Is there an affordable desktop spectrum analyzer that people generally gravitate to for dawless? I just need something somewhat accurate for filtering/eq/whatnot.
I was about to say yes, but what do you mean by accurate?
Do you want a cheap eye candy LCD or more a pro tool with precise metrics that you’ll make decisions with?
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Korg NTS2?
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Something more like the latter
Looks decent. Let me check it out
Voxengo SPAN is a popular free one.
Blue Cat’s Multi Pack is a good one, but it isn’t free.
Melda Production make a few as well.
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I use the TC Electronic Clarity M
It has a plugin, but can also be used by sources plugged in, ie AES.
But I also use Insight 2 (from iZotope) and Youlean Loudness Meter (which is free). Steinberg also includes SuperVision in Cubase/Nuendo which is much the same.
https://steinberg.help/nuendo_plugin_reference/v11/en/_shared/topics/plug_ref/supervision/supervision_r.html
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Word. That one looks solid too. A few more bucks than I intended to spend, but looks promising as well.
Korg NTS2 or Fnirsi 1013D
or the 1014D if you prefer a more traditional lab look:
If you get a general purpose 'scope rather than the NTS-2, you will also need some BNC to 1/8" or BNC to 1/4" cables:
1/8":
1/4":
The 1013D in action:
Also, the MOTU 828 mk3 and later have a built in oscilloscope and frequency analyzer module, but you need a host computer to see it.
If you want, you can go down a youtube rabbit hole on oscilloscopes. The thing to keep in mind is that professional users of 'scopes are typically doing RF engineering in the GHz frequency range. We are working in KHz. The absolute worst scopes on the market are generally more than good enough for us. The 1013D has a built in battery, which makes it extremely convenient. You can also look around eBay, Craigslist and other second hand sites for ancient analog 'scopes, but those things are heavy, large and eat up a lot of power. They are great props for live sets though.
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Bro your answers are always above and beyond! Thanks for the breakdown. Will probably end up with the Korg.
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Looks pretty awesome. I like the big old school boxy ones but it’s not for the sake of accuracy, just fun to look at them. Feels like being in a 1950’s laboratory.
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Korg is probably the best choice if you are only ever going to use it with synths.
Can’t argue with the vibe of an oldskool tube scope, but some of them take up as much desk space as a Hydrasynth Keyboard.
Another view that shows just how easily the FNIRSI perches atop the 2600m. I think the Korg has to lay flat on its back. (thanks to @spikysimon for the correction below)
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+1 on the Korg
No, it comes with a side panels that work as a stand- mine is vertical (well a little laid back from vertical)
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What’s the refresh rate like on the spectrograph of the 1013D? I have an old Siglent that does great time-domain duties, but its frequency domain math is dog slow. Maybe time for an upgrade!
Someday I’d love to have one of these Samsons in my rack. But man, opposite of “affordable” these days!
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The lag is noticeable, but probably on the order of hundreds of milliseconds. It is much faster than the old DSOs that gave you enough time to pull a shot of espresso between updates.
Edit: the 1013D is a DSO, so you can set a trigger and capture a drum hit and export it as a BMP or data file (CSV or something else that looks easily manipulable with tools like Perl or Python, IIRC).
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I use this plugin on my iPad for spectrum analysis. The tuner is really handy as well, its a heat map instead of just a guitar tuner. ‎Analyser & Tuner AUv3 Plugin on the App Store
You could use an old iPhone and a cheap usb interface to get one set up.
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Does this scope have a logarythmic scale on the frequency domain in spectral analysis? Or just linear (that’s what it looks like in your pics)?
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Handy app for its tuner, but its LUFS measurement mode is around 3db lower than FabFilter Pro-L 2 (Integrated loudness measurement mode) and what Sound Forge reports.
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Probably just linear, but there is no scale on the spectrum graph so this is probably not the right tool for precise analysis regardless.
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Hey, I’m taking a look at this TC Electronic Clarity M but I want it for live setups. Will I be able to convert my Octatrack output with ADC and feed it with SPDIF real-time? Do you use it live?
