Acoustic treatment vs Digital room correction or equalizers
- Thread starter Shivam
- Start date
Interesting indeed!
To the best of my knowledge, digital equalization can be done in a very precise manner (as described in the article boosting or cutting specific frequencies). Corrections in the time domain do not come into play unless we are talking of fairly big listening environments (again, that is my understanding). In smaller rooms, installing acoustic pads or foams is more of a wholesale treatment approach - not a precise one.
In larger rooms, digital equalization alone will not be enough by a long way.
Lastly the illusion that EQ'ed flat sound will be to your liking is just that...an illusion
Sweet sound - even natural sound - is different from flat sound. Again, in my experience.
To the best of my knowledge, digital equalization can be done in a very precise manner (as described in the article boosting or cutting specific frequencies). Corrections in the time domain do not come into play unless we are talking of fairly big listening environments (again, that is my understanding). In smaller rooms, installing acoustic pads or foams is more of a wholesale treatment approach - not a precise one.
In larger rooms, digital equalization alone will not be enough by a long way.
Lastly the illusion that EQ'ed flat sound will be to your liking is just that...an illusion
Sweet sound - even natural sound - is different from flat sound. Again, in my experience.
For the longest time, I have been wanting to share my experiences here. But well, procrastination is part of me Am surprised that more discussion on these lines does not happen in this forum.
After all - one can never ignore the room in which you listen to your music! The amount of trouble one goes to setup everything from source to DAC to amplifiers to speakers may not fetch proper returns if we do not manage the listening environments.
Am surprised that more discussion on these lines does not happen in this forum. After all - one can never ignore the room in which you listen to your music! The amount of trouble one goes to setup everything from source to DAC to amplifiers to speakers may not fetch proper returns if we do not manage the listening environments.
greenhorn
Well-Known Member
IIRC, because of room modes, your room response will always vary, and unles you're going to listen to music sitting very still at one point - I dont - It's pointless
Am afraid I did not get that. Could you please expand?
I actually do not have too much of a problem with the latter part. I do sit still at one point when I listen to music
In my system there is a world of difference between listening to audio with and without room correction. However, I do not experience a difference every single day
- with the equalized settings that is!
For the longest time, I have been wanting to share my experiences here. But well, procrastination is part of me
After all - one can never ignore the room in which you listen to your music! The amount of trouble one goes to setup everything from source to DAC to amplifiers to speakers may not fetch proper returns if we do not manage the listening environments.
Pls share your experience, especially with the Behringer.
I have tried neither digital EQ nor room treatment and would love to learn the efficacy of both. Both make lots of sense.
I will, certainly. Have just finished EQ'ing the room with the Active speakers. Generally before doing something like a review, I like to let the honeymoon period go. Because generally you find no faults at all with a newly setup system. You are not hear sound...you are hearing the effects of labour
. What's not to like with that! So, in the next month, I will compile all information on these lines and share it with those interested.
greenhorn
Well-Known Member
Am afraid I did not get that. Could you please expand?
I actually do not have too much of a problem with the latter part. I do sit still at one point when I listen to music
In my system there is a world of difference between listening to audio with and without room correction. However, I do not experience a difference every single day
Room Modes, Room Mode Calculators, Eigenmodes and Eigentones | Acoustic Frontiers
yes, room correction will certainly attempt to correct it, and there will certainly be a difference, but I don't think it will be consistent as you walk around the room
Ah, I see what you are saying. Actually the resonance modes you are referring to are prevalent mostly in the bass and sub bass range. And my room equalization starts from 50 Hz. So, yes up until about 250 - 300 hz, there will be several dips or peaks depending on the room and its contents. But remember all equalization happens with reference to your seating position. That is where you place the recording microphone.
So - yes, in effect when you do room equalization, you tend to get the system to work with a particular equalization curve, applicable when you are seated at or around a particular position in the room.
Thankfully I do not walk around when I listen to music - so I have never had the pleasure of listening to the various modes or resonances etc.
If I start doing that - in addition to the all the other fussy things I do related to audio - I suspect my family might pack me off to a mental asylum
Also one of the best explanations I have read on this subject are on the Linkwitz Riley website. Crystal clear with a lot of detail too...
Used to have it bookmarked...not handy now. But a quick research brings this up - Room Acoustics
Used to have it bookmarked...not handy now. But a quick research brings this up - Room Acoustics
greenhorn
Well-Known Member
I'm a bit of a basshead , and listen to mostly old country and trance (go figure). it drives me mad that the bass sounds so boomy from my bed, but fine from my chair, even as I walk around
Apart from Eq, had listened to a couple of good time aligned car setups, found the sound unnatural. Still planning to invest in a head unit with Time alignment and per channel eq to see what all the fuss is all about - I am certainly not going to be moving around in my car while driving
Apart from Eq, had listened to a couple of good time aligned car setups, found the sound unnatural. Still planning to invest in a head unit with Time alignment and per channel eq to see what all the fuss is all about - I am certainly not going to be moving around in my car while driving
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Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
I guess there are two reasons why people spend absurd amounts of money on headphones:
1. It is almost impossible to spend as much as can be spent on speakers.
2. No room effect.
But I still eq the output from my PC to the headphones to try to compensate for hf hearing loss, and without that, there are twinkly things and shimmering cymbals that I can barely hear at all.
As I am neither an audiologist nor a sound engineer, my eq-ing is very much experimental as learned as I go along, and it might be possible to do very much better, but, whilst it has brought instruments that I was missing back to my conciousness, which is the upside, the downside is that the music doesn't seem as natural. It seems to have gained a little harshness (maybe I'm overdoing the highs) and lost a little fullness. Bypass the eq, and it is soft and full again --- just lacking the bits I can't hear.
Now, wouldn't it be nice if I could correct my ears instead of eq-ing the music? On this basis, I theorise that room correction would be better than eq, with eq perhaps being used for final tweaking. It's only theory... I've never actually treated a room... but isn't the ideal to have the full range coming out of your speakers?
1. It is almost impossible to spend as much as can be spent on speakers.
2. No room effect.
But I still eq the output from my PC to the headphones to try to compensate for hf hearing loss, and without that, there are twinkly things and shimmering cymbals that I can barely hear at all.
As I am neither an audiologist nor a sound engineer, my eq-ing is very much experimental as learned as I go along, and it might be possible to do very much better, but, whilst it has brought instruments that I was missing back to my conciousness, which is the upside, the downside is that the music doesn't seem as natural. It seems to have gained a little harshness (maybe I'm overdoing the highs) and lost a little fullness. Bypass the eq, and it is soft and full again --- just lacking the bits I can't hear.
Now, wouldn't it be nice if I could correct my ears instead of eq-ing the music? On this basis, I theorise that room correction would be better than eq, with eq perhaps being used for final tweaking. It's only theory... I've never actually treated a room... but isn't the ideal to have the full range coming out of your speakers?
Indeed. If I were able to sit around for hours at a time with big headphones around my head, I would have saved a lot of moolah! In a perfect world...and so on..
Yes, room treatment coupled with equalization is supposed to be nirvana. Who knows what that is!
Even to do room treatment you will have to measure modes - so DEQ or at least the measurement aspect before you EQ is the first thing that needs to be done.
Yes, room treatment coupled with equalization is supposed to be nirvana. Who knows what that is!
Even to do room treatment you will have to measure modes - so DEQ or at least the measurement aspect before you EQ is the first thing that needs to be done.
Shivam
Well-Known Member
I wish someone opens up a store where we can listen to various digital room correction devices, acoustics treatment products etc (with and without effects) and maybe test them at our homes before buying.
greenhorn
Well-Known Member
on the other side of this, has anyone had any of those yamaha (or other make) recievers which modelled a huge bunch of concert halls ? How did it sound like ?
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
An internet step or two away from the link you gave above, how about this for assessment of one's listening room, using both test tones and real music...
Accurate performance of a stereo sound system
It is an amazingly comprehensive set of tests. It might also codify a lot of individual reactions that appear to be merged into instinct in those that are really good at doing this stuff
Accurate performance of a stereo sound system
It is an amazingly comprehensive set of tests. It might also codify a lot of individual reactions that appear to be merged into instinct in those that are really good at doing this stuff
For the longest time, I have been wanting to share my experiences here. But well, procrastination is part of me
After all - one can never ignore the room in which you listen to your music! The amount of trouble one goes to setup everything from source to DAC to amplifiers to speakers may not fetch proper returns if we do not manage the listening environments.
Do post your experiences. I'd be very interested. I'm also of the school of thought that the room is the one bit of "kit" that gives the best overall results when tweaked right.
Well said. To add more:
Bad placement/seating - lighting fire.
Room treatment will solve the room modes for all the seats whereas EQ will solve it for a position. Also, whatever peaks/dips corrected by EQ, it will be added at some other location. There are also limitations how much boosting can be done by EQ. Many eq programs will limit to 6~8 db max as it can cause amp clipping. Room treatment does not limit yourself in this regard, however it can limit how much treatments can be added.
Best approach is to be balanced. First solve the problem by placement of speakers, layout, adding some furniture/accessories. Then add some room treatments. Final would be eq if at all needed.
I agree with the last part.For the longest time, I have been wanting to share my experiences here. But well, procrastination is part of me
After all - one can never ignore the room in which you listen to your music! The amount of trouble one goes to setup everything from source to DAC to amplifiers to speakers may not fetch proper returns if we do not manage the listening environments.
I notice that you haven't posted what you actually did in the area of digital room correction - I would be very interested in knowing this and how well it worked.
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