Is DEQX a game changer?

There is a much simpler way to create a duplicate or modified file: open your original file as normal in the software then immediately click 'save as' from 'File' on the menu bar (top LH corner)

When the smaller window appears, simply change the file name and save. It will then create another identical .mzd file in all but name into the same root folder as the original

Provided this file remains open while you modify or add anything, any further mods or saves will apply to this, not the original. My 'working' .mzd file was built up by multiple saves this way and eventually I went back and deleted all the older, no longer needed versions

05-20-15: Bifwynne
...... For example, any thoughts if I were to invest in a pair of Vandies which start out time aligned?

Hi Bifwynne, if you haven't already, you might want to read the following Vandersteen Seven loudspeaker review in the Speaker forum. Looks like a really good review by a user (not a reviewer)

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1431987937&&&/Vandersteen-Seven-Review

Thanks Bombaywalla. The Vandy 7s are a non-starter for me. Too da*n expensive. Also, my basement/sound room isn't big enough ... not even for the 5As. The Quatro Wood CTs might be an option.

Drewan thinks that the DEQX already time aligned my speakers. If so, any marginal improvement might be theoretical.

My guess is that it might come down to the quality of the drivers. And Paradigm's Signature line uses very good quality innards. The tweeter uses a Be dome and the mid uses a Co/Al alloy cone. Both drivers are quick on the draw.

I might try and arrange a trip this Summer to Verona and check out the Quatros at Johnny's place. He is also an ARC dealer and might be able to match up an ARC Ref amp with the Vandies.

In the meantime, I'm thinking about the sound box idea that Al and Acousticfrontiers mentioned above. It might enable Larry, the DEQXPert, to do a better job with time aligning my speakers.

Btw, you referred to "time alignment" and "time coherence." What is the difference between the two terms?

That it may come down to the quality of the drivers (and enclosure) when DEQX is in the system has also crossed my mind as well. No longer necessary to choose between speaker makers' voicing since DEQX allows you to dial that in yourself.

Bruces' question: 'Btw, you referred to 'time alignment' and 'time coherence'. What is the difference between the two terms?"

My explanation is a bit lengthy (as usual!) and I cover phase coherence as well. They are inter-related....

Simple answer...
You time align speaker drivers or driver sets to each other to 'achieve' time coherence

Now the detail...
When everything starts and stops at exactly the same millisecond, such as a woofer & a tweeter or a main speaker & a sub, they are then moving in a time-coherent fashion (and are also phase-coherent)

When the BEGINNING portion of each driver or speakers' pulse arrives at the listening chair microphone or listener ears at the same instant, these are time coherent speakers. I discovered a long time ago that on my system, using the DEQX viewer and the Step Response facility, time-aligning the START of the sub(s) pulse with the start of the main speaker pulse gives by far the most natural integration and bass response. Larry has aligned Bruces' sub peak with the first impulse peak of the main speakers and both appear to start at about the same time so it should be similarly so

None of this can be relied on purely by measurement & the DEQX viewer alone however because, if you think about it, the impulse plots of any speaker or sub contains ALL the frequencies emitted by those drivers and the plot just shows one combined response against Amplitude/Milliseconds

Sound waves travel at different wavelengths/speeds from the lowest/slowest to the highest/fastest frequencies so what you are aligning to is a subset of all. Rest assured however that DEQX DOES minutely time align all frequencies WITHIN any single speaker it measures. It's just the manual bit in adding subs or anything from a diffrent measurement that needs careful interpretation to achieve the goal of 'time coherence'

That is why I have found it is best to use the plots as a guide and then fine-tune adjust by ear until 'perfect' but based on several room measurements and step responses in the viewer. It was pretty easy for me once I got to that spot because every piece of music I throw at my system sounds crisp and clear with no hint of bass bloom or a crossover

Note: with a single full range speaker containing passive crossovers, or a 2-way, 3-way measured accurately at once (ie without requiring subs), then an appropriate DEQX processor will do everything for the user and it automatically becomes time and phase coherent. All that's left to do is basic room eq or maybe time align an unequally placed speaker pair

Phase coherence means simply that the twin peaks and valleys of a test tone (such as created by DEQX during measurement), exactly line up at your ear. When those different waves also start and stop at the same time, you then have a speaker that is both phase AND time coherent

While basic 'phase coherence' is often used when setting up subwoofers, particularly 'simple' AV home setups, a phase-coherent speaker/sub may not be time-coherent. I know that because before I purchased the HDP3, my M&K sub WAS phase coherent with the main speakers & in an ideal position but the result in the room was pretty annoying to say the least. It has never moved from that spot but since setting my system up as described, it has audibly 'disappeared'