Dayton iMM-6 Calibrated Microphone Review and How To Use With A Laptop PC 1080p

[@overbuiltautomotive1299]

in my upgrades used timpano tweeters i love them and resistors when needed Timpano Audio TPT-ST2 4" Super Tweeter Pair or any of the other models all sound great

[@ts6640]

Just curious, why not merely purchase an USB Microphone (e.g. UMIK-1) and be done with it? Only cost about ~$100 and comes with a calibration file (REW has a relationship with MiniDSP and therefore their products work marvelously together). Moreover, If I am not mistaken USB should eliminate all crosstalk?

[@AudioTomReviews]

At the time they were about $120, so this saved me about $100.(this mic also has a calibration file) I only wanted it for basic testing on the speaker upgrade project (video coming shortly), a project I wanted to put as little money as possible into. Now that that project is finished I am thinking of getting a UMIK-1 and a DATS v3 and take it to the next level to upgrade a better pair of speakers.

[@LBCAndrew]

You don't want a USB microphone for measurements. You want XLR.

[@distortingjack]

@@LBCAndrew Unless you have a portable audio interface that takes batteries, you cannot plug an XLR condenser measurement microphone to a phone. A USB mic is just a mic with a USB interface tacked on. A low-power electret mic via USB Lightning or USB-C is a much better option than XLR for portable devices. Do also note that the only major sound quality issue with the mini jack input on a modern phone is higher self-noise, which is irrelevant for frequency response measurements.

[@joekraska]

@@AudioTomReviews The Dayton imm-6C is $40 these days, although I get my comment is a bit of necromancy lol

[@AudioTomReviews]

@@joekraska That one is USSB, if it would work with an adapter for a PC it could be a better choice.

[@Motoralbi]

i have had the same exact problem with the extension cord making REW pickup the output signal in the input with this microphone. On my laptop i found that using an external type C DAC eliminated the crosstalk (using the same TRRS cable); the DAC is a cheap CX31993 type C to TRRS dongle, and it can be found for cheap on aliexpress. This however didn't seem to fix the problem with my old garage desktop pc, which is strange. Another thing with the imm-6 is that when equalizing some speakers flat with measurements taken with it, the sound comes out as wrong, which makes me wonder wether the microphone isn't actually linear or if the DAC itself is not in its microphone input, or if the soundcard isn't (even though my laptop output sounds fine "by ear", i should probably test it with a loopback).

[@AudioTomReviews]

I used REW to create a calibration for my laptops internal sound card using a Y adapter to do the loopback. I later figured out that the cal file was putting 2 (large) low frequency peaks into all of my readings.

[@Motoralbi]

@@AudioTomReviews interesting; in my case i didn't calibrate the soundcard, but it somehow gave me wrong results even in the midrange; i applied an EQ calculated by REW on a speaker with a DSP and measured it on axis, the measurement was dead flat but there was harshness in the midrange and treble (where it compensated for a 8KHz hole that maybe was present only on axis)

[@stephenyoud6125]

This is why you need to do a gated time window, 1W at 1m and set the time window in IR responses button to exclude room reflections. I only use 256k for sweep. Takes about 5.5 seconds. The longer sweep times dont add much.

[@StudioSS313]

Great insight, not many American overviews of this mic

[@mccririck01]

Thanks for the video. I'm thinking of getting one of these microphones to measure the frequency response of my car speakers as I'm not happy with the sound. My can only has USB-C inputs though - does this microphone only work by inputting a signal though a 3.5mm phono cable to the car system?

[@AudioTomReviews]

Yes, 3.5mm TRRS is your only option. If you have a tablet available to you could you possibly use that? I have used an app that used my phones own microphone, not the best but I was able to use it.

[@DullBoyJack]

Dayton now makes a USB-C version of this same microphone, the iMM-6C.

[@stephenyoud6125]

Check out all the Klipsch upgrades by GR-Research - you might want to upgrade your too if he’s already done the same model you have. He’s done a few of those floorstanders and fixed their poor frequency response and driver phase issues

[@SlowCarsFastSFV]

USB to TRRS adapter with an extension TRRS to TRRS cable makes it far easier. Also, having your test files on a USB stick plugged into the car makes it much easier, too. I used pink noise and some Michael Jackson files and sat in the back seat making adjustments on my DSP. Also.. don't sweat minor noises.. listening environment is never perfect. I just do it a couple times in different sessions and then give a final listen or two by ear.

[@AudioTomReviews]

I will give the USB/TRRS adapter a try. I have not been able to find 3.5mm TRRS cables that didn't seriously degrade the sound. (well, at a reasonable price anyway)

[@onesikm3]

Hey Tom is this microphone worth buying as of today do you recommend i save the extra few dollars and get this instead of the umm6 ? Did you finally perfect connecting it to the laptop with rew?

[@AudioTomReviews]

UMM-6 is really the way to go. The IMM-6 is cheap but has drawbacks. The biggest is all the 3.5mm trs/trrs cables on the market suck. They are noisy and degrade the sound, so I plug directly into the PC. This will get the job done in the basic sense, but I will be upgrading. It does work with REW fine, but in a clumsy way.

[@marxman00]

Without using the Calibration file there is no point owning this..laptop mic ins often use hi and lo pass filters and also you cannot null the soundcard response in REW using this.. also idealy you need to use another device as a signal generator as the headphone /line out will blead into your results regarless of any cable you use.Just use a phone app ,F generator is my favourite ios app , but any other will do

[@AudioTomReviews]

I used the calibration file, but yes the biggest hindrance is the poor quality of 3.5mm trs & trrs cables. But for the price it still works as a very basic measuring tool, definitely not for professionals.

[@97ynoT91]

TRS = Tip Ring Shield, TRRS = Tip Ring Ring Shield

[@AudioTomReviews]

SHIELD! That's it!!! So obvious too! LOL!

[@97ynoT91]

@AudioTomReviews I humbly stand corrected... I've been doing A/V for almost 20 years, and was always taught it was "shield", but one of the previous comments on here was actually correct - "sleeve".

[@AudioTomReviews]

@@97ynoT91 I bet that term originated back to the original mono "guitar cord" plugs and the manufacturer etc would refer to the parts as "tip and sleeve". As we moved into TRS and TRRS there are multiple sleeves the outermost ground (in USA) makes more sense to be called shield. Thanks!

[@marxman00]

NO ,you are wrong, it stands for "sleave" ..what you call "shield" is actually the MIC + contact ....so its not at all a sheild. the R in t-r-R -s is the common ground or "shield"

[@AudioTomReviews]

@@marxman00 It depends on where and what product. In the USA everything but Apple products the "S" is ground.

[@JoseSantos-uc8cl]

Sleeve... 😊

[@97ynoT91]

I always thought it meant "shield", but I stand corrected! "Sleeve" makes more sense anyway - a component of the connector itself, as opposed to "T" for "tip" and "R" for "ring", both also components of the connector, and "S" for "shield", an anticipated use of the signal usually using said component.

[@marxman00]

@@97ynoT91 sleave is actually the mic positive contact