Introducing Aulyzer – Scientific Audio Measurement Instrument

Aulyzer – a new cross-platform command-line tool for scientific audio analysis.

Aulyzer was originally built as an internal lab instrument for validating audio watermarking, fingerprinting, and various processing chains. We are now releasing it as a standalone tool for engineers, researchers, and audio professionals who need precise, repeatable measurements on audio files.

What Aulyzer Is

Aulyzer is a command-line audio analyzer designed for:

  1. Single-file analysis – extracting a rich set of metrics from one audio file (quality control, characterization, validation).
  2. Pairwise comparison – comparing one or more “probe” files against a “reference” file to quantify differences in level, time, and frequency domains.

It is not a “pretty GUI” spectrum viewer. It’s a measurement instrument: deterministic, scriptable, and designed to integrate into automated workflows and test benches.

Core Use Cases

Typical scenarios where Aulyzer is useful:

  • Codec / processing evaluation
    Compare original vs. processed audio (codecs, streaming pipelines, DSP chains) and quantify: Level differences, Time alignment / lag, Band-power and spectral changes
  • Production & Broadcast QC
    Run automated checks on delivered content to verify: Peak / true-peak limits, RMS levels
  • Algorithm & Product Testing
    Validate new DSP algorithms, devices, or firmware by running repeatable batch tests against reference material and collecting machine-readable JSON results.

Key Features at a Glance

1. Comprehensive Measurements (Single File)
Aulyzer computes a wide range of metrics, including:

  • Duration, detected sample rate, nominal and inferred bit depth
  • Peak and true-peak (ISP) levels with timestamps
  • RMS statistics (peak / mean / min / total)
  • Crest factor traces, frame power, spectral centroid
  • DC offset, clipping percentage and counts
  • Click detection via abs-delta PCM
  • Activity timing and bandwidth estimation (when enabled)

2. Advanced Pairwise Comparison (Reference vs Probe)

When you provide a reference and one or more probes, Aulyzer can:

  • Detect lag via cross-correlation (with optional automatic lag compensation)
  • Compute RMS and peak deltas (abs/peak/mean/min/total) with optional level compensation
  • Compare band-power across frequency bands
  • Evaluate log-spectral distance and per-band frequency-response deviation
  • Optionally render aligned / EQ-compensated probe WAVs for listening checks

3. Batch & Fragment Analysis

  • Process one reference vs many probes in a single command.
  • Target specific time fragments per file using simple notation: {"file.wav",start,stop} – without touching the original files.

4. Configurable Limits & Alerts

Almost every measurement can have: .min, .max, .delta_min, .delta_max

When limits are violated, Aulyzer flags alerts in both console and JSON reports – ideal for automated QC pipelines and CI systems.

5. Output & Reporting

  • Console output – human-readable blocks, with optional “alerts-only” mode.
  • JSON export – every run produces structured JSON in a report directory (default: res/), ready for further parsing or dashboards.
  • Visualization – Aulyzer can generate Gnuplot scripts + PNGs: Waveform plots, spectrograms (customizable palettes, size, fonts)

6. Optional Processing & Tools

  • Controlled resampling (single and pairwise flows)
  • Optional dither injection
  • Band-pass preparation
  • Lag-compensated or frequency-response-compensated audio renders for deeper investigation.

Download Aulyzer: http://audiowatermarking.com/aulyzer

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