Blog Entries

Fast Tube Amp Characterization

Fast Tube Amp Characterization

by site admin
A look at how to quickly characterize a low-cost, 5W guitar amplifier.  And in case you missed it previously, a video looking at automation and me...
Rapid USB DAC Evaluation

Rapid USB DAC Evaluation

by site admin
DACs--the standalone kind and not the integrated-circuit kind--have been part of home systems for more than a decade now. They can pose a bit of a ...
Quantifying Fuzz

Quantifying Fuzz

by site admin
In release 1.709 for the QA401, the ability to graph distortion versus level for a given frequency was added. This is achieved using the new Test P...
OPA2156: HiFi in CMOS

OPA2156: HiFi in CMOS

by site admin
The OPA2156 is a new, high-performance op-amp from TI. Normally, that's not newsworthy because higher performing parts are coming out all the time....
ASIO Arrives

ASIO Arrives

by site admin
ASIO401 is an open-source ASIO driver for the QA401 created by Etienne Dechamps. Aside from some input I had on how the QA401 wire protocols operat...
Low-Cost Test Setups

Low-Cost Test Setups

by site admin
A common question we get is "Can I run the QA401 on an older machine?" In general, as long as the PC is running Windows 10 the answer is "yes." The...
NAMM 2019

NAMM 2019

by site admin
NAMM is the premiere event for those that manufacture musical instruments and accessories to connect with buyers--from independent music shop owner...
Estimating Circuit Yields

Estimating Circuit Yields

by site admin
A common exercise for all design engineers is understanding the "spreads" or yields on their circuit performance. When using SPICE, this can be don...
QA401 Headless & Linux Support

QA401 Headless & Linux Support

by site admin
There are two recurring requests for the QA401 platform: First, people ask if they can easily control the hardware from a language like Python, Mat...
QA401 Release 1.70

QA401 Release 1.70

by site admin
Release 1.70 should be out this week and adds in a test plugin (Test Plugins-> Speaker Impedance) that makes it easy to measure the impedance of...
Tractor: First Look

Tractor: First Look

by site admin
Tractor is a framework for driving automated testing. The first focus is on amplifier testing using both the QA401 Audio Analyzer  and the QA450 Pr...
QA450 Programmable 8/4 Ohm Load

QA450 Programmable 8/4 Ohm Load

by site admin
If you are designing and shipping high-powered amps and looking for an economical testing solution, we are putting the pieces in place to deliver what you need. Combined with our QA401 audio analyzer, the QA401 and QA450 working together will facilitate inexpensive, rapid testing of a range of amp power levels and topologies.