Audio testing streamlines automotive project

Pi Shurlok is using Prism Sound's dScope series III audio analyser to thoroughly test a new audio product.

Pi Shurlok supplies car manufacturers with products ranging from vehicle security systems to instrument clusters, body and drive train controllers and telematics.

While Pi Shurlok has worked on aspects of many audio-related projects in the past, this is the first automotive audio product that it has been involved in from start to finish: from design through to implementation, test and manufacture.

The ability to measure audio performance is critical to the development of this product.

Hardware Engineer Paul Gregory, who is responsible for developing the electronics side of Pi Shurlok's new products, says: "My job involves liaising with our test department to ensure adequate test coverage during the production of new products".

"As audio is a relatively new area for us, I carried out some research on equipment that could test audio quality and produce repeatable tests".

"The Prism Sound website showed the dScope series III in an example system set-up that appeared to be suitable for our application".

Pi Shurlok invested in one dScope series III unit and an audio filter to reduce out of band noise.

It is now using this to analyse every section of its audio system so that it can guarantee performance.

"We are measuring the product from end to end, including all of sub sections in between", Gregory adds.

"This particular automotive audio product involves audio sources coming in from a variety of different places".

"These are then routed out to four individual outputs".

"Each of these system configurations are different and need to be tested, along with audio software settings to these configurations, so the number of possible configurations is actually quite large".

"The dScope series III is being used to measure every configuration between different hardware levels and software builds".

"It is also allowing us to undertake repeatable measurements so that we can thoroughly compare the performance of the system".

"In terms of measuring the audio quality of various PCB versions, it is already proving to be an invaluable tool".

"It has also helped us to understand one of the issues we were seeing with some passive components".

Prism Sound's dScope series III allows analogue and digital audio generation and analysis, including digital audio carrier testing and testing of Windows sound devices.

The audio test and measurement system comprises a Windows PC (XP and Vista compatible) software application coupled with an external high-precision audio I/O processor for equipment-under-test (EUT) connections.