I find these things fascinating. They're largely pointless and these two are difficult to justify given the high price, but I must admit I could find space for the second one. Looking forward to the sequel to the sequel Mat!
I've got to admit I liked the look of the first one and when you showed the second I was thinking what I could make the box out of. Then you told us the price and I realised I didn't need it that much.
Why was the first one symmetric over 'both channels' though? I think it's bullshit if they fake these anyway because it's really cheap to build a digital spectrum analyzer these days, but the first one wasn't even hiding it
I think the board has a problem and it's not working properly. That stuck red led is also a worrying sign. Doesn't look like good quality control unfortunately.
In 1983 or so I built a 8 channel one of these from a design in Practical Electronics. I taped up and etched the boards drilled and populated them. Took me months to afford the components from my pocket money. All entirely analogue using filters based on 741 opamps and an LM3915 in each channel for the display.
I built one like that too in the early 90's from an old project book. I remember the LM3915 being decently pricey, and getting it in a brick-n-mortar electronics store back in the day.
@Graeme Hill very well done..this type of idea actually goes even farther back music sensitive flashing lights for entertainment..back in the 1970's there was instructions to build one in Popular Electronics: take an old stereo speaker box remove the guts mount christmas lights inside (twinkle or fairy lights... standard christmas incandescents would probable catch fire) put a sheet of prism plexi on the front buy a filter board from Radio Shack (fully assembled or as a kit) it had RCA phono jacks on the board that you could mount inside the speaker box... usually no mic input just RCA phono jacks.. throw some Disco on your 8-track and you are good to go... total cost excluding the old speaker box was under $20...
The LED panels in the second one are the same ones used in video walls - Adafruit were selling some a while ago. I'm impressed at the programming they've done to use three of them. However, I agree the lack of a case is a big omission!
that's the easy part really, as the data is just serial and the jumpers define how many panels are in the series chain so it knows how many leds it's addressing.
indeed for the price the inclusion of a (very cheap to produce) perspex or even thin wooden jet / laser cut self assembly case would complete the package to a satisfactory bare minimum.
They're not like the 2812 LEDs, though, the code has to do the PWM duty cycles for all the different colours itself. But once you have that routine figured out, yeah, it will scale easily.
It really seems like the makers of the LED panel product don't understand that our perception of audio frequencies is logarithmic. Its display seems a lot more linear, with even midrange frequencies showing up at the left end of the display. Midrange frequencies ought to be in the middle, especially if the upper end of the range is limited to a few kHz.
_"Its display seems a lot more linear"_ I thought that too with the spectrum sweep, I expected it to speed up as it progressed towards the high end, of course ultimately this is controlled by what you are using to sweep through the spectrum, but 99.9% of the time you'd expect the sweep to speed up . . . which immediately made me think 'linear response' . . . the real shame here is that it's trivial to make the display log or linear in software, there could have been a simple setting, no hardware changes needed.
@@Flowxing If the FFT/DFT is implemented properly, you can select which frequencies you want to display, rather than iterating through every single one in the range
Ohhh, good point! And interesting discussion on FFT too. I wonder why it's expensive? I don't know what low-volume production would drive prices up to.
The second one would have been almost perfect, but it looks like they made the spectrum linear instead of logarithmic. That's why the very highs take up so much space and don't do much.
The "operating system" on that second system really places it into a higher class of device from those ones where you have to click one button dozens of times and you can't save your settings between boot ups.
That first one was not only duplicated, it was also mirrored mono and was obviously so as soon as it began working. That second one was my favourite though.
This general class of gadgets makes me nostalgic for the Virtual Light Machine in the old Atari Jaguar CD, which was probably the coolest non-game function ever included in a game console.
Ooh, that was Jeff Minter wasn’t it? I had an earlier visualiser of his for the Atari 8-bit machines. He made some great games as well, like that version of Tempest on the Jag.
@@thomasmyles9392 I remember my cousin telling me about the not yet released Jaguar. This was the 16 bit era. The thought of 64 bits was mind blowing. I was born in 79. So I grew up with the Atari 2600 and the 8 bit consoles. I had an Atari 7800. It was awesome because it was backwards compatible with 2600 games. At the time Toys R Us was selling 2600 games really cheap. So it let me beef up my game collection on the cheap. To this day I still really like some 2600 games. Video pinball, River Raid, and Combat are my favorites.
Interestingly, Item 2, the LED panels specifically use what's known as Hub75 for the protocol/interface. Meaning that these are the very same panels that are used in those LED advertisement billboards on the street. I have a few of these panels myself, along with a controller that can do video and even take HDMI in.
Nice. Would cost a fair bit, but an entire disco-tech type wall display would be amazing. Or maybe put it on the ceiling and program it to display 360 degress out from the center.
Thank you for having such a calm voice and a calm subject matter about things that should be lame but you actually make them very engaging and interesting. I especially like the history lessons in your videos because it brings a real human aspect to the topics you discuss, and above all thank you for making videos that help me calm down and fall asleep when I'm feeling anxious and restless. I don't fall asleep because they are boring, I fall asleep because they bring me peace.
That second one is 97 band and 30 step if I'm counting correctly. Depending on how those frequency settings affect it, it might be an accurate and useful tool for fine EQ adjustments. The cost is not unreasonable for what it does.
The first one is a fake, but the the second one is legit. Not only does it do what it's supposed to, it does it in an epic way. A perfect addition to any studio, bar/club, audiophile setup, mancave, etc. The fact it needs encased is actually a plus, because it leaves the options open.
The second panel interests me, I could see creating a simple metal framework to make a corner mounted display, which would be lovely in this dead space in the corner next to me. As you said though, the price is eye watering. At nearly $200 US for the smaller 3 panel kit, that prices it outside of my fun money budget.
I have always loved techno gadgets. I remember fiddling with a oscilloscope for far too long on my friends stereo when I was in high school. I always wanted something like that, but never knew I could buy them separate from the music devices.
_£350??_ You could've got another bundle of used MiniDisc players for that! But seriously, thank you for the work you do and your channel. You bring to the fore so many fascinating pieces of history and present them in a loving way, even when they're utter tosh. You know, I'm surprised we haven't had a decent mini amp with a visualiser bolted on top using something like a phone screen. Or if there is, at least and affordable one. But I guess the market is quite slim for that in an age of wireless headphones (whose batteries are probably quite knackered by now...).
These episodes are my favorite breakdown videos. I'm not entirely sure why dancing LEDs bring me so much satisfaction, perhaps my genetic coding went wrong along the way. Anyways, nice built-in teaser for future episodes, taunting us with a big, heavy unit and then saving it for another time. Nice work Matt. Oh and converting to Canadian Dollars was a nice touch...
Thanks Matt, you saved me time & money - can't wait to see the assembly of device number 3, whether its hot air soldering, conventional or both, how you handle the components; type of flux etc.
That second one would look pretty sick if ya put it into the wall, or well, a recession in the wall, right above your stereo set and between the speakers. The gap between the panels would dissapear when putting it into a box that's dark
Possibly if having tinted glass sheet over the front and having the brightness turned up... as it is surely more the reflection of light from the front rather than seeing the light behind shining through?
I like the idea of the second display. You can rewire these panels in a different order once in a while - 123, 231 and so on, so the LEDs would degrade more or less equally.
@@danieldc8841 LEDs get less bright rather fast. You wouldn't notice it when the light is static (a lamp for example), but on something like this you probably would.
@@igorszamaszow171 Uh... I'm confused, let me "think out loud". There are multiple types of LEDs. The original type only came in a few specific wavelengths which were directly emitted by the diode. Those don't fade, but they don't come in blue. When they found how to make LEDs emit UV light, they immediately started making them with phosphors in the same way as flourescent tube lights. I can't recall if flourescent tubes faded noticably, but the phosphors in TV screens could clearly 'burn' which is similar enough to say they did. Then came OLEDs which I know nothing about except for the fact that OLED screens can burn; same again. _So..._ it depends on the type of LED. I'm not really comfortable with the "rather fast" qualifier for phosphors though. You'd think old-school TVs would quickly get messy if it was true.
@@eekee6034 With old school tvs/tubes it took quite a lot to really burn them in. Mostly or completely static displays left up for years, especially with high contrast lk monochrome computer displays. I know it can be an issue with OLED tvs. For ordinary LEDs I think its basically a matter of basic quality.. Also current loading & driving plus thermal management can have a big impact on lifespan
@@igorszamaszow171 If they get noticeably less bright real fast, then they get too much current pushed through them. Most single LEDs will be wired to get 20-30 mA, but they'll work just fine with even 5 mA applied, and they'll last longer.
The second one is very cool, it can be easily to setup in some places without a case, I imagine they would look very cool mounted directly on a wall, if you don't care about the audio input jack and are ok about using only the mic there is no need to have the audio input jack accessible too.
The big chonkster of the Victorinox gives me warm nostalgia of staring through the window of the local Army & Navy - daydreaming of the possibilities the world would offer when I was finally old enough to move from Cubs to Scouts.
For the price of the second one you could "almost" buy a long LCD panel and make a display that could do more than music. I know, not quite the point of flashing LEDs but a little more useful.
You could but then you'd have to have the relevant hardware and software to drive the display. These are at least plug and play with next to no configuration/setup required.
The mono/stereo thing in Item 1 may be so it can support mono inputs. It feels to me like instead of autodetecting if there's signal in both cables, they just clone the Left into the Right in the processor, so it will have full display on either case.
Wow! That second one ( £182.49 ) - those DMD boards can be purchased on Aliexpress for £6.00 each, and I'd say the PCB module would be another £8.00ish... So, about £150.00 too expensive!
Fun to see! I bought my first spectrum display after seeing your review of it here a few years ago. It is really cool and I still use it. Coincidentally, I bought the second one in this review last year. I only bought a single panel version and I am in the process of building a custom frame for it. My project will have a glass front plate etched with the Pioneer Elite THX logo. It should make a good aesthetic highlight for my home theater. Your electronic interests and projects often align with mine. Great Job!
Damn this video is one of the hidden gems 😂😂😂 !!! I don't know how much I should feel serious or trolled about this video... The swiss xlt is a good start, but the xavt would be a better choice (please translate the german recommendations, especally the old ones, to understand and you'll find lost workers, atomic reactors, chemical plants and the caution of getting lost) but it is more expensive... Then the convertion of the money... It's nice to see some other currencies 👍👍👍 !!! At last this one time stamp... "Nothing to see here... Move along..." 😂😂😂 (This is good british humor for me and I'm german) Thank you Techmoan for this video... You did your very good explaining videos and spiced up with a good portion of humor (again, there were earlier videos) ... I love it!!! Please keep up the good work!!!
My assumption was that enough people, who were unaware that currency conversion is available right in Google, complained that he always quotes prices in UK Sterling instead of "dollars" so he's trolling them.
@@nequests As an American I appreciate it because it sent me down a rabbit hole of comparing the history of the aud to usd exchange rate. Not all of us are solipsistic egomaniacs... even though recent history may suggest otherwise...
Thanks once again for “taking one for the team”. As fascinating as these displays are, I feel they should not cost more than a decent useable cell phone or tablet. And we would not know this if you did not review them for us. Thanks again.
The thing near the beginning round 2:04 where the LEDs look cyan then green might just be to do with green LEDs being more efficient, they light up stronger with less power, than blue ones do. So whatever simple way they've done the LED dimming (PWM probably), fading the green and blue LEDs by the same level will disproportionately affect the appearance of the colour, so producing that effect.
The first one is probably misimplementing something on the board - normally/traditionally the left has been the mono/left port and probably isn't disconnecting it from the right side when it's plugged in
When a man who opens packages with a Swiss Champ XAVT tells you something might not be worth the money, listen to him. (Just jealous of course; that's the most insane SWAK ever!)
I love the second one. Since you anyways need to build a case for it I wonder if it would look nice with translucent white plexiglass on top of it, that would also hide the seams.
The second visualizer is missing an ocilloscope feature so if you have electronic music playing like chiptunes you can see square waves triangle waves.
The aliexpress page shows 2 options: 14 segment finished and Double 7 segment. The photos show the frequency range too, so this isn't stereo just a dubble mono option for the same price as the 16 column version.
For the protruding connectors (stopping you mounting the display flush against a wall) . . . 2 minutes with a soldering iron would sort that out, snip off the connectors and solder the wires directly to the board.
Always good to see your visualiser reviews :-) I don't think there's anything 'wrong' with the first one. It's just a fake - not 14 bands. Nice enough effect, though, with the mirroring - and you don't really need separate L and R displays for this. Second is very attractive, and might even be useful in a studio.
Am I the only one wondering if the first one's "seemingly useless switch" was for switching between a mono source (so it displays on both sides) and a stereo source?
Thanks for showing the modes on the wide panel one -- as one of those people for whom it's an audio tool, I'm always interested in how close it will get to what I need, which is separated bars, peak hold, and "real" colors (70% green, 15% yellow and 15% red, or so)...
I agree, it looks really cool but I wonder how much of it is actually useful because all i use are 2 the blades although I guess it’s intended purpose is not for the home
I'm pretty sure it's a Victorinox SwissChamp XAVT. It's a £350+, 6.5cm thick, 80 tool, beautiful monstrosity. Victorinox make it very clear it's only intended for collectors - and it is exactly the knife I would hope Techmoan would own.
I think that if they can better make the second one a bit more flush and especially bring down the price it'd be rather interesting to buy! Thank you as always for great content
It almost seems as though the processor on the acrylic 1 was preset to be mono and that there ought to be some type of way to get it to accept stereo since they already seem to have equipped it with the ability to accept stereo inputs and they actually connect to something and aren't simply disguised mono. And I know this is another thing that would have to be fabricated by oneself but the extremely bright graphics display of the acrylic model could be used to make a much larger version of that particular model using semi opaque rear projection panels and having it project onto a larger display like that or even utilizing a fiber optic link... It's just something that you would be able to custom fabricate a larger and more unique display.... Picturing a 3' tall tall graphic display....
Great video. The second one from Aliexpress is always more expensive if you get the kit all-in-one. What I did was to get 3 LED matrix panels (£11 each) the controller (£17) and the power supply (£3). There was no way I was paying £180+ for the same kit. There are a million sellers on Aliexpress selling the same items and they range from very cheap to overly expensive, it always pays to spend some time to compare prices.
i gotta say, if i were a person who hosts parties often or worked as a dj, i'd most likely buy the second one. yeah it's a bit expensive, but it also makes any low-light party look more expensive as well. if you tape a piece of black cardstock behind the seams between the panels and mount it to a slim jet black wooden frame, it would look great both on top of a furniture or hung on the wall
Love the price conversions. In my mind, something like this happened... American viewer: Techmoan! You should put dollar conversions on screen when you quote prices. Techmoan: Okaaay..... Just be aware that Zimbabwe also uses dollars but you won't be able to run those numbers on a standard calculator.
In less than an hour since this video was uploaded, you had 1,400 views. The amazing thing is that 1000 of those 1400 upvoted it. I don't see that level of engagement on most channels. 👍
So the second unit you show is definitely LED tiles used to make up panels for LED walls used on stages and for advertising. the reason the edges are filleted is to allow for curved led walls and easier alignments.
HUB75 is quite difficult to make a large display of without using an FPGA, because you are shifting in entire rows of on/off pixels at a time, and usually can only select one or two rows at the same time. Brightness control requires manual PWM from whatever is driving it. Reusing the existing controller also requires you to have the tools to create a new program and load it. If you're lucky, they will be STM32 clones. I've made an STM32 drive one before. I used a logarithmic PWM (4/2/1 cycles for each brightness bit), but it was a lot of work. The most annoying part was that the input chips are designed for 5V CMOS signaling that needs at least 3.5 volts, and they get wobbly with 3.3V inputs.
I would have loved these ones as a child. In fact I just dug out the 12" Luminglas plasma disk I bought with my hard earned pocket money back then. Classic ones are expensive, especially the 20" versions, but there is something very satisfying to seeing lightning bolts move to the music. New ones are fairly affordable.
for the product 1, the left input showing on both sides but the right input only showing on the right is a pretty big hint that its supposed to have both a mono and a stereo option. In the sound hardware world, though not required, its very common to have the option for a device to output both mono and stereo, and, when you want to output mono, usually the left output is the one you use. I wouldnt be suprised if there is a dipswitch or some jumpers hidden somewhere on product 1 that allows you to flip between stereo and mono, since thats what its behavior would suggest. I also would not be suprised if the circuit board, which may be made by a different company and used in several different products, has the option to configure it in some way, but the company that made product 1 forgot to put it in stereo mode before sending it off
The second one is pretty good. It would probably be worth redoing the power wiring harness with right angle power connectors (If possible) to reduce the profile. That aught to get it down to a couple cm's. You could probably then fit is in a bespoke case made using picture frame rods, the deeper ones for shadow boxes. Or lazer cut acrylic. There are handy screw holes to mount to. The gap could be fixed with some black tape, paper, or acrylic. Maybe more sensible for a nightclub or bar where integrating it into a wall or cabinet would be more sensible
I reckon I'm already a good £600 down since I started watching this channel - all spent on rack-mountable spectrum analysers. Not complaining though... I love them. Love the second one. It's similar to one you reviewed previously - which (yes) I bought.
Yesss! Your first few music visualizer videos encouraged me to look into making one myself using an arduino... I haven't gotten too far in the goal of making one with an arduino (turned out to be a lot harder than expected for a complete novice like myself), but I learned a lot about how to use an arduino along the way!! I'm looking forward to more music visualizer videos!!
Yo, Techmoan, love your presentations! I want to share...Had a friend years ago who purchased an osilliscope, hooked THAT into his stereo. One of the coolest things I ever saw.👍🏻. Keep up the outstanding work, and thank you.🙂
The second one seems like it's representing the spectrum linearly instead of logarithmically. The latter would make much more sense. With the linear representation you basically get most of the action from the lows and mids in the left half and all the top end on the right half. With the 5k "Frequency" setting, 1kHz would still be about at the center of the leftmost panel.
Based on the audio of the first one, I suspect it was the inline splitter that was bridging the left to the right. In the video audio I could also hear the left coming through on the right.
I can see the mic being an issue on the 2nd long one if you were to build any kind of case around it. Assuming you mount the circuit board inside the case, it would cover up the mic, and it just wouldn't seem to make sense not to mount it inside. You'd really need to desolder the in-built mic, and extend it out to the front of the case. Otherwise it might not pick up sound well enough to even work.
Thanks Mat - I appreciate these reviews. I'm going for a sort of DJ boothish vibe around my hifi in the lounge so one or two of these kinds of things might feature for parties and suchlike.
Would have been cool to test the EQ on the first light display such as kick drum only for bass register and snare or other for the upper register. Nevertheless great vid as always 😊👌
Thank you for the review of these. I have a different version of the first one , it is a 14 band single channel device, not 2x7 band device, so shows 63H to 16kH from left to right across the 14 towers. This works fine, and a frequency sweep shows it works as intended, and the device uses the average of left + right channels. I am happy as I prefer something physical rather than a panel which I can simulate better on a computer screen (or TV monitor), my preference being a 3D item that is coloured. Since I can simulate the second option on a cheap TV + computer then it is not what I wanted, while the 1st option has a value to me as cutting 20x14 blocks of acrylic was not possible without expensive equipment. Your millage and thoughts probably vary. My guess for the problem of the first one is that the microphone (mono) is connected into the stereo input and is "shorting" out the stereo signal - maybe disconnect the mic input plug to see if this fixes the problem.
I have the RTA-31 which is no longer available under the "Fun Generation" brand. It goes by a slightly different part number PP-31 now and they have a 2U version now as well! I am tempted to order it as well but at close to $500 it will need some thinking.
I suggest listing the prices for the next item in Zimbabwean Dollars :) Nice video though, I'm really enjoying these music visualizers! Looking forward to more.
The first LED panel looks to run from something very much like the Teensy (2.0 ++) controller. If so, it would be possible to check their code. Processing isn't a terribly difficult language.
I find these things fascinating. They're largely pointless and these two are difficult to justify given the high price, but I must admit I could find space for the second one. Looking forward to the sequel to the sequel Mat!
Indeedidly 🌈
“largely pointless” you are too kind.
May by pointless, but they make me want to gather people for a house party, and that's something, given I'm extremely introverted.
I've got to admit I liked the look of the first one and when you showed the second I was thinking what I could make the box out of. Then you told us the price and I realised I didn't need it that much.
Why was the first one symmetric over 'both channels' though? I think it's bullshit if they fake these anyway because it's really cheap to build a digital spectrum analyzer these days, but the first one wasn't even hiding it
Exactly my thoughts
when you buy that many adressable LEDs, it gets pretty expensive.
@@JoQeZzZ I didn't understand that either, but I do suspect that it was a wiring error. Definitely disappointing
I think the board has a problem and it's not working properly. That stuck red led is also a worrying sign. Doesn't look like good quality control unfortunately.
In 1983 or so I built a 8 channel one of these from a design in Practical Electronics. I taped up and etched the boards drilled and populated them. Took me months to afford the components from my pocket money. All entirely analogue using filters based on 741 opamps and an LM3915 in each channel for the display.
Cool! I miss those days.
@@rodrigobelinchon2982 Well, if you’re doing RMS measurements, some latency is inherent anyway.
I built one like that too in the early 90's from an old project book. I remember the LM3915 being decently pricey, and getting it in a brick-n-mortar electronics store back in the day.
@Graeme Hill
very well done..this type of idea actually goes even farther back music sensitive flashing lights for entertainment..back in the 1970's there was instructions to build one in Popular Electronics:
take an old stereo speaker box
remove the guts
mount christmas lights inside (twinkle or fairy lights... standard christmas incandescents would probable catch fire)
put a sheet of prism plexi on the front
buy a filter board from Radio Shack (fully assembled or as a kit) it had RCA phono jacks on the board that you could mount inside the speaker box...
usually no mic input just RCA phono jacks..
throw some Disco on your 8-track and you are good to go...
total cost excluding the old speaker box was under $20...
The LED panels in the second one are the same ones used in video walls - Adafruit were selling some a while ago. I'm impressed at the programming they've done to use three of them. However, I agree the lack of a case is a big omission!
that's the easy part really, as the data is just serial and the jumpers define how many panels are in the series chain so it knows how many leds it's addressing.
indeed for the price the inclusion of a (very cheap to produce) perspex or even thin wooden jet / laser cut self assembly case would complete the package to a satisfactory bare minimum.
They're not like the 2812 LEDs, though, the code has to do the PWM duty cycles for all the different colours itself. But once you have that routine figured out, yeah, it will scale easily.
If there was a case I'd imagine it'd be that crappy laser cut acrylic
I have a few of those adafruit panels laying around, a few 64x64 panels. Wonder if i could just rig this up myself with Rasp Pi
It really seems like the makers of the LED panel product don't understand that our perception of audio frequencies is logarithmic. Its display seems a lot more linear, with even midrange frequencies showing up at the left end of the display. Midrange frequencies ought to be in the middle, especially if the upper end of the range is limited to a few kHz.
most of these tiny chips cant handle large FFT in realtime, thats why they cheat
@@Flowxing it's expensive enough that they could stick a more powerful chip in there
_"Its display seems a lot more linear"_
I thought that too with the spectrum sweep, I expected it to speed up as it progressed towards the high end, of course ultimately this is controlled by what you are using to sweep through the spectrum, but 99.9% of the time you'd expect the sweep to speed up . . . which immediately made me think 'linear response' . . . the real shame here is that it's trivial to make the display log or linear in software, there could have been a simple setting, no hardware changes needed.
@@Flowxing If the FFT/DFT is implemented properly, you can select which frequencies you want to display, rather than iterating through every single one in the range
Ohhh, good point! And interesting discussion on FFT too. I wonder why it's expensive? I don't know what low-volume production would drive prices up to.
The second one would have been almost perfect, but it looks like they made the spectrum linear instead of logarithmic. That's why the very highs take up so much space and don't do much.
probably just a matter of changing some setting
The "operating system" on that second system really places it into a higher class of device from those ones where you have to click one button dozens of times and you can't save your settings between boot ups.
That first one was not only duplicated, it was also mirrored mono and was obviously so as soon as it began working. That second one was my favourite though.
Yeah it was just a 7-band EQ mirrored
Posts affiliate links, then actively encourages the viewers not to buy the product. That's the level of integrity that keeps me watching these.
Music sounds better with visuals…Acme research proven! Great vid, thanks 👍
This general class of gadgets makes me nostalgic for the Virtual Light Machine in the old Atari Jaguar CD, which was probably the coolest non-game function ever included in a game console.
Sega Saturn had a cool cd player.
Ooh, that was Jeff Minter wasn’t it? I had an earlier visualiser of his for the Atari 8-bit machines. He made some great games as well, like that version of Tempest on the Jag.
@@thomasmyles9392 I remember my cousin telling me about the not yet released Jaguar. This was the 16 bit era. The thought of 64 bits was mind blowing. I was born in 79. So I grew up with the Atari 2600 and the 8 bit consoles. I had an Atari 7800. It was awesome because it was backwards compatible with 2600 games. At the time Toys R Us was selling 2600 games really cheap. So it let me beef up my game collection on the cheap. To this day I still really like some 2600 games. Video pinball, River Raid, and Combat are my favorites.
I should dust of my JagCD one of these days, VLM was the entire reason I bought the CD attachment, didn't care much about the CD games :P
Interestingly, Item 2, the LED panels specifically use what's known as Hub75 for the protocol/interface. Meaning that these are the very same panels that are used in those LED advertisement billboards on the street. I have a few of these panels myself, along with a controller that can do video and even take HDMI in.
Nice. Would cost a fair bit, but an entire disco-tech type wall display would be amazing. Or maybe put it on the ceiling and program it to display 360 degress out from the center.
Thank you for having such a calm voice and a calm subject matter about things that should be lame but you actually make them very engaging and interesting. I especially like the history lessons in your videos because it brings a real human aspect to the topics you discuss, and above all thank you for making videos that help me calm down and fall asleep when I'm feeling anxious and restless. I don't fall asleep because they are boring, I fall asleep because they bring me peace.
That second one is 97 band and 30 step if I'm counting correctly. Depending on how those frequency settings affect it, it might be an accurate and useful tool for fine EQ adjustments.
The cost is not unreasonable for what it does.
The first one is a fake, but the the second one is legit. Not only does it do what it's supposed to, it does it in an epic way. A perfect addition to any studio, bar/club, audiophile setup, mancave, etc. The fact it needs encased is actually a plus, because it leaves the options open.
The second panel interests me, I could see creating a simple metal framework to make a corner mounted display, which would be lovely in this dead space in the corner next to me. As you said though, the price is eye watering. At nearly $200 US for the smaller 3 panel kit, that prices it outside of my fun money budget.
That second one seems pretty nice as a decorative thing. I love the single-pixel columns modes particularly.
The reflection on your work surface during the second unit demo is a nice touch.
I have always loved techno gadgets. I remember fiddling with a oscilloscope for far too long on my friends stereo when I was in high school.
I always wanted something like that, but never knew I could buy them separate from the music devices.
Nothing is more hypnotic than looking to the Spectrum Analiser of my Pioneer GR-555. Oh, the ones from that era are "the real McCoy's"!
That swiss knife is MASSIVE! Love it. As a kid my favorite tools was always the magnifying glass and scissors.
_£350??_ You could've got another bundle of used MiniDisc players for that!
But seriously, thank you for the work you do and your channel. You bring to the fore so many fascinating pieces of history and present them in a loving way, even when they're utter tosh.
You know, I'm surprised we haven't had a decent mini amp with a visualiser bolted on top using something like a phone screen. Or if there is, at least and affordable one. But I guess the market is quite slim for that in an age of wireless headphones (whose batteries are probably quite knackered by now...).
182£*
@@matmel6159 22:32
Nice Swiss Army knife. Looked like you clicked “all” for which blades you wanted to have off the options list 😀
I'm half wondering if it's a running gag where the knife will get wider and wider until it fills the screen ;)
He has to wear giant clown trousers to fit it in his pocket.
These episodes are my favorite breakdown videos. I'm not entirely sure why dancing LEDs bring me so much satisfaction, perhaps my genetic coding went wrong along the way. Anyways, nice built-in teaser for future episodes, taunting us with a big, heavy unit and then saving it for another time. Nice work Matt. Oh and converting to Canadian Dollars was a nice touch...
Thanks Matt, you saved me time & money - can't wait to see the assembly of device number 3, whether its hot air soldering, conventional or both, how you handle the components; type of flux etc.
That second one would look pretty sick if ya put it into the wall, or well, a recession in the wall, right above your stereo set and between the speakers.
The gap between the panels would dissapear when putting it into a box that's dark
Possibly if having tinted glass sheet over the front and having the brightness turned up... as it is surely more the reflection of light from the front rather than seeing the light behind shining through?
I like the idea of the second display. You can rewire these panels in a different order once in a while - 123, 231 and so on, so the LEDs would degrade more or less equally.
LEDs have such long lives it’s not really important
@@danieldc8841 LEDs get less bright rather fast. You wouldn't notice it when the light is static (a lamp for example), but on something like this you probably would.
@@igorszamaszow171 Uh... I'm confused, let me "think out loud". There are multiple types of LEDs. The original type only came in a few specific wavelengths which were directly emitted by the diode. Those don't fade, but they don't come in blue. When they found how to make LEDs emit UV light, they immediately started making them with phosphors in the same way as flourescent tube lights. I can't recall if flourescent tubes faded noticably, but the phosphors in TV screens could clearly 'burn' which is similar enough to say they did. Then came OLEDs which I know nothing about except for the fact that OLED screens can burn; same again. _So..._ it depends on the type of LED. I'm not really comfortable with the "rather fast" qualifier for phosphors though. You'd think old-school TVs would quickly get messy if it was true.
@@eekee6034 With old school tvs/tubes it took quite a lot to really burn them in. Mostly or completely static displays left up for years, especially with high contrast lk monochrome computer displays.
I know it can be an issue with OLED tvs. For ordinary LEDs I think its basically a matter of basic quality.. Also current loading & driving plus thermal management can have a big impact on lifespan
@@igorszamaszow171 If they get noticeably less bright real fast, then they get too much current pushed through them. Most single LEDs will be wired to get 20-30 mA, but they'll work just fine with even 5 mA applied, and they'll last longer.
I’ve always thought the Winamp built in visualiser on pc looks great, hypnotic and capable of much more than these hardware devices
Do I spend way too much for one of these or do I use an old monitor and a raspberry pi
Still using Winamp. Always liked its simplicity.
We need an LED panel implementation of Geiss / Milkdrop.
There are several newer audio players that can use Winamp plugins, too. Then there was G-Force and Whitecap.
It really whipped the llama's ass.
The second one is very cool, it can be easily to setup in some places without a case, I imagine they would look very cool mounted directly on a wall, if you don't care about the audio input jack and are ok about using only the mic there is no need to have the audio input jack accessible too.
Well ya gotta have it plugged into the wall so wires are going somewhere, may as well route a 3.5mm extension cable with it
@@startedtech not necessarily it depends the amount of effort you are wiling to put into it. Energy wires are already built in the walls.
Loved the currency conversions. Gave me a good chuckle. Way to go not pandering to American audience (and I am an american audience member).
I was hoping he'd price the second one in Australian dollars.
EDIT: Oh he did, and I wasn't paying attention.
The big chonkster of the Victorinox gives me warm nostalgia of staring through the window of the local Army & Navy - daydreaming of the possibilities the world would offer when I was finally old enough to move from Cubs to Scouts.
One thing coming out of this video, I noticed my speakers were wired up so the left speaker was the right channel...so cheers for that.
For the price of the second one you could "almost" buy a long LCD panel and make a display that could do more than music. I know, not quite the point of flashing LEDs but a little more useful.
You could but then you'd have to have the relevant hardware and software to drive the display. These are at least plug and play with next to no configuration/setup required.
Almost? Decent 32" lcd tvs are like $50 less here. Agree the software would be a bit of a problem tho.
@@Chris-du7hi You pay a premium for "long" displays. It's about exactly the price of a 4:1 display on aliexpress
The mono/stereo thing in Item 1 may be so it can support mono inputs. It feels to me like instead of autodetecting if there's signal in both cables, they just clone the Left into the Right in the processor, so it will have full display on either case.
Wow! That second one ( £182.49 ) - those DMD boards can be purchased on Aliexpress for £6.00 each, and I'd say the PCB module would be another £8.00ish... So, about £150.00 too expensive!
Fun to see! I bought my first spectrum display after seeing your review of it here a few years ago. It is really cool and I still use it. Coincidentally, I bought the second one in this review last year. I only bought a single panel version and I am in the process of building a custom frame for it. My project will have a glass front plate etched with the Pioneer Elite THX logo. It should make a good aesthetic highlight for my home theater. Your electronic interests and projects often align with mine. Great Job!
Damn this video is one of the hidden gems 😂😂😂 !!! I don't know how much I should feel serious or trolled about this video...
The swiss xlt is a good start, but the xavt would be a better choice (please translate the german recommendations, especally the old ones, to understand and you'll find lost workers, atomic reactors, chemical plants and the caution of getting lost) but it is more expensive...
Then the convertion of the money... It's nice to see some other currencies 👍👍👍 !!!
At last this one time stamp... "Nothing to see here... Move along..." 😂😂😂 (This is good british humor for me and I'm german)
Thank you Techmoan for this video... You did your very good explaining videos and spiced up with a good portion of humor (again, there were earlier videos) ... I love it!!! Please keep up the good work!!!
I always love it when Canadian and / or Australian dollars get a mention. I hope New Zealand will pop up for the third one!
Yeah, it honestly surprised me!; Usually TH-camrs do American dollars as that's the majority of their audience.
Yeah it would be, its double at the moment so quite a easy conversion
@@CanadianBakin42O Pretty sure he's doing it to wind-up the Americans. Makes me laugh every time.
My assumption was that enough people, who were unaware that currency conversion is available right in Google, complained that he always quotes prices in UK Sterling instead of "dollars" so he's trolling them.
@@nequests As an American I appreciate it because it sent me down a rabbit hole of comparing the history of the aud to usd exchange rate. Not all of us are solipsistic egomaniacs... even though recent history may suggest otherwise...
Thanks once again for “taking one for the team”. As fascinating as these displays are, I feel they should not cost more than a decent useable cell phone or tablet. And we would not know this if you did not review them for us. Thanks again.
The thing near the beginning round 2:04 where the LEDs look cyan then green might just be to do with green LEDs being more efficient, they light up stronger with less power, than blue ones do. So whatever simple way they've done the LED dimming (PWM probably), fading the green and blue LEDs by the same level will disproportionately affect the appearance of the colour, so producing that effect.
The first one is probably misimplementing something on the board - normally/traditionally the left has been the mono/left port and probably isn't disconnecting it from the right side when it's plugged in
When a man who opens packages with a Swiss Champ XAVT tells you something might not be worth the money, listen to him. (Just jealous of course; that's the most insane SWAK ever!)
The most insane SAK ever is the Wenger Giant. It has 87 implements and weighs in at 1.3 kilos.
It also carried a $1300 price tag.
Wow, I stand corrected!
I love the second one. Since you anyways need to build a case for it I wonder if it would look nice with translucent white plexiglass on top of it, that would also hide the seams.
And here I was thinking,black ectrical tape would hide this nicely
@@Fingerprintguy Exactly what I was thinking too :)
Great video as always. I loved the second one with 3 large panels - looks the biz! Looking forward to the next video with the 3rd product.
Left socket, is also used for a mono input as a industry standard, if sences right connected it should take a true stereo on the pre amps.
You usually plug a mono source to the left channel. Some auto-switching might be wonky on the acrylic tower.
I was thinking that, except I was _almost_ 100% sure the standard was mono->right channel when I was younger.
@@eekee6034 Either you're misremembering, or you were doing it wrong as a child - I just googled it and it's definitely white/left for mono.
@@_comment The more I think about it, the less I'm sure, so I expect you're right. :)
The second visualizer is missing an ocilloscope feature so if you have electronic music playing like chiptunes you can see square waves triangle waves.
The aliexpress page shows 2 options: 14 segment finished and Double 7 segment. The photos show the frequency range too, so this isn't stereo just a dubble mono option for the same price as the 16 column version.
Love your work!!! Long time watcher!! You really shed some light on the subject!!!
You're prepared for the end times with that modern marvel of a Swiss Army knife.
For the protruding connectors (stopping you mounting the display flush against a wall) . . . 2 minutes with a soldering iron would sort that out, snip off the connectors and solder the wires directly to the board.
Always good to see your visualiser reviews :-)
I don't think there's anything 'wrong' with the first one. It's just a fake - not 14 bands.
Nice enough effect, though, with the mirroring - and you don't really need separate L and R displays for this. Second is very attractive, and might even be useful in a studio.
Am I the only one wondering if the first one's "seemingly useless switch" was for switching between a mono source (so it displays on both sides) and a stereo source?
I think he wouild have tried the switch but hey may have missed it
It switched the audio input between phono and the microphone, he did it right before talking about it not being true stereo.
@@BOYD1981 Damnit, missed that. Thanks.
That first track is a real bop!
Thanks for showing the modes on the wide panel one -- as one of those people for whom it's an audio tool, I'm always interested in how close it will get to what I need, which is separated bars, peak hold, and "real" colors (70% green, 15% yellow and 15% red, or so)...
I think your Swiss army knife deserves a video of its own.
I agree, it looks really cool but I wonder how much of it is actually useful because all i use are 2 the blades although I guess it’s intended purpose is not for the home
I'm pretty sure it's a Victorinox SwissChamp XAVT.
It's a £350+, 6.5cm thick, 80 tool, beautiful monstrosity.
Victorinox make it very clear it's only intended for collectors - and it is exactly the knife I would hope Techmoan would own.
I think that if they can better make the second one a bit more flush and especially bring down the price it'd be rather interesting to buy!
Thank you as always for great content
Same here. I really like the second one. But I am not sure if I can justify the cost.
Techmoan profiled a similar one in the past but this one has a few more features.
It almost seems as though the processor on the acrylic 1 was preset to be mono and that there ought to be some type of way to get it to accept stereo since they already seem to have equipped it with the ability to accept stereo inputs and they actually connect to something and aren't simply disguised mono. And I know this is another thing that would have to be fabricated by oneself but the extremely bright graphics display of the acrylic model could be used to make a much larger version of that particular model using semi opaque rear projection panels and having it project onto a larger display like that or even utilizing a fiber optic link... It's just something that you would be able to custom fabricate a larger and more unique display.... Picturing a 3' tall tall graphic display....
Came for the visual spectrum review and stayed for the banging music. Great video.
Great video. The second one from Aliexpress is always more expensive if you get the kit all-in-one. What I did was to get 3 LED matrix panels (£11 each) the controller (£17) and the power supply (£3). There was no way I was paying £180+ for the same kit. There are a million sellers on Aliexpress selling the same items and they range from very cheap to overly expensive, it always pays to spend some time to compare prices.
Nice fair review, Mat. I’m going to ask the elves what kind of led VU meters they can come up with.
I thought you were on holiday now.
@@Techmoan He's always working! Gotta prepare for next Christmas.
Thank you, it was interesting!👍😜 Once upon a time, back in the USSR, it was popular to build a "Color Music", you reminded me of that time! 😁😍
This LED spectrum would be fitting at music producers as well. In my opinion, the first one looks astonishing!
The closing 'summary' video shot was brilliant 👍
i gotta say, if i were a person who hosts parties often or worked as a dj, i'd most likely buy the second one. yeah it's a bit expensive, but it also makes any low-light party look more expensive as well. if you tape a piece of black cardstock behind the seams between the panels and mount it to a slim jet black wooden frame, it would look great both on top of a furniture or hung on the wall
Techmoan’s Swiss Army knife… “That’s not a knife, THIS is a knife!”
I was gonna say something similar, you beat me to it
knoife
@@jasonmynheir4139 Ya snooze ya lose. That doesn’t look like it rhymes. 🤔
When I was in Boy Scouts growing up, that type of pocket knife was the equivalent of big d*cking it. (yes, I mostly grew up before computers)
@@BobSentell me too
Glad you reviewed these. I have been wanting to get the second one for awhile now, but couldnt find any decent reviews.
Love the price conversions. In my mind, something like this happened...
American viewer: Techmoan! You should put dollar conversions on screen when you quote prices.
Techmoan: Okaaay.....
Just be aware that Zimbabwe also uses dollars but you won't be able to run those numbers on a standard calculator.
In less than an hour since this video was uploaded, you had 1,400 views. The amazing thing is that 1000 of those 1400 upvoted it. I don't see that level of engagement on most channels. 👍
So the second unit you show is definitely LED tiles used to make up panels for LED walls used on stages and for advertising. the reason the edges are filleted is to allow for curved led walls and easier alignments.
That pocket knife is enormous! Love it’
With some other electronics, you can turn these LED panels into a nice scrolltext display. Or maybe even reprogram the existing controller.
HUB75 is quite difficult to make a large display of without using an FPGA, because you are shifting in entire rows of on/off pixels at a time, and usually can only select one or two rows at the same time. Brightness control requires manual PWM from whatever is driving it.
Reusing the existing controller also requires you to have the tools to create a new program and load it. If you're lucky, they will be STM32 clones.
I've made an STM32 drive one before. I used a logarithmic PWM (4/2/1 cycles for each brightness bit), but it was a lot of work. The most annoying part was that the input chips are designed for 5V CMOS signaling that needs at least 3.5 volts, and they get wobbly with 3.3V inputs.
I would have loved these ones as a child. In fact I just dug out the 12" Luminglas plasma disk I bought with my hard earned pocket money back then. Classic ones are expensive, especially the 20" versions, but there is something very satisfying to seeing lightning bolts move to the music. New ones are fairly affordable.
for the product 1, the left input showing on both sides but the right input only showing on the right is a pretty big hint that its supposed to have both a mono and a stereo option. In the sound hardware world, though not required, its very common to have the option for a device to output both mono and stereo, and, when you want to output mono, usually the left output is the one you use.
I wouldnt be suprised if there is a dipswitch or some jumpers hidden somewhere on product 1 that allows you to flip between stereo and mono, since thats what its behavior would suggest. I also would not be suprised if the circuit board, which may be made by a different company and used in several different products, has the option to configure it in some way, but the company that made product 1 forgot to put it in stereo mode before sending it off
That’s a hefty Swiss Army Knife you have there. Would not be surprised if it has a spectrum analyzer built in
It's one of those Norfolk Knives.
The second one is pretty good. It would probably be worth redoing the power wiring harness with right angle power connectors (If possible) to reduce the profile. That aught to get it down to a couple cm's. You could probably then fit is in a bespoke case made using picture frame rods, the deeper ones for shadow boxes.
Or lazer cut acrylic. There are handy screw holes to mount to.
The gap could be fixed with some black tape, paper, or acrylic.
Maybe more sensible for a nightclub or bar where integrating it into a wall or cabinet would be more sensible
I reckon I'm already a good £600 down since I started watching this channel - all spent on rack-mountable spectrum analysers. Not complaining though... I love them.
Love the second one. It's similar to one you reviewed previously - which (yes) I bought.
Yesss! Your first few music visualizer videos encouraged me to look into making one myself using an arduino... I haven't gotten too far in the goal of making one with an arduino (turned out to be a lot harder than expected for a complete novice like myself), but I learned a lot about how to use an arduino along the way!! I'm looking forward to more music visualizer videos!!
If that first device actually worked, i.e., it was in stereo, I'd say it would be pretty neat for parties or the like.
or if it wouldn't try to pretend it's stereo (ie. if it wouldn't mirror the display but use the whole width for a mixed down channel/the mic input).
Yo, Techmoan, love your presentations! I want to share...Had a friend years ago who purchased an osilliscope, hooked THAT into his stereo. One of the coolest things I ever saw.👍🏻. Keep up the outstanding work, and thank you.🙂
There was at least one that had one built in (Technics?) Might be a video on this channel...
@@mattmanyam There were a couple of Marantz units that had them.
Ooohhh I love the footage of the 2nd one in vertical postion... it reminds me of the Fantasia intermission!!!
Where are the puppets gone? Seriously, I miss them.
The second one seems like it's representing the spectrum linearly instead of logarithmically. The latter would make much more sense. With the linear representation you basically get most of the action from the lows and mids in the left half and all the top end on the right half. With the 5k "Frequency" setting, 1kHz would still be about at the center of the leftmost panel.
Great bit of kit m8! I'm looking forward to getting the 2nd screen and the next video.
All the videos on point. Love them!
Based on the audio of the first one, I suspect it was the inline splitter that was bridging the left to the right. In the video audio I could also hear the left coming through on the right.
I can see the mic being an issue on the 2nd long one if you were to build any kind of case around it. Assuming you mount the circuit board inside the case, it would cover up the mic, and it just wouldn't seem to make sense not to mount it inside. You'd really need to desolder the in-built mic, and extend it out to the front of the case. Otherwise it might not pick up sound well enough to even work.
Thanks Mat - I appreciate these reviews. I'm going for a sort of DJ boothish vibe around my hifi in the lounge so one or two of these kinds of things might feature for parties and suchlike.
Would have been cool to test the EQ on the first light display such as kick drum only for bass register and snare or other for the upper register. Nevertheless great vid as always 😊👌
I am ready for part 2 please :)
Thank you for the review of these.
I have a different version of the first one , it is a 14 band single channel device, not 2x7 band device, so shows 63H to 16kH from left to right across the 14 towers. This works fine, and a frequency sweep shows it works as intended, and the device uses the average of left + right channels. I am happy as I prefer something physical rather than a panel which I can simulate better on a computer screen (or TV monitor), my preference being a 3D item that is coloured.
Since I can simulate the second option on a cheap TV + computer then it is not what I wanted, while the 1st option has a value to me as cutting 20x14 blocks of acrylic was not possible without expensive equipment.
Your millage and thoughts probably vary.
My guess for the problem of the first one is that the microphone (mono) is connected into the stereo input and is "shorting" out the stereo signal - maybe disconnect the mic input plug to see if this fixes the problem.
Yes, it is misleading...
When you showed the board I was happy to see the front logo looks like it can be unplugged.
"You call that a Swiss Army knife? THIS is a Swiss Army knife!"
Loved you using the ridiculous "pocket" knife. 😂😂 I always wanted one as a novelty to show off too!
I have the RTA-31 which is no longer available under the "Fun Generation" brand. It goes by a slightly different part number PP-31 now and they have a 2U version now as well! I am tempted to order it as well but at close to $500 it will need some thinking.
The white 2U looks really nice, I've had a PP-31 for a while now (they actually pre-date the Fun Generation brand) and it's been really reliable.
Finally I miss these VUs :)
Oh dear - bank account is going to take
Another hit lol Great video Techmoan! Absolutely love visualisers! 👍🏻👍🏻
I suggest listing the prices for the next item in Zimbabwean Dollars :)
Nice video though, I'm really enjoying these music visualizers! Looking forward to more.
Super nice victorinox, not soothing you forget is in your pocket😁😁
Actually quite like the look of the first one other than the lit logo on the bottom left corner. Guessing it isn't possible to turn this off?
Love the comically big Swiss army knife you used to open the boxes.
The first LED panel looks to run from something very much like the Teensy (2.0 ++) controller. If so, it would be possible to check their code. Processing isn't a terribly difficult language.