Implementation of a test-bench solution for loudspeaker quality characterization

Vehicle audio system performance is an important attribute for final customers. Usually the system performance is evaluated by subjective judgments and also some sort of objective measurements, as for example: reverberation time measurement of the internal cabin, frequency response and harmonic distortion. But all of these measurements are performed by the automaker at vehicle level - with audio system and speakers installed inside the vehicle cabin - for general quality inspections and definition of some spatial parameters of internal trim design. Loudspeaker performance evaluation usually requires great amount of investments due to the acoustic chamber requirements. This work presents the home implementation of a test-bench solution used for loudspeaker quality evaluation that uses time selective techniques enabling measurement of free field response of loudspeakers to be performed without the need of an anechoic chamber, allowing the conduction of the measurement in a low cost test-bench, inside an ordinary quiet room, without spent large facility investments.