undefined | Better HN

0 pointshunter2_1y ago0 comments

I believe it's hardly different from trying to deduce perfect distances from multiple rulers of dubious precision: you need to compare them to one of extreme precision. Arranging 4 rulers into a perfect square proves that they have equal lengths, but you still don't know their offset from standard length.

However, if you ignore tolerances and assume that every microphone of a given model number has equal response, then it's simply a matter of having that known response information available, similar to a hypothetical brand of ruler being known for coming up short.

0 comments

crazygringo1y ago

> but you still don't know their offset from standard length.

But that's fine for microphones -- the question here isn't to determine their absolute volume, which is of course unsolvable. It's to determine the relative "volume" (response) at each frequency. It's the shape of the curve that matters, not its offset.

And again, I'm not looking for a practical solution (like getting the info from a manufacturer) -- I'm just curious about it in theory. If it's inherently solvable or not.

gmueckl1y ago

This isn't solvable. Each loudspeaker and microphone has its own frequency response and will always measure the product of any two of them. This does not result in a unique solution for any single frequency response, even when you know the clean source signal. There is always a degree of freedom of how much each device in a pairing contributes to the final response.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse