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Topic: Spectrum visualization starting at 0 Hz, please. (Read 2297 times) previous topic - next topic
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Spectrum visualization starting at 0 Hz, please.

Apologies if this isn't the most appropriate section for a suggestion.

So 44.1 kHz audio hits 20 Hz... the Spectrum visualization starts at 50 Hz. I tend to watch the low end of the spectrum vis a fair bit, it's annoyed me for years that I can't visually get feedback below 50 Hz. Is there any way the spectrum and any other applicable visualizations can distinguish all the way down to 0 Hz or as low as possible? I know the bulk of listeners don't listen to modern system music which makes harmonic use of sub-bass frequencies at and below 20 Hz, but as I visualize the graph, it's been irking me that I can't see below 50 Hz, hell, my LFE crossover is at 40 Hz, I want to know what my subwoofer is missing, only being able to hit 25 Hz at -3 dB. I want visual feedback on which music justifies an upgrade. Anyone else? Thanks for hearing me out.

Re: Spectrum visualization starting at 0 Hz, please.

Reply #1 –
Quote from: _Slipstream on
Is there any way the spectrum and any other applicable visualizations can distinguish all the way down to 0 Hz or as low as possible?
1. Musical Spectrum Foobar plugin.
2. Enhanced Spectrum Analyzer Foobar plugin.
3. Spectralissime external application. RTA. Good resolution for steady tones down to 20 Hz. Needs a low latency sound card with loopback. Trial nag screen after a few weeks of use.

To see low frequencies you need to select a large fft size which makes the whole analyser react slowly.

Re: Spectrum visualization starting at 0 Hz, please.

Reply #2 –
Thanks a lot! The enhanced spectrum analyzer is pretty good, though not as responsive as built-in visualisations. Hope to see the built-in spectrum/visualisations start at 0 Hz. Thanks for hearing me out, long live fb2k.

Re: Spectrum visualization starting at 0 Hz, please.

Reply #3 –
Musical Spectrum covers nearly twelve octaves from C0 (= 16.35 Hz) to A11, but you can transpose it by semitones up to one octave = halving/doubling, AND you can set the A4 reference to something else than 440 Hz.

For example, entering 220 in the "Pitch (A4)" box will give measure one octave below what it actually reports, so the "C0" will give the level of the C-1 tone (slightly above 8Hz).

Note, you cannot really go from "0" with a halftones-based scale. One octave down means one half of the frequency, and no matter how many times you cut in two, you will still remain positive. If you transpose down five octaves [put A4 to 14 Hz, since it only accepts integers], you will start around .5 Hz and the A11 will effectively be 1.76 kHz. But if you for some strange reason want to look at infrasound every now and then, you can have two Musical Spectrum panes; one proper one that tells you the unaltered spectrum - and to the left of it: say, put it to cover C0 to B6, transpose it six octaves down; then what that left pane will report as "C0", will be a quarter-ish Hz, and what it reports as "B6" will be the B before the proper C0.
 

Re: Spectrum visualization starting at 0 Hz, please.

Reply #4 –
Thanks, I quite like Musical Spectrum too, didn't realize it'd give you the numeric frequency when you moused over a band, that's helpful, I like it! Have it starting at C0, A=220 Hz, thanks!