What are your opinions of DSP's for speakers

DSP is a tool. it’s neither good nor bad. and can make perfect sense when it is the best approach to solve the problem. but DSP is not free. it costs musical essence. and there is the 2 channel case, and the multi-channel home theater case. they are separate subjects. 

for 2 channel i think at the lower price levels of speakers in rooms with issues it is a good choice to consider if one wants full range performance. but again DSP is a tool for situations when it allows for better ultimate performance. can DSP help more than it dumbs down the music? it can be much more realistic to solve room issues with DSP than to change around a living room or other imperfect room. how restricted are you in system set-up and optimization?

OTOH once you get into dedicated rooms and higher end systems then the signal path purity becomes the priority and making the room correct. the idea is to eliminate the need for DSP as a tool. DSP can also be a dead end to system development. it drags down musical essence as you try to find better sound.

i do not know anyone who uses DSP in a 2 channel system. and have not heard a DSP system for 2 channel that i like. my Home Theater uses the Trinnov processor and has 9.3.6 Dolby Atmos speaker system and does movie soundtracks great. that is a proper use of DSP.

there are some interesting uses of DSP such as the BAACH process, and maybe some others too. lots of extreme opinions. but for my money i want a pure analog signal path and have no interest in DSP for my 2 channel system.

Thanks to both of you for your advice. I assumed this would be most people's opinions here. Usually less and simple is best. Speakers are my last upgrade to my system (Yeah, I know they should be first) but the decision and selection is more difficult than I thought. I just got back from 3 days at AXPONA again and still haven't made up my mind. The search goes on.

No matter how good your system is it still has to operate in your room.  It's not surprising that the room's dimensions and surfaces can dramatically affect how a speaker sounds.  Most people do not have the luxury or money to build an acoustically perfect room from scratch, and others often cannot even install all the room treatments needed to maximize sound quality.  The latter is especially true if the room is used for multiple purposes.  In those situations, DSP can be an invaluable aid for fixing room nodes.  I know in my situation DSP room correction made a great improvement in my listening experience.  But, as with any other decision regarding audio equipment, each user need to try and experiment for themselves and then go with what works for them.

@willywonka I used DSP implemented on Convolution filters running on ROON (so a computer). The DSP is processed before the bits hit the DAC.

In a difficult room DSP can make a speaker work where all other physical approaches are not as good. I had encountered this when I tried to put a Thiel CS3.7 speakers in a small room. Without DSP and using only acoustic treatment I got about 60% of the sound possible with the 3.7. Using the DSP specifically made for my seating position, my room, my speakers I got a sound that was about 80% as good as the 3.7 was capable. I could hear what 100% of the 3.7 was capable of in my larger Livingroom,

I had my Convolution filters done remotely by a professional audio engineer. He also did the filters for the RAAL SR1a that you owned. I stopped using the RAAL filters when I got the VM-1a. I believe you owned both.

Digital Room Calibration Services, Convolver, Headphone Filtersets

BTW - if you are looking for speakers give Danny a call in Ventura. He has designed some incredible speakers.  He should be very close to selling them now. He likes them better than my speakers which he was raving about after a listening session. I heard his new speaker in prototype form, and it was a killer sound. Very unique.

BTW - I recently got the Townsend Podiums (floor platforms) for my speakers. I can really hear a difference with them. Recommended.

@yyzsantabarbara I actually talked to Danny a few days ago at AXPONA. I'm not really listening to my headphones at all. I sold my VM-1a but still have my headphones. I also used convolution filters with my RAAL headphones. They were also custom made for the headphones by Accurate Sound. The purposed of my question was really just to determine what people were thinking about DSP's. I have pretty good room acoustics and do have room treatment. Really not sure what direction I will go with speakers. I'm all over the place now but really like my Planers. I'm thinking OB, Planers or electrostatics would be best for me. These types of speakers also have less interaction with side walls than boxed speakers. Love huge soundstages, transparency, and crystal-clear sound. I rarely listen to anything above 90db. Thanks for the input.