Tools to measure in room response

Behringer ECM 8000 with an XLR cable is cheap and works fine. There are better measurement mikes out there but for room evaluation this is more than good enough. You will need a microphone stand also and a USB interface to your microphone (it uses phantom power) - I'd suggest the EMU 0404 USB - again I am recommending excellent gear but at modest cost (great value).

Thanks, Shadorne.

Another option for phantom power with the Behringer.

Rolls PB23

I find the Behringer to roll of above ~15kHz, but that's well beyond the interesting ranges, IMO.

Jim, it took a couple weeks for shipping (including a short delay to pony up for the "customs fees"). The latest software version is MUCH improved over the original, and I have found it extremely helpful for fine tuning my acoustic treatments and speaker setup!

Kschiu, I did borrow a friend's RTA to verify my general tweeter level setting. That gave a reasonable overall response curve but was lacking in detail (the measure bars move slightly with the pink noise).

For a more detailed adjustment of speaker placement for smoothest bass response, the RS SPL meter (which I calibrated at work against a B&K SPL) and Stereophile Test CD (any of 1-3 will work) did a reasonably good job.

I placed the SPL meter on a photo tri-pod, positioned where my head would be in the prime listening location. Then with a volume level of about 85 dB I ran and recorded the reading for 1K (reference sound level), then each of the tones from 200 Hz on down to 31 Hz (lower frequencies are notably incorrect on the RS meter but we are looking at relative measurements here so constant errors should be acceptable) on the test disk. I then added the total deviation from the 1K reference for all bass frequencies (ignoring + or -) for a given speaker location. This supplied a rough picture of the smoothness of the bass response. I continued making such readings as I moved the speakers out from the front wall. The response (deviation) became flatter as I moved the speakers out to a given point, then they began increasing as I moved them further. This was time consuming since I moved the speakers 2" at a time until I found the range with less variation, then I moved them 1" at a time. I was quite satisfied with the results.

Good luck.