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Mssed an issue? SILICON CHIP has available all back issues going back to 2003 and many issues before then. (And if we can't supply a back issue, we can always supply a reprint of any particular article. Project reprints also include relevant notes and errata). And it's not just for SILICON CHIP – we can also supply reprints of articles from Electronics Australia/RTV&H and ETI! Thisprice close-up the frontaofback the APx525 it is not designedistothe win same: any beauty pageant . . . but it will win within when The forofeither issueshows or a that project reprint $12.00 including P&P it comes to function and operation! Australia; $15.00 inc P&P overseas. • here) We also found it a bit odd that when you generate a PDF Keep your–Sfour ILICON CHIP collection intact issues before they runbitmaps out! • APx526 channels, analog and digital I/O – orderofyour your back test results, thetoday embedded graphs are just There are several other current Audio Precision models, both cheaper and more expensive but those are outside the scope of this review. rather than vector plots. As a result, they look quite grainy when printed. When we used the APx525 to test our Crystal DAC project (February 2012), which we happened to be working on at the Drawbacks time, we ended up tracing the curves to get graphs we could While this new unit has a lot more features than our publish. This could obviously be fixed with a simple softSystem One, it has unfortunately lost some too. One of ware upgrade or alternatively, you can export test results the biggest drawbacks that we noticed straight away is as a CSV file and plot them yourself using spreadsheet or that there’s no good way to monitor the distortion residual graphing software. waveform (ie, the actual distortion waveform being introThe analog outputs of the APx525 are generated using induced) during a test. ternal DACs. This means that while they have extremely low With our System One, we monitor the residual whenever distortion with a 22Hz-22kHz bandwidth, if the bandwidth Awe SILICON subscription positively guarantees that you willtonot only receive EVERYincrease issue, are usingCit.HIP It gives important clues as to the behaviour is opened up (say, 80kHz) there is a measurable of the DUT and the nature of the distortion. Unlike the Sysin noise. In fact, with a 22Hz-80kHz bandwidth, the analog but there are several other advantages – for example, you get 12 issues for less than the price tem One, the APx525 has no output sockets to hook up to signal generator in our System One gives a lower THD+N ofa 11. Count the advantages of a SILICON CHIP subscription: scope. It does have the facility to view the test waveform figure. This is not a major problem but it goes to show just on the computer screen but this does not update very fast how good the System One was for its time (see Fig.4). It's cheaper – you $ave money! PRICE OF 12 ISSUES and there’s no way to view the residual synchronised to OVER-THE-COUNTER Conclusion the test itself. right to your mail box!! It'ssignal delivered AUSTRALIA: You could argue that having a spectrum analyser means Overall the instrument is easyIN to use, has a slew of useful You need can toalways be sure you'll receive it!!! automated tests and we found ourselves using it in preferyou don’t see the residual in this manner but while the spectrum is anpostage excellent feature, we don’t charges!!!! ence to our System One most of the time, especially due to We pickanalyser up all the and handling think it really replaces being able to see the distortion the ease of automating tests and the digital audio I/O. We waveform itself.never miss an issue because it's sold hardly had to refer the manual at all. You will out (or you to forgot)!!!!! For example, it’s easy to see whether an amplifier is sufThe APx525 is available from VICOM Australia Pty Ltd, You length subscription required: 12 Parramatta or 24 months. fering fromchoose crossoverthe distortion by of looking at the residual Level 4,6, 71-79 Rd Silverwater NSW 2128. Contact as the spikes occur near the zero crossing of the test signal. them at (02) 9648 4757. The cost at the time of writing is You can even choose to auto-renew your subscription at the end of the period! How do you make the same diagnosis from a frequency approximately $13,360 and the AG52 option is $1,380. The spectrum display? It’s possible but nowhere near as easy. HDMI + Bluetooth option is approx $10,000. SC But there's an even better way of ensuring you don't miss an issue... subscribe! u v w x y z { 11160 $ Here's the deal: And if you thought the front panel was rather here’s the back of 6spartan, months the machine to prove it too is very utilitarian! Apart 12 Months from the ubiquitous IEC mains input connector, all youMonths have is a couple of D9 24 connectors for aux control in and out, another for software options and a miniUSB for computer interface. SILICON CHIP : 52 in Australia; 55 in NZ*; 80 o'seas* SILICON CHIP : 97 in Australia; 99 in NZ*; 140 o'seas* SILICON CHIP : 188 in Australia; 196 in NZ*; 265 o'seas* $ 00 $ $ $AU 50 00 00 $AU $AU $AU 00 00 $AU 00 00 $AU 00 * VIA AIR MAIL There's a handy order form on P89 siliconchip.com.au March 2012  89