Overview
The Waveform Analyzer (WFA) is a post process analyzer for audio WAV Files or TDMS files that provides A-weighted and 1/3 octave band sound pressure levels versus user selectable time intervals. An integrated audio player allows users to listen to the file while examining the sound level vs time history.
The Waveform Analyzer is the perfect analysis tool for conducting detailed sound level analysis on any TDMS or audio WAV file. It can provide very short time interval 1/N Leq sound levels on products or equipment with time varying sound levels. And, it can analyze very long recordings of environmental noise or plant noise.
WFA processes standard audio WAV and TDMS format files and provides several methods of establishing level calibration, allowing files made on most any hardware to be analyzed using the WFA.
- Recordings made with our Trident data acquisition software have embedded normalization and will automatically be calibrated with retrieved into WFA
- Recordings made with Bruel and Kjaer’s Pulse data acquisition system can have calibration information read directly into WFA
- Recordings with known A-weighted sound pressure levels can calibrated based on the known level
- Recordings of a calibration signal with the settings as the recording to be analyzed can be used to establish level calibration
Typical applications for Waveform Analyzer include :
- Noise emissions from appliances and equipment that goes through various operational cycles
- Plant noise monitoring from recording dosimeters
- Environmental noise monitoring
- Pulsed alarm signals
The integrated player and cursor controlled playback feature allows users to listen to the file at any point in the level vs time analysis in order to identify operational or environmental events associated with level changes.
View the Waveform Analyzer features tour here.
Features
Waveform Analyzer provides several methods for achieving proper level calibration of WAV files, which is an inherently uncalibrated file format, but a convenient file format because there are so many ways to record and listen to WAV format files.
The easiest way to properly calibrate WAV files for use in Waveform Analyzer is to make your files using National Instruments hardware and our Trident data acquisition software. Trident embeds a “normalization” value into the header of the WAV file as it is being saved that Waveform Anlyzer can read when the file is retrieved for analysis. Level calibration is seamless using this method.
If you have generated your WAV files using another recording or data acquisition system, you can achieve level calibration on the file using one of these two methods
- A-weighted sound level calibration – If the overall A-weighted Leq sound pressure level of the WAV file recording is known, simply enter that sound pressure level into Sound Quality Analyzer when the file is retrieved and Sound Quality Analyzer will properly scale the file.
- Calibration Signal Recording – Record a WAV file with a tone or signal of a known level using the same recording input gain setting that were used to record the WAV file. Sound Quality Analyzer will use the calibration recording to generate the proper normalization term for the WAV file to be analyzed.
WAV File Analyzer provides a method for achieving level calibration of WAV files generated from most any recording device or data acquisition system, allowing you to conduct sound level analysis on any WAV file.
Waveform Analyzer allows you to set your analysis parameter for sound level versus time analysis of audio TDMS or WAV Files.
WAV and TDMS files are selected from existing files using windows dialog box.
Analysis is conducted in 1/3 octave bands, with frequency range optional settings from Low Band = 1Hz to High Band – 40kHz.
Analysis is conducted in a user selected Leq block size from 1 msec to 99 minutes.
Launching the view starts the analysis.
The Waveform Analyzer software provides sound pressure level vs time analysis over the user specified frequency range and time intervals. Analysis is conducted in 1/3 octave bands, as well as Linear and A-weighted results. Results are presented in a graphical format with cursors for reading levels and analyzing only certain sections of the file.
Pricing
The Waveform Analyzer sells for $3,500 USD.
