Room Correction/Crossover

The TacT 2.2 series and later (which I own) and the Lyngdorf, I believe, include an amazing amount of crossover frequencies and slopes. I went from a complex cone based and stereo biamped system into a hybrid Sanders Sound System with 48 DB slope digital crossovers.

In addition, of course, are phase controls ("moving" your speakers to within 1/4" of each other), parametric eq, and their big focus, room equalization, plus the sort of crazy option for the truly obsessed of eq'ing different labels for all to common non RIAA curves: really not so crazy if you have older labels/reissues or some of the really harshly eq'd or Aphex'ed stuff.

Like most computer based stuff in the hands of older a'philes, the learning curve is steep, but good peer support is available at Yahoo and TacT groups.

For a good hi-end system, later models or MauiMOds are just a plain necessity, esp. the DACs. And yes, I hate the ADC conversion necessary from my $20+K table and Sonus Veritas Milan phono pre, but compared to a non eq'd room, I (and you) have to balance the gain/loss. I don't like a purely analog sound at reference quality (which I like to think I am getting closer to) except through my Stax phones, when any normal (even treated) room will totally screw up nearly everything sonically unless perfectly and professionally and very expensively built for audio purposes. Even then, that's only a fixed EQ
issue and doesn't address bizarre sounding (steep and real high) crossover frequencies or phase anomolies never approached by analog crossovers or by-guess and by-God phase switches and dialed phase controls (honestly, what are your chances of you, your room, your furniture layout, your reflection patterns and your best tape measure)of hitting the sweet spot regarding phase alignment in a complex system with stereo subs and satelites?)

Clarification.. if by phase you mean time alignment of the drivers then yes, Pure Vinyl will do that too.

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TacT - I had forgotten all about them. Thanks for the jar to the memory.

The audiophile purist in me says 'stay the hell away from adc/dac for my vinyl'. However, I work with digital filters all day, every day (I'm a geophysicist), and I know good and well what the relative capabilities are vs. analog types. There's no doubt in my mind that the room is not only the weakest link in any decent system, but is also the most neglected factor. I'm ready to make the sacrifice for a slight loss in the analog arena in order to reap major gains in room/phase/frequency correction.

Jeffb, thanks for your response. I can see that we're very much on the same wavelength (pun intended). DEQX seems to be a third alternative. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, none of the three options appear to be available without the preamp functions. My single biggest concern about this is volume control. I REALLY hate the idea of running things through both an analog control (on the VAC) and a digital one (on the TacT/Lyngdorf/DEQX). It may be just lingering prejudice, but my experience has been that this is where much of the damage to a signal can occur.

Herman, this is quite interesting. Your setup seems to do pretty much what's needed, at a lower overall cost, but perhaps representing a somewhat more complex solution. I will investigate further. Thank you!

I own the Lyngdorf TDAI 2200 and can confirm that at least some of the Lyngdorf products allow users to choose among many crossover types and to choose the specific crossover frequency. I'm not sure though which of their several products have this functionality, but would think it is covered in the product descriptions on their site.

As a side note, I was wary of, but am impressed with the AD conversion that is an option on the TDAI 2200. The amp itself is wonderful as well.

Depending on how you address the crossover issue, D-Speaker's Anti Mode 8033 is a cost effective way to address time and frequency problems below 140 Hz (not sure about that cutoff but somewhere in that area).

Thanks again for the replies. I've found (and ordered) what I hope is the best answer - the Lyngdorf RP-1. It will slot in between my amp's pre out and power in jacks, and provide both crossover and room correction functions.