Based in Bergisch Gladbach, on the outskirts of Köln, Rational Acoustics' Michael Häck has been running Smaart classes since 2008, as well as distributing the software.
"Our courses demonstrate that you don't need to necessarily know all the theory, what is behind the algorithms or what is mathematically correct for setting up a high quality PA system. If you can use the software properly to measure the system and interpret the results correctly, you will get a good result," he says. "But if you measure wrongly, of course you will get the wrong result. It's much better to get it right first time than to get it wrong and then try to fix the EQ or the PA with your ears."
The seminars are designed for all audio engineers, from those new to the industry to very experienced people who want to change from years of working in the 'analogue way'.
"A main reason that we use Apex Intelli-X2 units is because the hardware and software work seamlessly with Smaart. They are integrated incredibly well - the Intelli-X2 software shows live traces of what Smaart is doing in the background, which is invaluable when demonstrating to classes how it is working," says Häck.
"Before doing any EQ or level changes, you need to be certain that the measurements are exactly right, that you can trust what you see on the Smaart trace and compare it with what your ears are telling you. The Apex software makes this much more straightforward."
(Jim Evans)
