Is DEQX a game changer?

Roscoeiii: Very curious to hear more about others' use of the analog input into the DEQX. As a vinyl guy, I worry about losing some of that analog magic....

I also prefer to listen to vinyl and can confirm that DEQX has only enhanced 'that analog magic'. The TT phono stage is connected directly into the RCA unbalanced analogue sockets. All my other devices are input from a preamp via the balanced analogue XLR connections and I also use the analogue volume control feature. There is certainly no digital glare

The benefits of removing room/speaker influences are astonishing. As an analogy, some years ago I took an eye test because I felt my night driving vision had deteriorated a little but I thought everything was OK the rest of the time. When I first tried the glasses, I was amazed how everything was suddenly pin-sharp even though I hadn't noticed it over the preceding years and didn't even realise

For me that's exactly what DEQX does - "spectacles for my ears"!

The Problems I have with the DEQX unit as I seem to understand.

1. I would prefer to use my PS Direct Stream Dac over the DEQX (24/96 limited) Dac. So, which Deqx unit would be best for that application?

2. I have 215lb speakers that I would prefer to keep in there present place. So, can I expect good results with the Deqx unit to calibrate my speakers as they sit?

3. Is this unit so complicated that I will need an "expert" to set it up?

Ozzy,

I'll take a crack at Questions 2 and 3.

Q-2: Maybe. It depends on the significance of the room interactions with your speakers. My listening room/basement is acoustically terrible. I had to move a lot of stuff around. But the results were well worth the effort.

But look at it from another angle. If your room is really screwing up the frequency response of your speakers at the listening position, and the interactions are so significant that the DEQX will only partially tame the problem, you are losing out on a lot of potential improvement.

In my case, imaging was smeared because, in effect, I was listening to two different speakers. The FR of the L and R speakers were way off. Having said all that, you really won't know what (if anything) needs to be done until the DEQX runs its sweeps and the room effects are measured.

Q-3: If you're a techie, you might be able to slug your way through the set up. Andrew (Drewan77) has become quite facile doing his own set ups. But in my case, I wouldn't touch it. I worked out a comfortable fee arrangement where the DEQXpert did everything over the internet with my PC. Set up took over 3 hours!! And btw, he only "tamed" my speakers. They are NOT perfectly matched or flat. The DEQXpert made judgments based on his technical skill and empirical experiences.

1. Use digital in/outs but the digital bottleneck is unavoidable.

Ozzy, let me just add one comment that is really obvious but important to emphasize. Even one owns $200,000 Wilson Alexandria speakers, if the room is tugging the FR of the speakers all over the place, I can't see how it is possible to appreciate what your speakers can do unless something gives.

That might mean serious room treatments and/or a DEQX or similar room EQ device to tame the room acoustics. Let's face it, most of us don't listen to our rigs in an anechoic chamber. So, IMO, this is a very important consideration.