 'run', allowing entire test sequences to be defined by selecting multiple tests.

Automating test sequences through the navigator eliminates the need for any programming, saving time for development teams and making for a seamless transition to production, where automated test sequences are standard.

Test sequences run on the APx585 are supported with an integrated reporting facility, which generates rich graphic reports on individual test settings and results every time a sequence is run.

Reports are exportable, and can be customised with a company's name and logo.

Collaboration among project design teams is expedited with the APx585's project file structure.

Measurement settings and automated sequences are saved in the project file, which can be loaded and immediately run by another 585 user.

This enables test results to be quickly reviewed and analysed independently by different team members.

Dolby and DTS projects are shipped with the APx585, allowing designers of multi-channel systems to assess their readiness for Dolby/DTS certification.

These projects use measurements developed by Audio Precision that are the equivalent of those used by Dolby and DTS in their certification procedures.

When users load the projects and click 'run' in the measurement navigator, all the measurements are made, and a report is generated.

The APx585 uses a new (patent pending) sweep method called 'continuous sweep' that is faster than previous methods, and can also make multiple simultaneous measurements.

Making a typical one-second sweep, with a subsequent 10 seconds of processing time, can result in up to 14 measurements of characteristics such as frequency response, THD, crosstalk, group delay and more.

The APx585 provides a measurement selector that displays thumbnails of all these measurements, which can be clicked to display full screen.

Other tools available in the APx585 include real-time input signal monitors and a general purpose FFT analyser.

The input signal monitors provide a choice of a real-time oscilloscope view, an FFT spectrum view, or level, frequency and THD+N meter readings.

All these meters display all eight channels, and any number of them can be viewed in real-time while the APx585 is making measurements.

The FFT tool provides both time-domain and frequency-domain views with an FFT acquisition variable of up to one million points.

Options available for the APx585 include an 8-channel switching amplifier measurement filter, the APx581, for testing switch-mode amplifiers such as class-D.

A cable kit, the CAB585, provides a full set of cables for connecting the APx585 to a test device, with cables harnessed and colour-coded to simplify the task of connecting up to 8 channels.

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