WANTED: SELF DRIVING STEREO
I usually use a Toppings PA 5 amp and a Gustard X16 Dac as required as an ASR devotee. (B&W 801 Matrix Speakers)
I own a RTA (and the required digital mic) Analyzer. Which I hardly use.
I own Linkwitz speakers with a mini DSP, another sophisticated device which scares me .
But when I hooked up my B&W’s to my Denon 960 with just the basic Audyssey system and the 20 dollar app which let me at least in theory copy the harman curve . I think it made an improvement. I still use the dac and stream from a decitated computer. There is some buzz if you put your ear close to the mid and tweeter. The PA 5 was dead quiet. But the smoothing of the response curve also made a big difference…so now I am thinking of the denon 3700 with pre outs to the PA5. And use the Audyssey xt32. All in the service of better sound VS better numbers. In other words when is good enough good enough. I often kid my techie friends who build tube preamps or even digital amps,from scratch. I kid them….if you want a different sound don’t change the components, just get a bass or treble knob.
Is frequency response equalization a tad more important then optimizing other numbers.
Am I wrong to want a self driving stereo and just enjoy the music…if I am please talk me off the ledge.
thanks
THE LAZY AUDIOPHILE
I am with you. I have posited that any SINAD>75 dB is good enough, as I got trounced in the Klippel THD test, not faring better than -35dB or was it lower?
This said, we are not there yet into "self-driving" Audio system. We still need to work a lot to get great sound. It remains that DRC tools like Audyssey, properly applied will provide better audible results than superior SINAD alone.
A bit off-topics , I know: the
Audyssey MultEQ-X is the real deal and shall, if properly used, take many audio system to a very high level, provided competent speakers.
Dirac has a lot of good word-of-mouth but in the here and now, Audyssey MultEQ-X address subwoofers (as in plural), something that requires an (expensive?) add-on for DIRAC, the DLBC. MultEQ-X is also a flexible, if somewhat not intuitive. Effective and powerful. I tend to think it is as good (even better ) than Dirac and than many suspect it to be.
...
Happy New Year!
Peace.
P.S.
Edited for clarification