XTZ Room Analyzer or something else?


I'm in the market for a room analyzer system that is easy to use and will cover full range. My system is two channel (two speaker) only but eventually I'll have a home theater set up. Is the XTZ Room Analyzer my best bet or other free ware programs such as Room EQ Wizard? I want to optimize speaker placement and acoustic treatments. Ideally I would like something easy to use and easy to use :)

Thanks,

Aaron
thumperrider112
Hi anybody know where to order XTZ analyser? Send a form thru XTZ website since sunday but so far no response thanks
I am interested in this program as well but I wonder if there is any other program that will do a bit more than XTZ.
I would prefer a program that can analyze frequency response and then perhaps make some suggestions as to where I might want to move the speakers. I think it would give me a better starting point as my speakers are rather big and heavy and are not easily moved.
Hi,

If you use XTX, maybe you can measure in the corners or near boundaries and try to pinpoint the room modes and nulls. That may help you with placement. I think there is another program out there that actually tells you where to put the speakers, based on the dimensional measurements (that is, not doing actual acoustic measurements).
Classicjazz, I found this program, cara 2.1 plus
http://www.rhintek.com/cara/cara21desc.php

That does exactly what you said. However, since I don't think I can account for all the dimensions and items in the room, this kind of program has its limitation. So I wonder if there is a program that might try to calculate and suggest recommendation based on actual sound measurement.
If not, I think that program like Cara might give me a good place to start then fine tune with XTZ, I suppose.
CARA will not 'suggest' where to move your speakers but will select the optimum position within the range/area you specify. However, it is based on the information you enter into the system and not on real-world measurements. Also, it is based on powerful but incomplete analysis models. I think it is a great tool to use before room design and its value declines as more and more real-world constraints are imposed on it. There is a simpler and easier equivalent that is probably as useful in completed construction situations: RPG's Room Optimizer.

XTZ, otoh, is a measurement system that will tell you how the system is actually performing in your room. It will suggest filters for the room/loudspeaker variations below the critical frequency but it cannot suggest setup changes because it cannot know anything about your system except how it measures at the microphone. REW is similar but with more tools, as is GoldLine's EZTUNE. There are several others. These will all tell you what is wrong (or right) about the measured setup but leave it up to you to change that and see if things get better or worse.

Kal