HawkEye

Audio Analyzer

Manual
 HawkEye Audio Analyzer

Contents
Introduction 4

Feature Overview 4

General Functions 6
Undocking & Resizing 6
Reset & Freeze 8
Tooltips and Labels 8
Host Information 9

Level Meter 10
True Peak & RMS level meters 10
True Peak Hold & True Peak Falling 11
Scale Selection 11
RMS +3dB 12
True Peak Histogram 12

Loudness Meter 13
PLR – Peak to Loudness Ratio 13
PMR – Peak to Momentary Ratio 14
PSR – Peak to Short-term loudness Ratio 14
IL – Integrated Loudness 14
ML – Momentary Loudness 14
SL – Short-term Loudness 14
LRA – Loudness 15
LU Target 15
Timeline 16
Radar 18

Bit Monitor 20
Bit Ladder 20
Bit Depth 21
Bit Pattern 21
Bit Distribution 22
Invert 22
DC O set 23

Vector Scope 24
Linear Vector Scope 24
Logarithmic Vector Scope 25
Balance 25
Correlation 26
Luminescence Slider 26

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Spectrum Analyzer 27
FFT – Fast Fourier Transformation 27
a) Bar 28
b) Hold 28
c) L Solo / R Solo 28
d) Lin / Log 28
Spectrogram 29
a) L Solo / R Solo 29
b) Lin / Log 29
c) Color scheme 30
Pano/Phase 31
a) Hold 31
b) Lin / Log 31
1/3 Octave Analyzer 32
a) Hold 32
b) L Solo / R Solo 32

Control Panel 33
R – Reset 33
F – Freeze 33
L – Labels 34
Minimize/Maximize 34
Le / Right / Mid / Side 34

High Resolution Audio Check 34

Bandpass 34
Transpose 35
Monitor 35

CPU-Load Considerations 36

Stand-alone Version (OS X and Windows) 37

Audio/MIDI Settings 38

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Introduction
HawkEye comprises the most versatile audio measuring instruments in one toolset. It
has been designed and developed with highest precision in mind to set a new
standard in audio analyzing.
Unique features like bit-depth analysis and high frequency monitoring o er a new
window into the world of high resolution audio recordings.
The user experience follows aviation industry guidelines for designing cockpit
instruments. HawkEye presents all information uncluttered, minimizing eyestrain over
extended periods of use.

Feature Overview
• Supported sample rates of up to 768kHz to cover todays high resolution audio
content
• Full double precision 64 bit processing
• Five measuring instruments:
o Level Meter
‣ True Peak meter for L, R, Mid and Side
‣ RMS metering for L, R, Mid and Side
‣ TPL histogram
‣ dB full scale as well as the Katz-Scales
‣ dBTP hold and falling numeric displays

o Loudness Meter
‣ PLR – Peak to Loudness Ratio
‣ PMR – Peak to Momentary loudness Ratio
‣ PSR – Peak to Short-term loudness Ratio
‣ IL – Integrated Loudness
‣ ML – Momentary Loudness
‣ SL – Short-term Loudness
‣ Timeline display -> PLR, PMR, and PSR (color coded) over time
‣ LU Target selection
‣ Loudness Range Histogram

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o Bit Monitor
‣ 64 bit display
‣ Bit depth check - Determine real bit-depth
‣ Bit pattern timeline display
‣ Bit distribution timeline display
‣ Bit scale inversion
‣ Direct Current (DC) o set meter (-60dB to -40dB)

o Vector Scope
‣ Goniometer
‣ Linear and logarithmic display
‣ Luminescence slider
‣ Balance meter
‣ Correlation meter

o Spectrum Analyzer
‣ includes Spectrogram, Pano/Phase and 1/3 Octave view
‣ Spectrum (FFT) with 4096 bands, applying a 7th order Blackman-
Harris-Window to achieve a great frequency and amplitude precision
‣ Spectrogram (spectrum over time)
‣ Panorama- and Phase-Display with a resolution of 4096 frequency
bands
‣ 1/3 Octave Analyzer
‣ Linear and mouse draggable logarithmic frequency scale
‣ Mouse draggable dB scale to change the displayed amplitude ranges
‣ L/R Solo

• All 5 measuring instruments can be undocked from the main window to freely resize
and position them over multiple screens.
• High Resolution Audio Check
o Bandpass selection to isolate especially high frequency content.
o Shi the selected frequencies into the audible frequency range for acoustic
monitoring.

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General Functions
Undocking & Resizing
HawkEye is designed to show all measurement instruments within a single window, yet
this is only one mode of operation.
To be as flexible as possible any instrument can be undocked in its own window by a
simple double-click.
Furthermore, each instrument window is freely resizable and can be positioned on
multiple screens.
A double-click on the undocked instrument window or its placeholder docks it back
into the main window, whereas a single click on a placeholder brings the associated
instrument window back into the foreground.
All con gurations are storable as presets to be re-called at any time.

[1] Undocked Level Meter

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[2] Minimized Control Panel and undocked Level Meter, 1/3 Octave Analyzer and extended Dynamic
Timeline windows

[3] Minimized Control Panel and undocked FFT with Spectrogram, Vector Scope and Loudness Meter
windows positioned at the top of the screen

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Reset & Freeze

All instruments provide a Reset [R] and a Freeze [F] function.

[4] Reset & Freeze

Reset clears all values of the instrument and restarts the measurements.
Freeze freezes the display while the measurements continue in the background.

Tooltips and Labels

Buttons, drop down menus as well as numeric displays show extensive tooltips when
the mouse rests on them for a short while.
This function as well as additional labels can be switched o to further declutter the
instrument windows.

[5] Tooltip example

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[6] Stand-alone version with Labels deactivated for the most uncluttered appearance

Host Information
By hovering the mouse pointer over the lower part of the SPL HawkEye logo the
following information is displayed within a popup-window:

‣ Sample Rate
‣ Bu er length in samples
‣ Bu er length in time

[7] Host Information

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Level Meter
3 4
2 2

1 1
[8] Level Meter window

1 True Peak & RMS level meters

The slender meters show the TPL (True Peak Levels) and the wider meters display the
RMS (Root Mean Square) levels.
Beside le and right the Level Meter displays the mid and side signals as well which
are useful to get a better idea about issues within a stereo signal.
The mid [M = sum = (L+R)/2] contains the in phase mono part of the stereo signal. The
side [S = di erence = (L–R)/2] contains the out of phase part of the stereo signal.
A precise readout is provided when moving the mouse cursor over the instrument
window. A white horizontal line appears with the value in a box.

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2 True Peak Hold & True Peak Falling

The upper row of value boxes contain the maximum true peak hold levels of the
respective channel. Those values are also displayed by the top horizontal lines in the
meter bars.
The lower row of value boxes show the falling true peak levels. These values are also
displayed by the falling horizontal lines in the meter bars.
The oversampled TPL meter (True Peak Level) can detect Inter Sample Peaks (ISPs)
which are not visible on a standard digital meter.
ISPs emerge as soon as a recorded signal is not limited by an oversampled limiter and
hits the 0dB threshold.
ISPs are an issue when an audio signal is converted back into the analog domain
where they can cause overs of up to 3dB resulting in distortion within the analog part
of the DAC.
An appearance of an Inter Sample Peak is indicated by a red ISP symbol in the upper
row of value boxes. Both the upper and lower value box will turn red in the event of ISP
detection.

3 Scale Selection
The Level Meter supports four scale types:
1. FS (Full Scale) in dBFS: -42 to +3dBFS (includes 3dB for Inter Sample Peaks)
2. K-12: -30 to +12dB (+ 3dB for ISPs)
3. K-14: -28 to +14dB (+ 3dB for ISPs)
4. K-20: -22 to +20dB (+ 3dB for ISPs)

The K-Scales developed by Bob Katz propose an integrated system of metering and
monitoring that encourages more consistent levelling practices in lm, broadcast and
music productions.
Click on the arrow to open the pull down menu and select your favorite scale.

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4 RMS +3dB
Normally the RMS value of a sine tone is 3dB lower than the peak value. With
RMS +3dB engaged the metering is EBU compliant, reading for example -20dB RMS as
well as -20 LUFS when fed a -20dBFS stereo 1kHz sine tone.
Furthermore, when calibrating an audio system by using a sine tone it is most handy
when the peak value is identical to the RMS value by activating RMS +3dB.

5 True Peak Histogram

[9] Heavily limited audio track (see peak spike at 0dB)

The histogram displays the True Peak distribution of the le (yellow) and the right (red)
channel. It allows to check whether the usage of compression or limiting stays within
acceptable limits. A horizontal peak spike before 0dBFS reveals the extent of
compression/limiting applied to the audio signal, whereas a gaussian distribution
indicates a clean signal.
The L & R buttons switch the respective channel on and o in the histogram view.

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Loudness Meter
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1 2 3
4 5 6

1 2 3

4 5 6

[10] Loudness Meter window

1 PLR – Peak to Loudness Ratio

PLR is the ratio of maximum True Peak Level (TPL) to Integrated Loudness (IL). It is a
long-term measurement in Loudness Units (1LU = 1dB) and is o en used for loudness
management by streaming platforms to ”normalize“ the playback level.
The PLR bar deflects downwards to make use of the same scale as the Integrated
Loudness. The associated red value box located to the le in the upper row provides
the positive LU value.

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2 PMR – Peak to Momentary Ratio

PMR is the ratio of True Peak Level (TPL) to Momentary Loudness (ML) measured in
Loudness Units (1LU = 1dB) over a 400ms window.
The PMR bar deflects downwards and its positive LU value is displayed in the petrol
colored value box in the center of the upper row.

3 PSR – Peak to Short-term loudness Ratio

PSR is the ratio between the True Peak Level (TPL) and the Short-term Loudness (SL)
measured in Loudness Units (1LU = 1dB) over a 3 second window.
This value is key to mix a track against a set target. By selecting a PSR target and
activating the Timeline (9), it is possible to master towards a de ned dynamic range.
The PSR bar deflects downwards and its value is displayed in the yellow value box to
the right in the upper row.

4 IL – Integrated Loudness
IL represents Loudness Units relative to Full Scale (LUFS) over the entire time of
measurement as de ned by the EBU R128 recommendation.
The IL bar deflects upwards and its value is displayed in the red value box on the le in
the lower row. The red horizontal bar holds the maximum IL value.

5 ML – Momentary Loudness
ML represents Loudness Units relative to Full Scale (LUFS) over a 400ms window of
measurement as de ned by the EBU R128 recommendation.
The ML bar deflects upwards and its value is displayed in the petrol value box in the
center of the lower row. A petrol horizontal bar holds the maximum ML value.

6 SL – Short-term Loudness
SL represents Loudness Units relative to Full Scale (LUFS) over a 3s window of
measurement as de ned by the EBU R128 recommendation.
The SL bar deflects upwards and its value is displayed in the yellow value box on the
right in the lower row. A yellow horizontal bar holds the maximum SL value.

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7 LRA – Loudness
The yellow colored histogram displays the distribution of SL (Short-term Loudness) and
indicates the LRA (Loudness RAnge) which is a measure of the variation of loudness on
a macroscopic timescale.
The numerical LRA value is displayed above the vertical measurement bar.

8 LU Target
The LU Target refers to PSR (Peak to Short-term Ratio). It is a helpful tool when mixing
against a loudness target.
The selected target loudness is displayed by a horizontal orange line across the
loudness bars. By clicking on the drop down menu the LU target value can be changed
in 1dB steps from -3dB to -23dB.

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9 Timeline
The Timeline display can be selected in the pulldown menu.
It shows PLR, PMR and PSR over a certain amount of time. It is possible to cover a
larger time frame by just undocking and resizing the instrument horizontally.

[11] Timeline window

The PLR is shown as a red line and it is usually a pretty even line as this value changes
slowly.
PMR is displayed by the petrol line. This is the most rapid measurement with just a
400ms window.
PSR is shown as a yellow eld deflecting downwards. It turns into a color coded display
when a LU Target (8) is de ned.
[11] Timeline window

The color coded PSR is the most important display when mixing against a loudness
target. Blue indicates areas where the mix is cold and PSR is higher than the target
allowing for more compression or limiting. The color chart gets green, when the PSR is
on target and yellow when it is close to the target.
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[12] Example shows that track’s PSR is far o target

In the example above there are orange areas indicating that the mastered audio track
dri s away too much from the target. When it is red the mix is too hot and PSR is far
below the target.

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10 Radar
The Radar display can be selected in the pulldown menu.
It shows PLR, PMR and PSR over an adjustable amount of time in a circle.

[13] Radar view [14] Radar Timing

The time to complete a full circle is set in the Radar Timing pull down menu. The
minimum time for a full circle is half a minute, the maximum time is 128 minutes.
When hovering over the Radar with the cursor a white line appears that goes from the
center to the outer ring. Below the Radar the four values for PLR, PMR and PSR are
shown at the speci c moment where the white line crosses the loudness lines. The
white value in the lower right corner shows the precise time.
If the loudness distribution of an event needs to be documented, a screen shot of the
Radar display over the entire length of the event is an e ective means.

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[15] Radar view zoomed

Clicking on the “Z” button activated the zoom function of the Radar display. The range
now goes up to -16dB instead of 0dB if the zoom is deactivated.
When monitoring rather low level signals the zoom helps to get a better view.

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Bit Monitor
The Bit Monitor is a valuable and versatile measuring instrument to monitor the digital
activity not only of the audio le under investigation but also of the whole production
chain by revealing problems in the digital signal.

3 2 2 3

1 1

[16] 24bit high resolution audio track with an e ective

Bit Depth of 21bit for the le and 20bit for the right channel

1 Bit Ladder
The 64 bits of the audio signal are represented by a ladder of bit indicators with
di erent intensities of petrol depending on the bit usage.

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2 Bit Depth
This instrument applies a unique statistical measurement to determine the real bit
depth of the audio track under investigation. Bits in a range from the 24th to the 17th
bit that just contain pure noise are marked red.
The Depth check is especially useful to measure whether the analog to digital converter
used for recording achieved the maximum possible bit depth. It is also an indicator for
the quality of your analog signal flow.
Issues in the digital chain like plugins that process at 16 bits –truncating the signal–
are easily detectable.
Resetting the measurement frequently improves the quality of the statistical data.
The example on the previous page shows a 24 bit high resolution audio track where
the petrol numbers indicate the real bit depth of 21 bit (L) and 20 bit (R).

3 Bit Pattern
The Bit Pattern shows which bits are being used in a digital signal. Every 50ms an
audio sample is decomposed in its bits that move outwards as a pattern to record a
history of the bit usage. This is a more detailed view of bit usage compared to the
brightness of the petrol bit ladder indicators.
A well recorded audio track should show a decreasing bit usage from the lowest to the
highest bit. A regular bit pattern is an indication that something is probably wrong
within the audio processing chain.
The top bits may not light up because the maximum level of the music is below a
certain level (e.g. lower than -6dB). Up-scaled tracks (e.g. 16 to 24 Bit) can be identi ed
by either the lower bits staying at zero or a bit pattern that is symmetrical around a
certain bit number.

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4 Bit Distribution
The Bit Distribution is an alternative display of the Bit Pattern. It shows the statistical
commonness of bits by a gray scale where frequently used bits are indicated white.
Unused bits stay black and rarely used bits are displayed in 50 shades of grey.

4 4

[17] Bit Distribution view of a 24bit high resolution

audio track having a real Bit Depth of only 20bit.

5 Invert
The standard bit scale counts from the lowest (1) to the highest (64) bit. The scale can
be inverted to make counting active bits easier (see Bit Depth).
Placing the mouse pointer above a bit ladder indicator reveals the number of the bit.

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6 DC Offset

[18] Negative DC-O set on the le and right channels

The top bit (sign) of the bit ladder indicates the strength of the DC o set separately for
the le and right channels.
If the measured DC level is between -60dB and -40dB the top bit shi s its color from
petrol over green and yellow to red. The history of the top bit is displayed in an
outwards moving color pattern.
The additional DC meter distinguishes between a negative and positive DC o set,
where the horizontal bars cover a range of up to -40dB of the full-scale signal.
The cause for DC is almost always created in the analog domain by faulty or bad gear.
DC should be avoided to mitigate issues like reduced headroom, problems with lossy
audio formats or even power ampli ers going into protection mode.5

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Vector Scope
1 Linear Vector Scope

[19] Linear view of the audio vector (L & R)

The linear X-Y plot of the Vector Scope (Goniometer) reveals details about the
relationship between the le and right channel, providing:
‣ a good idea about the audio levels for each channel
‣ the stereo balance and width
‣ its compatibility as a mono signal

With Lin engaged the relationship between the stereo channels is displayed linearly
and has a maximum shape of a rhombus. The le channel drives the 45° deflection and
the right channel drives the -45° deflection.
A monophonic signal, consisting of identical le and right signals, results in a vertical
line, whereas any stereo component is visible as a deviation from this line.
A horizontal line indicates that the le and right channels are 180° out of phase.
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2 Logarithmic Vector Scope

2 5
3

[20] Logarithmic view of the audio vector (L & R)

With Log engaged the relationship between the stereo channels is displayed
logarithmically. This display is useful for smaller signal amplitudes and has a maximum
shape of a circle.

3 Balance
The Balance meter shows the dri of the stereo track to either side. It helps to identify
whether the stereo signal is well balanced. Small white brackets hold the maximum
values.
The Pano/Phase instrument as part of the Spectrum Analyzer displays the Balance in
far more detail. In fact, it is capable of showing the panorama for 4096 frequency
bands.

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4 Correlation
The correlation meter indicates the degree of similarity between the le and right
channels.
A moving bar shows the momentary value, whereas small white brackets hold the
maximum values.
The correlation meter is important to check for mono compatibility or to check if a
stereo microphone position would result in phase cancellation.
Petrol values are always acceptable, the yellow area is still OK, but the red area
indicates that phase cancellations take place. In a mono playback this would mean that
certain frequencies are not audible with the same level as in the stereo playback.
The Pano/Phase instrument as part of the Spectrum Analyzer displays the phase in far
more detail. It is capable of showing the phase for 4096 frequency bands.

5 Luminescence Slider
The slider de nes how long the Vector Scope signal stays on the screen. It is
comparable to the luminescence of old cathode ray tubes.
If the slider is at its maximum the signal is held inde nitely.

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Spectrum Analyzer
1 FFT – Fast Fourier Transformation

1 a b c d

[21] FFT of L & R with maximum and falling envelopes to identify regions that e.g. need equalizing.

The FFT plots the audio spectrum displaying amplitude as a function of frequency.
The high speed FFT generates a new high resolution spectrum of 4096 frequency
bands every 50ms (20Hz) covering a range from 0 Hz up to the Nyquist frequency
(1/2x sample rate).
It achieves an exceptional frequency separation as well as amplitude precision by using
a 7th order Blackman-Harris windowing function.
By placing the mouse cursor over the FFT window precise amplitude and frequency
readouts are displayed.
The frequency resolution (e.g. 5.38Hz at 44.1kHz sample rate) and noise density (dB)
are indicated by blue colored values.
Especially the noise density helps to determine the SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) of the
whole recording chain if measured in a frequency range that just contains noise.
On the Y-axis (vertical line) of the cross-hair two more values are being shown.
The lower one is the falling true peak and the upper one is the true peak hold
(envelope) of that speci c frequency.
The display range of the amplitude scale (Y-axis) and logarithmic frequency scale (X-
axis) can be stretched and compressed by mouse dragging.

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Further functions available in FFT view are:

a) Bar
The FFT display can be switched between line and bar graph mode.
In bar graph mode the area beneath the envelope is lled with red bars for the right
und yellow bars for the le channel.

b) Hold
When activating Hold a momentary peak hold line (light petrol) is introduced.
It displays the maximum values created by the le and right channel.
The petrol colored area above this line indicates the maximum peak hold values.
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c) L Solo / R Solo
When activating L Solo or R Solo only the associated channel will be displayed.

d) Lin / Log
Switches the frequency scale (X-axis) to be linear or logarithmic.
The linear frequency scale is xed and is best being used to check high resolution
content.
The logarithmic frequency scale should be used to check low frequency audio content.
The X-axis can be stretched and compressed by mouse dragging.

[22]: Linear FFT of a 96kHz high resolution audio track revealing heavy distortions around 33.5kHz

2 a b c
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2 Spectrogram

[23] Full color Spectrogram (waterfall plot)

The waterfall plot is built from high speed FFTs that are calculated every 50ms
providing a resolution of 4096 frequency bands.
The Spectrogram achieves an exceptional frequency separation as well as amplitude
precision by using a 7th order Blackman-Harris windowing function.
By placing the mouse cursor over the Spectrogram window, a precise frequency
readout is given.
The FFT resolution (e.g. 5.38Hz at 44.1kHz sample rate) is indicated by a blue colored
value.
Mouse dragging of the Y-axis stretches or compresses the dB scale which has a direct
influence on the brightness of the waterfall plot.
The Spectrogram is an essential tool to detect issues like periodic distortions in the
audio spectrum.

Further functions available in the Spectrogram view are:

a) L Solo / R Solo
When activating “L Solo” or “R Solo” only the associated channel will be displayed.

b) Lin / Log
The Lin and Log buttons switch the frequency scale (X-axis) to be linear or logarithmic.
The linear frequency scale is xed and is best being used to check high resolution
content.
The logarithmic frequency scale should be used to check low frequency audio content.
The X-axis can be stretched and compressed by mouse dragging.

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c) Color scheme
The drop-down menu o ers a selection of color schemes:
BRY: Blue-Red-Yellow
COL: full color
MON: monochromatic gray scale

[24] Spectrogram with BRY color scale

The monochromatic scale is the best choice when layering the FFT above the
Spectrogram.

[25] Monochromatic Spectrogram combined with FFT

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3 Pano/Phase

3 a b

[26] Hi-resolution analysis of Panorama and Phase

This instrument shows the precise panning to the le and right of 4096 frequency
bands over a range of 0 Hz up to the Nyquist frequency (1/2 sample rate).
It complements the Balance display of the Vector Scope by showing the L/R panning
over 4096 frequency bands.
Furthermore, the two Correlation stripes complement the Correlation meter of the
Vector Scope by indicating the phase relationship of 4096 individual frequencies by
applying a similar color coding as used by the Correlation meter.
The lower Correlation stripe shows the momentary correlation wheres the upper
correlation stripe holds the negative correlation values over the time of measurement.
Stable red marked frequency ranges below 4kHz should get a deeper investigation
because they are an indication that the le and right channel loose energy in those
frequency bands by cancelling each other out. These cancellations are quite critical,
especially in the area of bass frequencies.

Further functions available in the Pano/Phase view are:

a) Hold
When activating Hold two momentary peak hold lines (red and yellow) are introduced.
They indicate the falling peak values of the le and right channel.
The petrol colored areas above these lines hold the maximum peak values.

b) Lin / Log
Switches the frequency scale (X-axis) to be linear or logarithmic.

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The linear frequency scale is xed and is best being used to check high resolution
content.
The logarithmic frequency scale should be used to check low frequency audio content
and can be stretched and compressed by mouse dragging.

4 1/3 Octave Analyzer

3 a b

[27] 1/3 Octave analysis of a 96kHz high resolution audio track

The analyzer shows the frequency spectrum in bars separated by 1/3 octave over a
range of 20 Hz up to the Nyquist frequency (1/2 x sample rate).
The bars represent the mono amplitude while the falling peaks and peak hold values
are represented as lines, separately for the le and right channel.
Mouse dragging of the Y-axis stretches or compresses the dB scale.

Further functions available in 1/3 Octave view are:

a) Hold
Activating Hold introduces peak hold lines for the le and right channel.

b) L Solo / R Solo
When activating L Solo or R Solo only the associated channel will be displayed.4

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Control Panel

1 2 3 4

6
7
8

[28] HawkEye Control Panel

1 R – Reset
Clears the calculations of all instruments and restarts all measurements.

2 F – Freeze
Freezes all displays while measurements continue in the background.

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3 L – Labels
Activate Labels to add detailed labelling to certain instruments, scales and value boxes.
It also enables the tooltips which pop up when the mouse cursor hovers over a button
or value box.

4 Minimize/Maximize
This function minimizes the main view to the Control Panel and another click expands it
back to the full view.
Minimize the view to safe screen space and undock only those measuring instruments
really needed by double clicking on them.

5 Left / Right / Mid / Side

These are solo buttons. All analyzing tools just work on the solo’d channel.

High Resolution Audio Check

[29] Bandpass isolated heavy distortion of a 96kHz high resolution audio track.
With Transpose those distortions are made audible.

6 Bandpass
Checking the frequency range beyond 20kHz for noise vs. audio is important when
verifying real high resolution recordings. Therefore, HawkEye o ers the Bandpass
function to select certain frequency ranges for analysis.

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Two red vertical lines in the FFT, Spectrogram and Pano/Phase view de ne the upper
and lower cut-o frequencies, which can be changed individually or by moving the
whole bandpass.
Furthermore, it is possible to set a new bandpass by just dragging the mouse over the
target frequency range. It is recommended to use the linear frequency scale.

7 Transpose
Checking high resolution audio content for noise vs audio is hardly possible if you are
not a bat. Therefore, HawkEye o ers a frequency shi function that lets you listen to
audio content beyond the human auditory capabilities by shi ing the selected
frequency band into an audible frequency range.

[30] Bandpass isolated distortion shi ed into the audible frequency range

8 Monitor
You need to activate Monitor to listen to the transposed frequencies or the solo’d
signals (Le , Right, Mid, Side).
If Monitor is not engaged the named functions are only visible. When Monitor is
engaged audio will be routed through HawkEye and is processed.
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ATTENTION: Lower the volume before switching off Bandpass!
You may have listened to the selected high frequency content at a much higher
volume. Going back to full range listening by switching o Bandpass without reducing
the volume may lead to an extremely loud playback that may damage your speakers or
even your hearing. Be careful.

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CPU-Load Considerations
HawkEye analyzes a lot of audio features in parallel and normally works on modern
computers without any performance issues. Nevertheless, to support systems with
lower CPU performance we like to suggest methods to reduce the system load:

‣ HawkEye renders only graphical content that is visible. If only the Level Meter is
required and active, undock it and minimize the main window (see Control
Panel 4). By doing so the CPU load goes down because of a heavily reduced
rendering e ort.

‣ Freezing single instruments reduces the overall CPU load.

‣ Choose a sensible bu er size between 10ms and below 50ms.

All settings can be stored as pre-sets to be re-called at any time.

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 HawkEye Audio Analyzer

Stand-alone Version (OS X and Windows)

[31] HawkEye program icon

HawkEye is additionally distributed as a stand-alone version for OS X and Windows.

The following use cases are covered:
1. Analyzing the audio input to use HawkEye as metering solution outside the
DAW.
2. Re-Route the audio output of a streaming client or media players to check its
quality.

Especially for the second case we need to use a virtual sound card to route the audio
between di erent applications.
As of our knowledge there are currently the following free solutions available:

OS X: Soundflower
It is easy to use and presents itself as an audio device in the Audio/Midi Setup,
allowing any audio application to send and receive audio.

Windows: VB-Cable Virtual Audio Device

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 HawkEye Audio Analyzer

Audio/MIDI Settings

[32] Audio/MIDI Settings

To con gure the audio settings of the standalone version, click on Options in the upper
le corner:
‣ Select for example Soundflower as Input and your output device as Output.
‣ Select the output channel pair to where the input channels shall be routed in
the Active output channels selection eld.
‣ Clicking on Test sends a 400Hz one second test tone to check the connection.
‣ There is the risk of a feedback loop in case of an identical Input and Output
device. Click the “Mute audio input” check box to avoid feedback loops.
‣ The Sample rate selection determines the frequency range of the Spectrum
Analyzer (FFT, Spectogram, Pano/Phase and 1/3 Octave Analyzer).
‣ The Audio bu er size is best set to values between 10ms and below 50ms to
have an immediate fluent visual reaction to the actual audio playback. Lower
settings may lead to hiccups. Deactivating the “Monitor” function or keeping the
bu er sizes above 10ms mitigates those issues. The performance of your
computer system determines how fast you can go.

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HawkEye Audio Analyzer

HawkEye A u d i o Analyzer

Version 2.0

Design by Stephan Hotto & Hermann Gier

Programming by Stephan Hotto

©2023 SPL electronics GmbH, All Rights Reserved. SPL and the SPL logo are registered trademarks of SPL electronics GmbH

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