Put simply, Smaart is an analyzer – A dual-channel, FFT-based software platform we use in our work as audio engineers to view the frequency content of signals or measure the response of our electrical and electro-acoustic systems. Much like medical instrumentation for doctors, this tool helps us examine our sound systems in detail and diagnose and solve problems. Because Smaart is a software product, it provides the power of extremely powerful hardware-based analyzers in a package that is affordable by an average audio professional.
As mix engineers, we use Smaart to identify tones/frequencies of interest and help us with tasks like feedback suppression and channel equalization. As system engineers, it assists us in the process of setting up and aligning our speaker systems in our performance environment.
The name Smaart was derived from System Measurement Acoustic Analysis Real-time Tool, but that bit of trivia has been mostly consigned to the island-of-obscure-acronyms.
System Measurement Acoustic Analysis Real-time Tool (SMAART):
System Measurement – This is a dual-channel analyzer. We can look at individual channels and take those signals apart to examine their level, frequency content, duration, etc . . . and we can compare two signals, the “what went in” of a system to the “what came out,” to determine what happened in between. In other words, what our systems (electronics, speakers, acoustical environments) are doing to the signals passing through them (frequency response, impulse response.)
Acoustic Analysis – By doing system measurements in and of acoustic environments (where cool things like shows happen), we can use those measurements to help figure out how we can adapt our sound systems to our rooms, or even vice versa.
Real-time Tool – This extremely powerful analyzer was actually built to be used, not as an academic experiment, but when and where we actually use our sound equipment – real-time in our shops, at our install sites, during our load-ins, and most importantly, in our actual show environments
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