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 yyzsantabarbara

Contact Mitch Barnett or read his book on DSP (Amazon.com). I got his book and found out it was too complicated to do myself, so I paid Mitch the $750 for his remote DSP service. 

If you have DSP done by him, you should not need other physical treatment options. I had both since I had gotten GIK treatments before I contacted Mitch. I gave away my GIK treatments recently and if I ever need treatments again, I will do it digitally using Mitch's analysis.

This does not help with analog sources like my tuners but is not an issue today in my new rooms.

Digital Room Calibration Services, Convolver, Headphone Filtersets

BTW - if you are a ROON or JRiver user then Mitch's Convolution Filters are easy to use.

 

@captouch Mitch creates a DSP package called a Convolution Filter. He uses some very expensive audio software to do this ($20k). This software is way more powerful than any physical audio gear that is inserted in a processor loop.

As I mentioned before the Convolution Filter is a digital only solution. That is your CD player, and tuners are out of luck. It only works with a DAC.

You install the Convolution filter on a music server, which is a computer. In my case, I use ROON Core on a cheap computer and install the filters on that ROON Core server. ROON has a GUI to install the filters. The filter is in the signal path (not sure if that is bad) and applies the filter BEFORE the bits are sent to the DAC. Your streamer sends the modded bits to your DAC. The DAC is connected to your preamp.

In my opinion the best way to do DSP (but only digital sources)

BTW - what I describe in NOT ROON DSP. The same filter can work on JRiver which is completely different from ROON.