I would never have undertaken a project like this but for the AI chatbots. I have been happily using A1 Evo optimized Audyssey calibration for listening to 2 channel music using a Topping E50 DAC going into a Denon 3600 AVR. Speakers are B&W 683 and two SVS PB 1000 Pros left and right. A1 Evo gave me a great sound stage and very precise instrument placement and the Topping E50 brought its own enhanced clarity (I think) compared to the built-in DAC on the Denon. I use Apple Music playing on a Macbook Pro for feeding the E50.
Recently I started playing with adding a bit of EQ using CamillaDSP. I used ChatGPT (Thinking model) for setting this up. The non-thinking model had a ton of problems and gave me some wild goose chases. Google AI Studio struggled as well.
From there I jumped on this Behringer UMC404HD USB Interface just to see what was possible. The idea was given to me by OCA himself. On seeing a picture of my setup and my preference for 2 channel music he told me to get an interface and cook the crossover manually for better results. I didn't have the time back then but decided to try it now.
ChatGPT Thinking gave me the steps to set this up. But it struggled a bit with REW measurements and getting timing reference, etc. With some estimated timings I was able to get this working over the weekend but didn't like the sound much. I felt that A1 Evo was a much more cohesive sound. I did some limited comparison (re-connecting the cords does not lend itself to proper A/B comparisons) so this was a very sketchy test.
Enter Grok yesterday. It really took over where ChatGPT left off. I was able to get it to give me good instructions on getting an acoustic timing reference for sub measurements, look at my graphs and come up with the right sub delays. It took 3 iterations but the sound now is much better than my previous A1 setup, and it can get better with a little more effort. After enjoying the new sound for a couple of hours I went back to the old sound because I thought it was pretty good. 2 songs later I nope'd out to the interface again... And loudness is not it. I was listening at about 78dB avg SPL using a phone app in both setups.
I (mostly) like the sound that my speakers produce in Pure Direct mode. The lowest 40Hz bass notes are kinda sad but everything else is superb. (Well, I do like a high shelf at 2.4k for -2dB but that is for another post). So the plan was to let the speakers do what B&W intended for them to do but cut them off at 60Hz and let subs do the bottom end. I have 3 little filters to reduce peaks in my bass for now, but other than that it is all just speakers doing what they want. The bass is tighter than my previous setup (which was done with a 6dB excess bass room curve) and most of all, the mains are shining. Highly recommended!
Recently I started playing with adding a bit of EQ using CamillaDSP. I used ChatGPT (Thinking model) for setting this up. The non-thinking model had a ton of problems and gave me some wild goose chases. Google AI Studio struggled as well.
From there I jumped on this Behringer UMC404HD USB Interface just to see what was possible. The idea was given to me by OCA himself. On seeing a picture of my setup and my preference for 2 channel music he told me to get an interface and cook the crossover manually for better results. I didn't have the time back then but decided to try it now.
ChatGPT Thinking gave me the steps to set this up. But it struggled a bit with REW measurements and getting timing reference, etc. With some estimated timings I was able to get this working over the weekend but didn't like the sound much. I felt that A1 Evo was a much more cohesive sound. I did some limited comparison (re-connecting the cords does not lend itself to proper A/B comparisons) so this was a very sketchy test.
Enter Grok yesterday. It really took over where ChatGPT left off. I was able to get it to give me good instructions on getting an acoustic timing reference for sub measurements, look at my graphs and come up with the right sub delays. It took 3 iterations but the sound now is much better than my previous A1 setup, and it can get better with a little more effort. After enjoying the new sound for a couple of hours I went back to the old sound because I thought it was pretty good. 2 songs later I nope'd out to the interface again... And loudness is not it. I was listening at about 78dB avg SPL using a phone app in both setups.
I (mostly) like the sound that my speakers produce in Pure Direct mode. The lowest 40Hz bass notes are kinda sad but everything else is superb. (Well, I do like a high shelf at 2.4k for -2dB but that is for another post). So the plan was to let the speakers do what B&W intended for them to do but cut them off at 60Hz and let subs do the bottom end. I have 3 little filters to reduce peaks in my bass for now, but other than that it is all just speakers doing what they want. The bass is tighter than my previous setup (which was done with a 6dB excess bass room curve) and most of all, the mains are shining. Highly recommended!
