To audyssey or not to audyssey, that is the ...?

I bought a Onkyo Pro PR-SC885P processor (same as Integra 9.8) a little over 2 years ago and use it to drive the HT portion of my system, running the Main L/R channels through my 2 channel music system's preamp (in bypass mode) and the center and rear amps directly from the processor. I also have experience with the built-in Audyssey correction in the processor.

The bass correction provided by Audyssey is very good if you do not have a properly acoustically-treated room. I recently built OC705 panel traps for the front corners and OC705 acoustical panels for the first reflection points so this benefit of Audyssey is mostly diminished.

I always use Audyssey for movies, but I do not like what it does to the upper-mids and highs on music - highs seem rolled off with a significant reduction in air. This is non-defeatable with the version of Audyssey that I have. It takes the readings, does what it does to the signal, and that's it.

There are two ways around this. One is to buy the Audyssey Pro Kit that provides an improved mic and better software for capturing and processing the captured room data using a PC. Most importantly, it gives you flexibility to alter and/or choose the equalization curve you prefer. This may indeed go a long way toward improving the situation with the upper mids and highs. This kit is intended for installers and therefore is not available for consumers, but I know a few people that have managed to get one with a little creativity. I'm sure you can get one with some effort. I believe it costs around $500.

The second way to improve Audyssey's performance is to buy the stand-alone (and more expensive) Audyssey processor reviewed a few years back by Kal Rubinson in Stereophile's Music in the Round. I believe that Kal found its results to be superior to the "built-in" version. I considered buying one, but it was not available with balanced inputs/outputs, so I decided against it.

The only way to know how it will work in the version you are buying and in your room, with your system, and to your ears is to play with it. You may be able to get your dealer who is promoting its use to through in a "Pro" calibration with the unit you are purchasing.

Good luck.

The balanced version of the Sound Equalizer is now available.

Kal

My experiences with Audyssey are similar to Dlcockrum's. I helped a friend calibrate his HT system using an Integra 9.8. When we A/B'd Audyssey vs. the unprocessed signal, we both preferred the unprocessed signal, and not by a little. In his Integra, Audyssey sounded, well, "processed." That is to say, it sounded harmonically thin, two dimensional, and generally "electronic." He wound up not using it. However, he did not have the Audyssey Pro Kit, or the stand alone Audyssey processor, so I cannot comment whether they would result in a similar degradation to the sound. I suspect the results would have been better with either of those.

Having said that, I use Meridian Room Correction (along with Room EQ Wizard software and a Behringer microphone) for both music and movies in my own system, and the results are excellent. It my room, using Meridian Room Correction is significantly better than not. By EQ'ing out the room modes under 200Hz, the bass is more balanced, more pitch specific, faster, and generally more musical. It does this without the addition of the "processed sounding" artifacts I mentioned above.

So I guess, regarding the question of whether to EQ or not, I would say: It all depends on the implementation. You will probably have to try it in your system and hear for yourself. Good luck.