What's more important in a difficult room, room correction or higher, clean, power?


My listening space is a 13 x 10 former spare bedroom that is used as my hobby space and office and is a really difficult space because of the contents in the room. My speakers are parallel to the long wall.

My current rig includes a Peachtree Nova 150 integrated, Elac Debut B6.2 speakers, U-Turn Orbit turntable with Ortofon red cartridge running through the Peachtree's phono input, Music Hall C-DAC 15.3 and a Furman Elite 15 power conditioner.

I have an Elac subwoofer on order that I purchased during what must have been an unadvertised flash sale on their website at a great price and it includes room correction. I purchased this particular sub because of the room correction feature in the hopes that it will result in a better, smoother, fuller, sound.

The sub got me thinking that perhaps an amp that also supports room correction might be helpful in my space and one that I'm considering in the Elac EA101EQ-G integrated amp. However, the specs on this amp aren't as good as my Peachtree and, frankly, I like the Peachtree but I'm thinking that there could be something better out there.

I'd be interested to hear from those of you that have take the room correction plunge and what you think. Also, given the choice between more power/better specs or room correction with less power, is there a preferred path?
rfross
You don't need to take the plunge, and you don't need to ask other people. This is something you are perfectly capable of figuring out for yourself and all by yourself, and you already have everything you need to do it.

Plop your sub down somewhere, anywhere, play some music with regular steady low bass, move slowly around the room, and listen. Note the places its really loud, and note the places you can hardly hear it. 

Now move the sub and repeat. Notice some of the places it was too loud are now too quiet. Notice this changes depending BOTH on where you stand to listen, AND where you place the sub.

Now ask yourself, if I use room correction, which location am I going to correct for? Really think about it. Eventually you will realize room correction can make it sound fine only in the one spot. Everywhere else it makes worse.

If that is what you're after, and you like spending money on stuff like that, then go for it.

Now for your next lab project, what will cleaner power sound like? For this one first get your system all nice and warmed up. Sit yourself down in the sweet spot and play your favorite recording. Play the whole thing. Relax. Enjoy.

Now go out to your breaker panel, flip off all the breakers, leaving on only the ones you need for the system, maybe a few lights. Everything else you flip off.

Go back in and listen to your favorite track again. Or any track, for that matter. I'll be surprised if you're not shocked how much better it sounds. Everyone I've ever done this for sure has been.

The improvement you heard, you can get at least that much from a good power conditioner, power cord, stuff like that. Note I said "good". Most of what's out there is not that good. But now, in addition to discovering you don't need room correction but do want cleaner power, you also now have a baseline reference to judge your cleaner power by.

This is what we used to call teach a man to fish. As opposed to give the man a fish. Now which, I wonder, will you choose?


I should have clarified my reference to 'power' in that I'm not looking for cleaner AC power but whether my 150 WPC Nova 150, for example, is a better amp/integrated solution than say an amp/integrated that is rated at a lower WPC but has room correction built-in.

As I noted, I'm considering an Elac EA101EQ-G integrated amp that has room correction but it has a significantly lower WPC rating than my Nova 150.

My Elac Debut B6.2 speakers like power, as did my previous KEF Q100's, but I don't think either fully delivers what they're capable of due to my difficult room.
Have a read of this... might be worth thinking about different speakers. DSP on a sub is never a bad idea though.