Break-In: How To?

[GRIMM]

First off, i know its not necessary, but im going to do it for peace of mind.

I have read the Break-In: Fact or Fiction post, so no link is necessary...

I have been trying to get a CD ready for breaking in my new pair of subs (old RF's will be retired) but have had no luck.

How has anyone done this, i got a tone generating program, created a file that generates a tone equal to my new subs Fs, and have burnt many copys to many Cd's, none of which have worked.

I tried MP3 format, but the head unit plays them blank (no sound, and yes i put higher frequencies to test if i would be able to hear), as it does with WMA formatted files.

It shows that the time is counting like a normal song, but there isnt any sound and instead of the 32 tracks i burnt, it only plays as if all 32 were one really long track (time goes up into the 60+ minutes)

Also tried standard format ( .Cda) but the stereo came back with a TOC error, something to do with the CD.

It does read MP3 CD's, and has before.

So, how should i go about getting the Kenwood stereo to reproduce the right frequency?

Thanks

 

[MDS]

- What did you use to generate the tones, how long are they and at what level?

- If the player can play MP3 or WMA formatted files the disc must be burned as a data disc.

- If you get a TOC error on a disc burned as an audio CD, the disc may not have been closed (finalized).

In general all you need to do is generate multiple files at a single frequency for say a minute. Make the level somewhere around -20 dBFS. You can of course make it louder or softer and control the volume of the receiver or sub to play it at the level you want. Save each file as 16/44.1 PCM and burn a normal audio CD.

 

[GRIMM]

I used a free tone generator, NCH Tone Generator.

I set the Fs tone (37.4 Hz) for 10 minutes, followed by a blank spot for 10, and repeated it 3 times.

But it saves it as a .wav file so i got a file convertor to turn it into any type. Which i did MP3 and WMA.

The only way i could burn as a MP3 was as a data disc, which is the only one the player actually read (and counted) but it didnt generate any noise.

I also burned multiple Audio CD's, but everytime any burning program i used converted it to a DC Audio file type ( .cda) before it burnt.

They should have been finalized, but ill try again tomorrow just to make sure. But only the .cda cd's read that error.

I did it at 0 dB and was planning on putting the volume low and setting the amp low.

Any program you know of that i can try out (for free). NCH doesnt have the option to save as the file type you mentioned, just Tone or .wav, and my converting program doesnt list what you said.

Thanks

 

[OttoMatic]

If your systems is at all connectable to a PC, I would recommend you use REW and play pink noise all day long.

In case you don't know, REW is a noise and tone generator, frequency response analyzer and much more. It's free and there's a lot of support for it.

Good luck!

 

[MDS]

WAV files are PCM so that part is fine.

I set the Fs tone (37.4 Hz) for 10 minutes, followed by a blank spot for 10, and repeated it 3 times.

So that is one file? That would explain why you see only 1 track that is 60 minutes long.

I would create multiple separate files, place them all in one directory, and then add them to the burning program's track list and burn Disc At Once.

I'm sure there are some good freeware/shareware apps around and most audio editors have similar features. Here is how I would do it using Sound Forge:

1. Generate a 10 minute long file at 0 dB at a frequency of 37.4 Hz. Save it as 37Hz-1.WAV.
2. Make two copies of it (each with a different name: 37Hz-2.wav, 37Hz-3.wav).
3. Generate a 10 minute long section of silence. With an audio editor that is trivial. You can take a copy of your 37.4 Hz file and just mute it. Now all the samples are zero. Save that silent file - silence.wav.
4. Add all of the files to the burning program and burn an audio CD. You will then have an audio CD with 6 tracks and the standard 2 second gap between tracks.

 

[GRIMM]

I have no way of connecting the unit to the computer, unfortunately. I wish ihad gotten the ipod compatible version so i could put these tracks on an ipod, or laptop, and run them from there.

Whoops, yes they are different tracks, like you said (different track names but that is of no significant inportance)

I guess today i will burn, with each burning program i have, a CD in .wav, .cda, and MP3 format, and if none of them work, ill give up

 

[Adam]

I was going to ask earlier, but I waited because MDS is the audio file master and has a good shot at getting you set up...have you tried using iTunes to burn an audio CD? I use iTunes all of the time without any trouble.

 

[MDS]

I have no way of connecting the unit to the computer, unfortunately. I wish ihad gotten the ipod compatible version so i could put these tracks on an ipod, or laptop, and run them from there.

Whoops, yes they are different tracks, like you said (different track names but that is of no significant inportance)

I guess today i will burn, with each burning program i have, a CD in .wav, .cda, and MP3 format, and if none of them work, ill give up

Ok, the plot thickens.

How are you saving the output from the tone generator? Do you just have it connected directly to a stand-alone CD-R/RW burner and 'burning' in real-time as the generator generates the tones? If so there is one slim possibility that it has to do with the type of media you are using. Stand-alone burners require a 'music' cd-r. They are no different than a normal cd-r other than they have a special code in the non-writeable (ATIP) area of the disc that means you paid more for it and artists are compensated. A computer burner will burn to anything but most stand-alone burners will not burn to any disc that is not marked with the magic code.

Note that if you are buring an audio CD, it doesn't matter what format the input file is in - as long as the burning program can decode it and turn it into raw PCM. A .cda file isn't a real file; you can think of it as sort of a 'pointer' or link to the location of the real track on the disc. If you add .cda links (from say windows explorer) to the tracklist of a burning program, it will prompt you to insert the disc that contains the track you want to copy.

 

[GRIMM]

I havent tried using iTunes, can you burn from there without paying for it?

I was saving the output as .wav and then converting it to mp3, then burning it which the burning program converted it again.

I guess it has something to do with XP, because i burnt it on a laptop with vista and it works fine.

Thanks for the help

 

[Adam]

Seems like you're good to go. That's great to see.

Just to answer your question...yes, you can burn CDs from iTunes for free.

 

[MDS]

By the way GRIMM, what program are you using to burn? XP shouldn't have any particular problems, at least I never have problems with it.

There are potential gotchas, of course - like how long are the filenames? If they are too long you have to enable 'Joliet' file extensions and use ISO-9660, Level 2. Vista probably figures it all out for you if you are using WMP or something like that. Nero requires you to know everything.