Note that the Control Strip on the right (detailed in figure 2) displays the averaging but not the weighting, which I consider essential. Figure 1 shows the Smaart Spectrum (RTA) function. One of the few gripes I have with Smaart is that weighting is neither displayed nor accessible from the Control Strip, though it is indicated in the trace area. four windows of RTA, each displaying a channel). It'd be nice if you could tile the screen into separate windows for each trace (e.g. Active channels are viewed 'overlay' style clicking on an input in the Control Strip brings its trace to the front of a window. Version 7.1 is the first to support multiple channels, enabling simultaneous measurement of, for example, console output, a mic at FOH, another mic in the balcony, etc. Inputs are organized and added into Groups under the Group Manager, where you'll find parameters including averaging and weighting. Sometimes Smaart would recognize the Traveler, and other times – typically after changing the sample rate – it would not. I cannot say the same for my MOTU Traveler, which Smaart did not like very much. Smaart played very well with my Digi 002R at sample rates of 44.1-, 48- and 96 kHz, though it does not support 88.2 kHz (which I don't see as a problem). You can then set sample rate, bit-depth (16 or 24) and apply your own names to the inputs and outputs (nice for managing multi-channel systems). When Smaart recognizes your interface, it appears on a menu of available I/Os. Smaart's primary modes (Real Time and Impulse Response) include time and frequency domain measurements, but first you need to set up your hardware in the audio dialogue. A major change is that this version supports simultaneous measurement of multiple channels. Rational Acoustics incorporated many improvements to the interface of Smaart v7.1, including a 'Capture All' command that stores all active measurement traces and an improved trace filing system.

Reading these documents while following along with your system can cut down the learning curve, and since there's a lot to learn about Smaart, this idea is… well… smart. If you've never used Smaart, it's worthwhile reviewing the resources available from the Rational Acoustics web site, particularly the PowerPoint presentation and basic setup guide. I ran Smaart on a MacBook 2 GHz Core 2 Duo/4 GB RAM with Digi 002R and MOTU Traveler interfaces. Rational Acoustics recommends at least a 2 GHz dual-core processor and Smaart is compatible with CoreAudio, WAV or ASIO audio drivers. The latest revision of Rational Acoustics' Smaart is v7.1 which runs under Mac OSX (10.5 or 10.6) as well as Windows 7, XP, or Vista. Editor's Note: Steve submitted this as his regular 'On the Digital Edge' column for the January issue of FOH but, as it is a pretty extensive look at the nuts and bolts of a much-used software program, we are running it as a Road Test instead.

Crack smaart 7