Is DEQX a game changer?

Forresstc .... I will post a more detailed report that lays out the details of my DEQX audition. It took 2 sessions. The first session was worthless because of serious room issues and my speakers are just too large for the room.

Plus, the second session involved hooking up my sub directly into the DEQX device rather than from my preamp's main #2 output. This permitted the DEQXpert to more effectively make compensating adjustments by crossing over my self powered sub at 120 Hz. Probably improved bass tightness because the DF in my sub is pretty high. My sub is a self powered solid state job.

I am dubious that an average Joe could extract as much out of my DEQX as the DEQXpert. Too many adjustments and too many beasts to tame. Also, many of the time alignment and room EQ adjustments were made based on the DEQXpert's anecdotal experiences.

For example, he did not attempt to achieve a ruler flat EQ curve. He said that twisting the drivers beyond a certain point would result in a negative yield.

So ... IMO, unless one is really tech saavy, I'd recommend paying the extra fee for the DEQXpert service.

Forrestc, stated differently, beyond a certain point, continued tweaking yields diminishing return.

Interesting observations by Forrestc and Bifwynne

I became an 'advanced' DEQX user and learnt over the past two years how to improve my initial setup with small tweaks and modifications along the way. You do eventually reach a point where further meddling becomes unnecessary and counter productive of course

Learning was by a combination of email support from Alan Langford at DEQX, from my own dealer (DEQXpert), from discussing with other DEQX users and studying the principles behind time alignment and how to properly interpret the graphs. I wouldn't say I am particularly 'tech savvy'.... more inquisitive and willing to experiment and learn

For anyone reading this who is not a DEQX user and put off by the apparent complexity, don't be - most setup widgets have a default setting as part of the automated process and DEQX takes care of phase and time alignment of the speakers automatically. It is only alignment between different speaker sets (ie main-subs) and room effects that require manual intervention. These two aspects can be adjusted in real time and with music playing so the resulting changes can be heard immediately

There are 4 presets so you can make different versions of a similar configuration, modifying one aspect subtly between them and change via the remote whilst listening and then settle on the best one. My final setup has 4 similarly configured presets with the only change being the amount of bass boost/room eq to compensate for a bass heavy album (preset 1) all the way to a thin sounding album (preset 4). Preset 2 is used for most listening (by the way I have never used the hundreds of eq settings available on the remote and the use of preset 1 as a 'Bypass' is only worth it the first time you ever use DEQX, after that I have configured it as with the other 3)

Ruler flat eq curves do indeed sound very dull - for instance if you use the 'inverse' eq facility to map and neutralise the room frequency plot, it sound too sterile. Learning how to work with DEQX to achieve a natural and full sounding frequency range 'in your room/to your taste' can be both time consuming and enjoyable at the same time

Adding two subs to the room (directly fed by the DEQX as Bif mentions) makes a big difference as does experimenting with the crossover point. I tried several settings between 80 and 120hz before finally settling on 100hz as the most natural sounding - below that the OB speakers struggled to fill-in and above that, mid-bass started to sound a little 'nasal'

In my experience, building passive crossovers and sloped baffle speakers and using acoustic room treatment CAN achieve similar results but it is so much more 'hit & miss'. You normally get one go at a crossover and invariably find fault over the subsequent weeks & months. It's a real hassle to then make changes and always a bit of a stab in the dark. Likewise with acoustic treatment I could take out SOME bass humps but never satisfactorily fill in the voids.

With DEQX, the potential to correct with music playing until it sounds exactly as you want is infinate. Maybe for that reason alone, I do consider it to be a game changer

Well stated Drewan.

Bifwynne,
Would love to hear your impressions about going direct to the DEQX using its built in preamp versus preceding it with your ARC preamp.

To me, if the preamp in it is very, very good in addition to its primary duties, that would be huge for me.

Thanks.

isn't DEQX only for digital sources? Would anyone choose to use it in an otherwise analogue vinyl setup?