I had the DAC3HGC with the AHB2 once so I know the way it sounds. I now have the LA4 preamp and the DAC3B.
I use this system in my 12 x 11 x 9 office. So that is a small space but I have my closet filled with my desk and 6 monitors hooked up to 1 computer. Sounds like a recipe for bad sound.
However, I made the room sound great by calling GIK Accoustics and they helped me setup acoustic panels to tame the room. That is all I use now with my KEF LS50 Meta + KC62 sub. However, when I had a bigger speaker in the small space, a Thiel CS3.7 I also used DSP via convolution filters running on ROON. I do not need any audio hardware to run this DSP. I used a cheap computer running ROON in a room far away from the office.
If you are getting fatigue from the sound then look at your room. Acoustic panels could be all you need, but they are intrusive into the space. I did not care in my office. If the panels cannot be used in your circumstances or they are not enough then DSP will solve the rest.
Using the panels or DSP is always better than getting fatigue in a room that is not playing nice.
Something interesting on room accoustics
While I’m at it, I might as well include the latest measurements of my room / system. As always, these are collected using Audiolense and the help of @mitchco from Accurate Sound, who designs my 65,000 tap, frequency and time corrected, convolution filters. This isn’t your father’s DSP, to say the least.
Mitch also did the DSP for my office. That dude is a star at this and can do anyones room remotely.
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Thanks guys , I’m about to start room treatment when I get back, heavy long curtains, bass traps, plenty of soft furnishings etc. what I’m gathering so far is over $1000 on a correction system is not necessary if I complete the treatment. I know that will tame the bass to a great extent but I thought the idea of a room correction system is that it does a lot of math and everything is fixed “before” it leaves the speakers - is that right?
Haye to spend $1000 only to hear very little difference.
I am not sure.
- Some passive treatments usually provide dampening of the sound after it is in the room.
- One may want to dampen things out more where there are problem.
- or diffuse things.
- Active approaches (EQ) gets the sound energy into the room at a more consistent level initially.
It is not clear that passive is better than active or visa versa.
A combination is more likely ideal.
And if passive is not an option for a variety of reasons, then active does make a difference.
I would think one might want to start with the microphone and measurements, rather than pillows, rugs, curtains and traps.
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Room correction may make the sound better to your ears or it may not.
One issue is the target frequency response curve it is trying to achieve may not be to your preferences.
Another issue is that it will most likely try to fill in the valleys in bass response by boosting the frequencies. Boosting bass frequencies can quickly rob an amplifier of dynamic power and cause early strain and clipping.
I personally do not use it and if I did I would use it to eliminate peaks. However proper speaker and sub positioning can do that quite well.
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Like most things it depends. With the right speakers and calibration software I've gotten a flat FR from 30hz to 20khz with no special room treatments. Genelec 8351b using GLM and Dutch and Dutch 8c using their boundary settings and REW. I'd like to see what Kii3 can do, maybe someday. Anyway in your case I'd get a calibrated mic and REW since you're doing stereo. That can help with placing treatments.
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A lot of good advice has been offered so far. One additional point: automatic DSP systems are powerful but don’t always come up with the result you will like best. (I use an Anthem STR Preamp with Anthem’s ARC to help smooth bass response in my basement room.) If you choose an automatic DSP system, try to pick one that will let you change or fine-tune its solution. That is far preferable to one that does not.
Well, I lied. A second point: DSP is one of the few practical ways of smoothing really low bass, which is below the frequency range in which most common acoustic traps and panels are effective.
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+ many, regarding room treatment.
But, try to be as sparing as possible. You can overdo it easily.
With regard to DSP, I would be circumspect.
Remember, when you mess with information stream, you can end up with more unintended changes that you did not intend.
Bob
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The biggest factor in maximizing the SQ is getting the speakers in the sweet spot for the listening positions. And some dampening on parallel surfaces.
If you are limited for doing that DSP is a bandaid that might help.
Might not.
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remember to watch the video before you buy anything
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Yes, room treatment is essential I know. I’m living in Brazil now so the prices for this I’ll have to find there - pretty easy though from pro audio stores for re riding setups. Going to get that right first then if I’m not quite happy I will look deeper into room correction systems.
thanks guys
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I wouldn't say DSP would NEVER be necessary, but I do think room treatment is the first thing to go, and then any remaining issues can be dealt with quite handily with a little EQ on the sub. :)
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The smart money says treat the room first and then do room correction if still needed. I’d recommend GIK for reasonably-priced room treatments and good advice as well. As far as effectiveness of RC, read reviews of the DSpeaker Anti-Mode 8033 and/or the 2.0 Dual Core to get an idea of what’s possible.
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@thomastrouble , dsp is limited in what it can fix. IMO getting a flat frequency response in your room is more important than your components. So, as for room treatment it should be done regardless if you use dsp or not. As for dsp it is to help customize your in room response once it is treated. I posted a video below if you want to get more info before you get started. Or, you can get a free consultation from a vendor like Auralex of www.sonitususa.com. If you check the virtual system in my profile I have posted my in room measurements. As for software and mic the Dspeaker or miniDSP Flex will both probably work and I think the upgrade you will get when you achieve a flat frequency response will be outstanding. This video is about an hour but these are the principles I followed to achieve a flat frequency response and Anthony even exchanged e-mails with me:
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Oh, heading to the airport soon and 30 hours of travel, so I’m not ignoring you guys , I’ll check here once I settle in.
cheers
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Thanks guys , I’m about to start room treatment when I get back, heavy long curtains, bass traps, plenty of soft furnishings etc. what I’m gathering so far is over $1000 on a correction system is not necessary if I complete the treatment. I know that will tame the bass to a great extent but I thought the idea of a room correction system is that it does a lot of math and everything is fixed “before” it leaves the speakers - is that right?
Haye to spend $1000 only to hear very little difference.
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Mini DSP Studio SHD is one idea.
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Here's a though -- perhaps invest in a room measurement microphone ($100 give or take) and some free room measurement software for your PC (Room EQ Wizard) and see what the frequency response in your room is right now before doing anything. Next, experiment with some free or inexpensive room treatments to see how that affects things, along with trying different speaker placements. You may find that works out just fine. There are also analog EQ options available (Schiit Loki and its siblings, starting at $150) that may fix a minor problem after you treat the room. Only then may you still want to spend the bucks for a digital room correction system.
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I am with Floyd Toole here. The best thing about room correction and EQ in general is helping to integrate the bass.
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“So, I splashed out and spent more than I wanted”
@thomasintrouble
If there are no acoustic treatments in your listening space then definitely try room correction software to fine tune the sound.
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Oh, to add….
my system consists of…
Benchmark AHB2 amp
Benchmark DAC 3 HGC
Bluesound Node music streamer
Totem “The One” bookshelf speakers
Velodyne SPL 1000 sub
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