Active Room Treatment (ART) by Dirac

[kawauso]

There's no indication that I can see that something is not set correctly:

View attachment 486592

Just to be sure, could you show me the settings for Group 1?

 

[KenMasters]

Just to be sure, could you show me the settings for Group 1?

Sure:

 

[ban25]

Based on my experience, subs are the most important ART ingredient. They contribute the most to all other speaker groups and none of the "full range" speakers (aka not active) can't really support significantly in 20-50hz range. Looks like support beyond 50hz range is also well handled by subs so really no need to reinforce with full range speakers - provided sufficient sub power.

One should still "size" the speakers based on the SPL and distortion expectations - which might loop back to full range towers for bed channels, but not for support reasons. So, if people are shopping, I would recommend sub department as the first stop. That might not be feasible for some due to variety of reasons, so with 1 or 2 subs one might still hear/measure improvement from full range speakers in the bed channel.

I am not going to scrape my setup just because it is overkill for ART. It was put together before ART and with different considerations - and still works great. But you generally don't really need 6x13.8" drivers and 4.5kW of apms on the subs (unless you have a large room and indeed aim for low THD) and then on top of it 6x10" surround drivers to support above 50hz. Disclaimer: every room is different so this is not a specific statement.

The potential to expand the system with subwoofers, which are easier to place and more capable at the low-end, is very intriguing. I have 2 subs right now, but I could see going to 3 or 4 if the improvement is meaningful, especially in a troublesome room.

 

[smygolf]

This is kind of fun, ART stereo setup 2.0 - so nu subs
To get the range support has to go far down, 20hz in this care

Left Art

Left DL, for some reason the low end got more boost even if i have the same target curve

 

[smygolf]

I also have found a bug

My LCR uses Hypex plate amps for filter and eq and i always let dirac raise the top end
With ART it does not always do it, see how it falls with the same target curve

ART= black and red

 

[Oddball]

I also have found a bug

My LCR uses Hypex plate amps for filter and eq and i always let dirac raise the top end
With ART it does not always do it, see how it falls with the same target curve

ART= black and red
View attachment 486617

Well ART should have nothing with 10kz range. Perhaps check settings? I sometimes find that doing REW on speakers that have not been powered for a while causes a bit of an issue. You should hear the whole sweep, as you probably know, without any interruptions or funny noises.

 

[Oddball]

The potential to expand the system with subwoofers, which are easier to place and more capable at the low-end, is very intriguing. I have 2 subs right now, but I could see going to 3 or 4 if the improvement is meaningful, especially in a troublesome room.

I think we are still struggling with determining what is the optimal ART setup and we probably will as rooms are different. If you post your graphs, we could chime in with our experiences and help you determine if you really need any improvement.

 

[smygolf]

Well ART should have nothing with 10kz range. Perhaps check settings? I sometimes find that doing REW on speakers that have not been powered for a while causes a bit of an issue. You should hear the whole sweep, as you probably know, without any interruptions or funny noises.

Same measurement, same target - just switched between DL and ART så yes it is a bug
The software it self also shows it can not adjust the top en when using ART
Dropped a mail to the support

ART

DL

 

[kawauso]

Sure:

View attachment 486604

It seems that your settings are fine overall. However, it’s quite strange if the subwoofers don’t engage when playing music.

 

[Oddball]

Same measurement, same target - just switched between DL and ART så yes it is a bug
The software it self also shows it can not adjust the top en when using ART
Dropped a mail to the support

ARTView attachment 486638



DL
View attachment 486642

Seems like legit concern so let us know what Dirac comes up with. I had initially some issues with Dirac, deinstalled it and re-installed it and it does do (mostly) all I want at this point.

 

[kawauso]

This is kind of fun, ART stereo setup 2.0 - so nu subs
To get the range support has to go far down, 20hz in this care

Left Art
View attachment 486609


Left DL, for some reason the low end got more boost even if i have the same target curve
View attachment 486616

It looks great! I imagine that the 2.0 ART setup would sound noticeably better than the 2.0 DL, don’t you think?
The low-frequency tilt seems to be boosted a bit more with DL, but even with this current setting,
ART might still sound fuller and more substantial.

 

[Sjkrabbe]

If one doesn´t want to use the umik microphones for the measurement, is it possible to make homemade cal. files for dirac for a microphone of ones own choice if you have its data. Hard or easy to make? I want to use the LineAudio OMNI1 because its rather straight in freq response and its is one that I got already TIA

 

[lessthanjoey]

If one doesn´t want to use the umik microphones for the measurement, is it possible to make homemade cal. files for dirac for a microphone of ones own choice if you have its data. Hard or easy to make? I want to use the LineAudio OMNI1 because its rather straight in freq response and its is one that I got already TIA

Yes, the file is simple. The first two lines might just be comments, and then it's simply frequency/gain pairs like this:

"Sens Factor =-6.0893dB, SERNO: xxxxxx"
"Auto-generated 90-degree calibration file"
10.054 -5.1620
10.179 -4.9909
10.306 -4.8231
10.434 -4.6584
10.564 -4.4969
10.696 -4.3385
10.829 -4.1832
10.964 -4.0310
11.100 -3.8818
11.238 -3.7356
11.378 -3.5924
11.520 -3.4521
11.663 -3.3147
11.809 -3.1801
11.956 -3.0484
...

 

[dlaloum]

In the Dirac ART / Storm Audio thread on AVS, there have been some postings discussing how best to configure ART for a "Dry" vs "Wet" sound...

With some people setting up a couple of calibrations so they can switch between wet and dry setups depending on the material they are listening to.

I believe the ART defaults target a "Dry" configuration... but it is apparently possible to have the benefits of ART and have a "Wet" sound with it... have your cake and eat it too...

 

[KenMasters]

I reinstalled Dirac, took new measurements and subs are now active and operating as they should post calibration.

I spent a bit of time with a mix of music and some Atmos demo clips evaluating the difference between BC and ART and it's interesting. It makes a difference, but not in ways I think I like very much at this point, but I was testing with the default ART parameters so that needs some tinkering with.

 

[kawauso]

I reinstalled Dirac, took new measurements and subs are now active and operating as they should post calibration.

I spent a bit of time with a mix of music and some Atmos demo clips evaluating the difference between BC and ART and it's interesting. It makes a difference, but not in ways I think I like very much at this point, but I was testing with the default ART parameters so that needs some tinkering with.

Has the bass improved since then — no longer sounding like someone slapping the drywall behind the TV?

If it still feels a bit off with the default settings, please try the configuration in this post: https://ameblo.jp/kawauso9991/entry-12941004017.html

If the result still isn’t satisfying, you could try taking the center subwoofer out of the group and setting it as an independent support unit with a 20–80 Hz support range. That might balance things out.

 

[Oddball]

In the Dirac ART / Storm Audio thread on AVS, there have been some postings discussing how best to configure ART for a "Dry" vs "Wet" sound...

With some people setting up a couple of calibrations so they can switch between wet and dry setups depending on the material they are listening to.

I believe the ART defaults target a "Dry" configuration... but it is apparently possible to have the benefits of ART and have a "Wet" sound with it... have your cake and eat it too...

Thanks for sharing. That will be an interesting read. Wet and dry , already makes me want to stay in the middle.

 

[kawauso]

Today I tried changing a few settings and took some new measurements — and to my surprise, the frequency response looked all bumpy, as if ART wasn’t working at all.
Turns out the bathroom door was open. Once I closed it, everything went back to normal.
So yeah… everyone, make sure to keep your bathroom door closed!

Bad

Good

 

[smygolf]

In the Dirac ART / Storm Audio thread on AVS, there have been some postings discussing how best to configure ART for a "Dry" vs "Wet" sound...

With some people setting up a couple of calibrations so they can switch between wet and dry setups depending on the material they are listening to.

I believe the ART defaults target a "Dry" configuration... but it is apparently possible to have the benefits of ART and have a "Wet" sound with it... have your cake and eat it too...

You do not have a direct link on what the differences are and how to do it ?

 

[Oddball]

Today I tried changing a few settings and took some new measurements — and to my surprise, the frequency response looked all bumpy, as if ART wasn’t working at all.
Turns out the bathroom door was open. Once I closed it, everything went back to normal.
So yeah… everyone, make sure to keep your bathroom door closed!

View attachment 486839
Bad
View attachment 486840
Good
View attachment 486841

Even when bumpy looks awesome.

Could you extend the decay to 10hz? Really interested in how it works in that range without ART. Mostly academic as sub 20hz is not really working for my room. There is a corner loaded position for one sub that could get me it that range, but also did a bit of a havoc in the past....