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How can I make this system better? Hegel h390 and focal Diablo utopia

dshreter

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There might be more cost effective optionsc but it’s really unnecessary to brow beat OP for buying a Hegel amp. He could replace it with the finest amp and DAC from Benchmark and the system would still sound exactly the same.
 

Sal1950

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So if you can get sound-perfect active speakers for 10k what’s the point of having 300k speakers ? Why do they even exist if you can get total flat response for so little (relatively)?
Volume level, distortion, deeper bass ? No such thing as (sound-perfect) in any case.
In a room yours or mine size manbe not an issue, but as the room gets bigger or louder volume, deeper bass gets desired some upgrades might be desired.
No one speaker is perfect for everyone.
 
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Diseasex

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Absorption first, not diffusers. Behind speakers will be the most advantageous. The ceiling at the first reflection points makes a big difference as well if it is possible. Then back wall is next in priority.

GIK has a lot of good info on this on their website.
Just gone through acoustics crash course. So GIK advice is to put speakers against the wall and put absorbers between so that sound wave doesn’t get phased . Or 1.2m away from the wall and replace lower frequencies with woofer .
Cant wait for the umik to look at my distortions
 
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Diseasex

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As for the dsp and high pass on the PC: of course you can do both on the PC but not for main speakers and subwoofers separately. So if you high pass at e.g. 80 Hz your main speakers will be unburdened of the lowest frequencies but so will your subwoofers.
Sorry I'm re-reading all your answers, but I don't quite get what you're trying to say. Can you please explain a little better? Are you saying with current setup I can't make high pass filter via software if I buy svs 2000 pro and there will be crossover or what? Because I can clearly see I can send signal from say 80hz+ to main speakers and 0-80hz to subwoofer separately
 

antcollinet

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Sorry I'm re-reading all your answers, but I don't quite get what you're trying to say. Can you please explain a little better? Are you saying with current setup I can't make high pass filter via software if I buy svs 2000 pro and there will be crossover or what? Because I can clearly see I can send signal from say 80hz+ to main speakers and 0-80hz to subwoofer separately
If you do a high pass in your PC, then everything sent out from PC to Dac is high passed, and there is no low frequency content to send to a sub.

Unless you have software that can take the music, and create two separate streams from that - one high passed, and the other low passed, then send each stream to a separate dac - or to different channels in a multi ouput sound device.
 
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Diseasex

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If you do a high pass in your PC, then everything sent out from PC to Dac is high passed, and there is no low frequency content to send to a sub.

Unless you have software that can take the music, and create two separate streams from that - one high passed, and the other low passed, then send each stream to a separate dac - or to different channels in a multi ouput sound device.
Ok JRiver seeems to be doing just that
 

RenSong

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I'm astonished you got this system at this price. Man I really should have bought my gear used. I would also take those speakers if offered at that price.

First thing I did before I ordered my system was FURNITURE! 2-300 will get you a tv stand. I already had carpet...
Biggest upgrade? Installing 4 GIK panels. I'll never forget the difference in sound & presence when I first hung them up.
 

RenSong

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If you do a high pass in your PC, then everything sent out from PC to Dac is high passed, and there is no low frequency content to send to a sub.

Unless you have software that can take the music, and create two separate streams from that - one high passed, and the other low passed, then send each stream to a separate dac - or to different channels in a multi ouput sound device.
I use Roon to low band? shelf the bass. Surely something like that could be used ?
 
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Diseasex

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Got the Umik,
My distortion,
however need longer usb cable to position in where my head is..
1674169847773.png
 
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Steve Dallas

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Got the Umik,
My distortion,
however need longer usb cable to position in where my head is..
View attachment 258387
Use the camera button to take a screenshot of the graph with its legend and scales. Much more readable than snipping it.
 

FeddyLost

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Since you are already have a lot of toys including measuring mic, I'd try to experiment with placement and measurements. Only after getting good results with 2.0 I'd add up subwoofer(s).
Distortion at your screenshot below 200 Hz is very weird, because if UMIK is calibrated, such level of distortion can't be induced by amp or speakers at this SPL.
I'd investigate your room with stethoscope, because first idea is something rattling, like plasterboard walls or something else.

If you need fast result, hire the acoustician.
If you need more hobby style, first add up required furniture and absorbers/diffusers later. Maybe some thick motorised curtain over your TV.
 
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Diseasex

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Since you are already have a lot of toys including measuring mic, I'd try to experiment with placement and measurements. Only after getting good results with 2.0 I'd add up subwoofer(s).
Distortion at your screenshot below 200 Hz is very weird, because if UMIK is calibrated, such level of distortion can't be induced by amp or speakers at this SPL.
I'd investigate your room with stethoscope, because first idea is something rattling, like plasterboard walls or something else.

If you need fast result, hire the acoustician.
If you need more hobby style, first add up required furniture and absorbers/diffusers later. Maybe some thick motorised curtain over your TV.
Yeah the distortion is total garbage, I will work on speakers positioning and play with it
Might need to remodel the room completely and place the speakers against the large window to have proper speakers-ears triangle
Ordering 4 GIK’s panels - hope that will help a lot but based on what I saw on their website, the smoothening out of the distortion was small
If you need fast result, hire the acoustician.
Not sure how permanent this room is, might need bigger room in medium term

What kind of Db peaks/bottoms should I be aiming for ? 5db?
 

FeddyLost

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Yeah the distortion is total garbage, I will work on speakers positioning and play with it
I've meant distortion peaks on graph, not just modal issues.
If you have some emptiness behind plasterboard walls or something like that, and your walls are singing along with speakers, it's not the thing that can be managed by repositioning speakers and even adding subwoofer(s) barely will help.
I'd investigate this first, because if you need some real hi-fi, your whole distortion graph should look like what we see at 1 Khz and up. No sudden peaks in a row.
 
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Diseasex

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No I made the walls myself, they are plastered and not empty(as well as floors etc from ground up)The only movable part would be the desk next to it.
It might be the distance of the mic, it currently looks like this as I don’t have cable long enough (will arrive in the evening)

The speakers are very sensitive to the position of the listener, just moving head 5 cm to the side changes the sound. So my guess is the mic needs to be exactly in the ears position both vertically and horizontally
 

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Diseasex

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this is the distortion when speakers are pushed against the wall.
might be go to when paired with the subwoofer
1674222543639.png
 

Steve Dallas

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Diseasex

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which one of the 2 would you say is better? one is against the wall with no gap, and the other around 60cm from the wall making perfect triangle with the head
60cm from wall:
1674333837902.png


against the wall:
1674333851090.png


I'm bit confused what's better to my ear. Both setups sound drastically different
 

HarmonicTHD

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which one of the 2 would you say is better? one is against the wall with no gap, and the other around 60cm from the wall making perfect triangle with the head
60cm from wall:
View attachment 258933

against the wall:
View attachment 258934

I'm bit confused what's better to my ear. Both setups sound drastically different
Your room in its current state is extremely reflective and probably sounds like a bathroom, which is bad for sound. But it’s good you are getting familiar with REW.

Before you get the acoustic panels you can also experiment with bringing the speakers closer to you and away from the walls and point them (toe in) at you. This way you can get more of the direct sound from the speakers and a bit less reflections. Try different extreme positions, measure and listen.

Furthermore get some sort of DSP or learn how to setup a preference curve in REW, generate some filters and transfer them to your DSP (or Roon PEQ).

BTW. Are currently all sound altering features in your audio chain switched off or set to neutral?

REW also has a room simulation function it is not perfectly modeling your room but it can get you some ideas where more favorable positions might be for you to test.

Lastly instead of showing the distortion tab, show the second All SPL tab, the legend and the smoothing type (ideally Var or 1/12). It also allows you to display different measurements in one graph for easier comparison.
 
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Diseasex

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1674337807695.png


legend - orange is 60cm from wall, blue is against the wall.
what am I paying attention to ? thank you
 
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