Embracing Simplicity in Audio: Anyone Else Skipping Room Correction, Measurement Microphones, and the Like?

[Axo1989]

Is that a hearing aid, understandable Mikey is of course of an age.
Keith

No, they're binaural microphones.

 

[lashto]

..
Are there others out there who, like me, choose to forgo room correction, measurement microphones, and other sophisticated tools in favor of a more straightforward audio experience? I'd love to hear about your approaches, experiences, and the reasoning behind your decision.
..

yes there are others: me, quite often.

Here's one of those 'experiences': I did setup roomcorrection (AVR) and it did sound good. Particularly the improvements in bass and imaging/soundstage were fairly easy to hear and welcome (although the room is symetric, big enough and generally pretty good for audio).
And then, at some point, the AVR room correction was disabled. Do not even remember when/why I did it ... or may have been the kids playing with the remote. Point is, I did not notice and/or forgot about it and needed a few months to find out.
In the meantime, the whole family enjoyed the usual music/movies/tv .. same as much.

Guess that could be an example of "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb"

 

[Anton D]

No, they're binaural microphones.

Hey, man, don’t harsh his buzz.

 

[izeek]

i like the idea of simplicity but it can be elusive.
ive been struggling to understand and use rew forever. got the equipment, took measurements, then couldnt figure wtf to do after that.
there doesn't seem to be a causational relevance to me afterwards. nothing ive read says "do this because of this" or use thi filter because of this.
maybe im not putting in enough effort because i like what i hear so far.

 

[Purité Audio]

All you are looking for are large peaks ( much larger in amplitude compared to the general trend of the response) frequently left and right channels may have a peak at the same frequency these are almost certainly standing wave derived from the room’s physical dimensions.
Be aware that REW is measurement software and although it can create filters it can’t actually implement them.
Keith

 

[mhardy6647]

And then, at some point, the AVR room correction was disabled. Do not even remember when/why I did it ... or may have been the kids playing with the remote. Point is, I did not notice and/or forgot about it and needed a few months to find out.

Multi-thousand dollar cables are sold on weaker evidence than this

 

[NiagaraPete]

I've always considered myself an early adopter, perhaps even an avant-gardist, when it comes to hi-fi technology. Over the course of the hi-fi journey, there have been paradigm shifts – the transition to CDs, later embracing streaming, and the shift from bulky floor-standing speakers to sleek active monitors, just to name a few.

In my experience, I've found success in keeping my signal paths straightforward. I've been hesitant to transform my regular home listening environment into an acoustic laboratory with heavy computer usage or reliance on proprietary DSP products. Call me old-fashioned, but I value the simplicity of my setup.

Are there others out there who, like me, choose to forgo room correction, measurement microphones, and other sophisticated tools in favor of a more straightforward audio experience? I'd love to hear about your approaches, experiences, and the reasoning behind your decision.

Is simplicity still a virtue in the ever-evolving landscape of audio technology?

In short yes. I'm now reduced to a DAC, PI streamer, and wall mounted Genelec monitors. I've never been happier with a system.

 

[Jaxjax]

I've always considered myself an early adopter, perhaps even an avant-gardist, when it comes to hi-fi technology. Over the course of the hi-fi journey, there have been paradigm shifts – the transition to CDs, later embracing streaming, and the shift from bulky floor-standing speakers to sleek active monitors, just to name a few.

In my experience, I've found success in keeping my signal paths straightforward. I've been hesitant to transform my regular home listening environment into an acoustic laboratory with heavy computer usage or reliance on proprietary DSP products. Call me old-fashioned, but I value the simplicity of my setup.

Are there others out there who, like me, choose to forgo room correction, measurement microphones, and other sophisticated tools in favor of a more straightforward audio experience? I'd love to hear about your approaches, experiences, and the reasoning behind your decision.

Is simplicity still a virtue in the ever-evolving landscape of audio technology?

I also totally respect this approach & have took it to over the top extremes in days past. Nowadays I just run actives with pro analog EQ.. After fighting with Dirac I inserted an Elysia xfilter & never looked back. Totaly set & forget. I'm about 50-50 now with vinyl & laptop digital via amazon music. I use all common pro xlr cables & Radial j33 phono pre which is also xlr out. My view nowadays is I wouldn't run a main 2 channel system without EQ be it digital or analog & preferably analog. I also don't shoot for flat... I get close as I can then tune by ear with very slight adjustments then set & forget. No room correction filter I've ever tried that was generated for me thru measurements sounded good to me . all sounded dead .....wrong whatever. My viny; beats my digital 50 % of the time because the recordings I have on vinyl are not available easy for me in exact transfer of the versions I have on most. I could transfer all mine myself....& maybe will when I get to old to run the TT. I feel my system is the simplest it has been in a very long time.
Audio is a interesting ride with music being a main part of my life for over 50 years
Joe

 

[RexrothPigeon]

I love simple. Using REW and Roon has allowed me to pare my system down to two active speakers, two network cables, and a MacBook in another room.

And the listening experience is amazing.

 

[Purité Audio]

I love simple. Using REW and Roon has allowed me to pare my system down to two active speakers, two network cables, and a MacBook in another room.

And the listening experience is amazing.

Completely agree, when I look back and had to switch on in the correct order multiple boxes and then ( imagining) I had to wait for them to warm up, how ridiculous, and none of my family even attempted to turn the stereo on.
Now they pick up their phone and play whatever they like, which can be a bit annoying!
Keith

 

[Mart68]

when I look back and had to switch on in the correct order multiple boxes

lol just switched mine on (3 boxes, correct order) and it's really not the massive imposition that you remember it as.

Something innately 'manly' about it, like the ignition sequence of a space rocket.

I regard the 'complexity' keeping the civilians well away from it as a feature, not a bug

 

[Purité Audio]

I was thinking back to when I (extremely briefly ) used vinyl and valve amplifiers, I remember often thinking I have an hour free do I have time to switch everything on and let it all warm up.
Keith

 

[Mart68]

I was thinking back to when I (extremely briefly ) used vinyl and valve amplifiers, I remember often thinking I have an hour free do I have time to switch everything on and let it all warm up.
Keith

I don't recall that period in the journey being especially positive either, now you mention it. And it went on for longer than it should have too.

Although I don't worship at the altar of downsize/declutter/simplify I was quite pleased with myself when I combined pre-amp and DAC into one box. And no turntable, phono stage, tuner, tape deck now either. I used to have two racks full!

The TV system is more complex with 4 button presses just to get picture and sound. Then a lot more button presses as you scroll up and down the channels trying and failing to find something worth watching.

 

[Mort]

He's a sound engineer. I guess the music production side has their own problems.

He's not the first professional to overestimate their own abilities. It's a human bias.

 

[simon-b]

He's not the first professional to overestimate their own abilities. It's a human bias.

Where are we going here? Nothing to do with "overestimation" we are talking artefacts. He doesn't blindly trust the software.

 

[Keith_W]

There's a mate of mine who complains about the "bl**dy artefacts" DSP can produce while mixing. He's a sound engineer. I guess the music production side has their own problems.

If you send signal through DSP, and set the DSP to do nothing, what you will get out of the other end is a 100% bit perfect copy of the original signal. It is 100% transparent.

But that is not the point of DSP. The point is to manipulate the signal to achieve whatever goal you want. You can manipulate part of the signal, for e.g. 20Hz to 200Hz, and leave the rest alone. Everything above 200Hz is an exact, unmolested copy of the original signal, and it WILL sound the same because it IS the same. As for the part that has been manipulated ... if it sounds worse, then you have screwed up somewhere.

Inappropriate use of DSP will lead to bad results, and people tend to blame DSP rather than themselves. The secret is to know what you can manipulate, and what you should leave alone. That comes with experience and a lot of study. DSP is a rather arcane subject, you need to understand the nature of DSP itself, as well as have some knowledge of acoustics and psychoacoustics. You need to know how to take measurements and know if your measurement is correctable or not. You may see a problem, but you have to ask yourself if that problem is audible and worth fixing. Or even if the problem is real, and not some kind of measurement artefact. And sometimes the fix can introduce a problem somewhere else which you need to anticipate and look for. Then ask yourself if the side effect is worse than the problem itself.

When you are mixing different signals, you can encounter all sorts of problems. Some of those have nothing to do with DSP, it's the minimum-phase nature of the signal itself. You can 100% encounter these problems with analog mixing equipment - inappropriate microphone spacing, HPF's, LPF's, etc. can all create unwanted effects. For example, if you have two microphones capturing a solo singer, as the singer moves around the delays captured by the microphone also changes. Combine the two signals, and you get comb filtering, sort of a "flanging" effect where the tone becomes metallic and harsh. This has nothing to do with DSP, it is the nature of the signal. Even if you captured the singer on analog tape you will still get this effect.

A minphase DSP simply replicates the function of an analog console, so whatever problems you have with minphase DSP, you will also encounter with analog equipment. You may get additional unique problems with linphase DSP which you won't find with analog equipment, but you gain additional advantages as well. Your friend just needs to get to know his tools and stop blaming DSP.

 

[Spkrdctr]

I have a VERY simple setup compared to my concert level system I had in the past. Now i have a high end soundbar with surround and up firing speakers and a decent (not great but just decent sub) it sounds fine for music, TV and movies. It is starting to break as it rotates the speakers up every time I turn it on and now it is grinding. I will soon have to buy a new high end bar I guess. But I know that they ahve upgraded the level of high end sound since I bought mine about 4 years ago. I just don't want to spend the $1500 for a new bar. I might even be so crass and idiotic as to go from a surround system to a stereo system. I know if I do I will hate it for TV/movies. So I still have to make that call in the future. Now, if I could win the lottery then I would have everything. A full on concert level system and an incredible home theater system. But, I just can't seem to win the Florida lottery!

 

[DSJR]

Is that a hearing aid, understandable Mikey is of course of an age.
Keith

Those speakers are effin' HIDEOUS!!!!! I don't remember them measuring well in his room (a long time since I read the article in Stereophile)

I dare say the usual top-line pro alternatives with vastly superior performance and at a fraction of the cost wouldn't be deemed 'good enough' as they'd show his preferred vinyl sources for the band limited compromised things they are and do 'digital' rather better, which isn't the image he wants to portray...

Ah well, each to their own... Those seventy-grand Genelecs we were wettling ourselves over a year or so ago would be more my scene if I had the space and money for them..

If I had a smaller 'den' room, I'd want to hear a pair of well-kept vintage Ureis, purely as so many favourite 80s albums for sound as well as music content were apparently mixed using them.

 

[Joe Smith]

I get so much pleasure out of my very simple setups...I guess if I had a lot of money to blow, I could find ways to use it, but really I'm happy with what I have at present.

My workroom system, where I do the bulk of my listening, is nearfield with ELAC Debut 6.2 speakers on either side of the desk. Current receiver is an old bulletproof Onkyo TX-8511 that has far more power than I need for this 12' x 36' room, but I use it (or another restored receiver) because I like the input convenience. Use Schiit DAC, Audio-Technica 120 turntable with the 95ML microline stylus, Marantz and Nakamichi cassette decks, Marantz cd deck, Sony DVD deck that I use as a transport with optical out to the DAC. Streaming is mainly via Spotify lossless from PC running Linux Mint. Can do basic speaker EQ for my old ears using "Easy Effects." a standard Linux program.

Simple...makes me happy...

 

[egellings]

Use headphones and completely eliminate room effects.