Digital Room Correction vs Room Treatments


I finally got a mic and used REW to analyze my room.  Attached is the freq response for 3 different speakers (Monitor Audio Gold Reference 20, Sonus Faber Electa Amator II, and Sonus Faber Concerto Domus).

They all show similar characteristics - at least the most prominent ones.  I did play around with the Amators trying them closer together and more forward in the room, but the major characteristics you see were mostly unchanged.

With this magnitude and number of deviations from a more ideal frequency response curve, am I better off biting the bullet and just doing digital room correction, or can these issues be addressed with room treatments without going crazy and having the room look like Frankenstein’s lab.

Cost is a consideration, but doing it right/better is the most important factor.

If digital room correction is a viable way to address this, what are the best solutions today?  My system is largely analog (80’s/90’s Mcintosh preamp/amp, tube phono stage), and streaming isn’t a priority (though I’m not against it).

 If the better digital correction solutions come in the form of a streaming HW solution, that’s fine, I’d do that.  

Just looking for guidance on the best way to deal with the room, as both serious room treatments and digital EQ room correction are both areas I haven’t delved into before.


Thanks all.  If more info is needed, let me know.  My room is 11.5’ wide and 15.5’ long with the speakers on the short wall.  Backs of speakers are 3-3.5’ off the front wall and they’re at least 2ft from either side wall.  Some placement flexibility is there, but not a huge amount.

captouch

Showing 2 responses by mswale

You got a few issues going on. Think you have a couple nulls going on.

The bass energy spike 30-40 is huge, then that massive hole at 50-80. Some peaks in the middle, with treble dropping off.

This tells me you have a boomy setup, with bright mids, and low highs. DSP will not fix this, just adjust. Don't think you can room treatment out of this.

Your speakers are in the wrong spot, or your listening spot is totally off. Think you should move the speakers around. It looks like the walls are enhancing the low bass, nulling out the mid-bass, the room appears to "dark" already with the highs. Maybe remove a couple of panels, or move them around the room. 

Do you have any tones controls active? Turn them all off, if you are taking readings, then adjust them after the readings.

@captouch that looks like a great music room. Think I understand better at what is going on. Everything looks a bit compressed, and yes, the room is filled. 

You might have a lot of speaker/power for that room, but that's ok. Had a thought, if you can get a wireless connection to your sub, find the room nulls, put the sub in the nulls, it might cancel out the room null. 

On the other hand, with your gear and that room, do you even notice the dip? Is it deep bass heavy? Do you feel the room is dead or alive? As most of us have realized, measurements don't always mean much to our ears. If it sounds good to you, then it's good. 

This is part of the reason why I don't want to measure my room. It's all analog (sans streamer), Done all the old school things, and it sounds good to me, so it is good.