February 22th, 2013

To whom it may concern, Smaart is an analyzer A dual-channel, FFT-based software platform we use in our work as audio engineers to view the frequency content of signals or measure the response of our electrical and electro-acoustic systems. Much like medical instrumentation for doctors, this tool helps us examine our sound systems in detail and diagnose and solve problems. Because Smaart is a software product, it provides the power of extremely powerful hardware-based analyzers in a package that is affordable by an average audio professional. As mix engineers, we use Smaart to identify tones/frequencies of interest and help us with tasks like feedback suppression and channel equalization. As system engineers, it assists us in the process of setting up and aligning our speaker systems in our performance environment. Smaart is one of the most widely used audio and acoustic measurement tools, a software application for the analysis portion of acoustical measurements ans instrumentation. Introduced in 1996 by JBL's pro audio division, it was designed to help the live sound engineer optimize the linearity of sound reinforcement systems during the public performance unlike most earlier analysis systems which required specific test signals sent to the sound system, ones which would be unpleasant for the audience to hear. It was also intended to assist audio engineers in analyzing the output of loudspeakers, and other audio gear, as well as helping the acoustician analyze room acoustics. The software product has been known as JBL-Smaart, SIA-Smaart Pro, EAW Smaart, SmaartLive, and simply Smaart, while the acoustician version has been offered as Smaart Acoustic Tools. The name Smaart was derived from System Measurement Acoustic Analysis Real-time Tool (SMAART) System Measurement This is a dual-channel analyzer. We can look at individual channels and take those signals apart to examine their level, frequency content, duration, etc . . . and we can compare two signals, the what went in of a system to the what came out, to determine what happened in between. In other words, what our systems (electronics, speakers, acoustical environments) are doing to the signals passing through them (frequency response, impulse response.) Acoustic Analysis - By doing system measurements in and of acoustic environments (where cool things like shows happen), we can use those measurements to help figure out how we can adapt our sound systems to our rooms, or even vice versa. Real-time Tool This extremely powerful analyzer was actually built to be used, not as an academic experiment, but when and where we actually use our sound equipment real-time in our shops, at our install sites, during our load-ins, and most importantly, in our actual show environments. The significance and genesis of Smaart in professional audio is found in the early-mid 90s when our choices of sound system measurement tools were limited to some moderately priced RTAs (Real-Time Analyzers) and a limited number of extremely expensive (hardware-based) dual-channel acoustic analyzers most of which developed for industries and purposes outside of professional audio. While all of those measurement tools proved helpful in our tool boxes, the substantial cost and educational/technical barriers to implement the dual-channel systems significantly hampered, and often prevented their use in our industrys everyday practices. By the mid 90s, however, a new force was beginning to redefine our tool boxes the personal laptop computer. The processors in our laptops had become strong enough to run the mathematical algorithms that we were using in those expensive hardware / dsp based dual-channel analyzers, and effectively it became possible to create those advanced analyzers in software and hence, in 1995, Smaart was born and the price barrier fell.

Smaart was developed by Sam Berkow in association with Alexander Yuill-Thotnot II, touring sound engineer with Luciano Pavarotti and the 3 Tenors. In 1995, Berkow and Thorny founded SIA Software Company, produced Smaart and licensed the product to JBL. First exhibited in New York City at the Audio Engineering Society's 99th convention in October 1995. Studio Sound magazine described Smaart in 1996 as "the most talked about new product" at the 100th AES convention in Copenhagen, exemplifying a new trend in software audio measurement. Smaart was unusual because it helped audio professionals such as theatrical sound designers do what was previously possible only with highly sophisticated and expensive measurement devices. Audio system engineers from Clair Brothers used Smaart to tune the sound system at each stop during U2's Pop Mart tour 19971998. Clive Young, editor of Pro Sound News, wrote in 2005 that the introduction of Smaart in 1995 was the start of "the modern era of sound reinforcement system analysis software". In 1998, JBL Smaart Pro won the TEC Awards category for computer software and peripherals Eastern Acoustics Works (EAW) bought SIA Software, and brought in Jamie Anderson to manage the division. Smaart 6 was nominated for a TEC Award in 2007. Rational Acoustics was incorporated on April 1, 2008. On November 9, 2009, under the leadership of Jamie and Karen Anderson, programmer Adam Black and technical chief Calvert Dayton, Rational Acoustics became the full owner of the Smaart brand. Rational released Smaart 7 on April 14, 2010; a version which uses less processing power than v5 and v6 because of efficiencies brought about in the redesigned code. Smaart 7 was written using a new object-oriented code architecture, it was given improved data acquisition. Other new features include graphic user interface changes and delay tracking. Users can run simultaneously displayed real-time measurements in multiple windows, as many as their computer hardware will allow. Smaart 7 was nominated in 2010 for a TEC Award. In April 2011, Smaart 7 was named one of four Live Design Sound Products of the Year 20102011 Over the next 17 years, Smaart software continually developed and evolved -reflecting the growth of the computer power, the refinement of our audio gear and expansion of our collective experience, understanding and techniques in applying these measurement technologies in our industry. In 2008, Rational Acoustics was launched with the specific focus of ensuring the continued development of the Smart measurement platform, and substantially enhancing the educational efforts and support that back it and in 2010, released Smaart. Rational Acoustics continues its consistent support and development of the Smaart test, measurement and system optimization platform with the recent release of version 7.4 (v.7.4). Released in fall 2012, the Smaart v.7.4 update features an enhanced and re-designed IR mode that includes the full functionality of Smaarts renowned AcousticTools Intelligibility Module. Smaart v.7 is inherently multi-channels and multi-platform, able to access modern multi-channel input devices and operate native in both Windows and Mac operating systems (including 32- and 64-bit versions). A new object-oriented program architecture allows users to run as many simultaneous single-channel or dual-channel measurement engines as their PC will allow. Enhanced, strengthened and awesome-ized measurement engines provide quantum leaps in measurement power, stability, accuracy and ability. A simpler, friendlier graphic user interface reduces UI clutter and provdes modern point n grab n click mouse-based controls.

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NEW IN v.7.4: Impulse Response Overhaul including: Adjustable Time 0 (T0), Impulse Measurement Crop, IR Spectrograph Controls On Plot, Wave Recorder, Triggered Swept-Sine, Speech Weighted Noise, Reverse Time Integration Curve (Schroeder Integration). All-Bands Table including Reverberation Time (T60/RT60), Early Decay Time (EDT), Direct to Reverberant Ratio (D/R), Early to Energy Ratios (Clarity factors) for 35, 50 and 80 ms (C35, C50 and C80), Articulation Loss of Consonants (ALCons), TLow (average reverberation time for the 125 and 250 Hz octave bands), THigh (average reverberation time for the 500 and 1000 Hz octave bands), Bass Ratio (TLow / THigh ), Speech Transmission Index (STI measured indirectly from impulse response), STIPA (an abbreviated form of STI for Public Address systems), Common Intelligibility Scale (CIS) ratings for intelligibility measurements, User Defined Zooms and Views, Dual Spectrographs, Peak Holds, Locked Cursors, Multi-Device Transfer Function Measurements. On February of 2013 Smaart v.7.4 won a ProSoundWeb Reader's Choice Award in the "System Engineer/Tech Tools" category.

Oscar Alberto Gamas Gonzlez

CEO & Technical Consultant / SONOTRIBE Audio Consultants Latin America SMAART Tech & Educational Division.

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