How can I improve my audio experience?

[HarmonicTHD]

what's the benefit of having a Mini dsp vs an audio interface?

The mini DSP has usb, would I be able to connect to my PC with that?

would i have to replace my audio interface with Mini dsp?

The miniDSP provides RoomEQ in one box, but does not have instrument inputs eg you can’t connect your guitar or a microphone needing 48V phantom voltage and feed them into your PC (eg DAW, VST amps etc). Secondly for guitar playing you generally want minimum latency in your system because it is otherwise irritating for the player. Audio interfaces generally have better overall ADC and DAC latency.
Therefore I did not recommended the miniDSP for your particular purpose as you would still need your Audio interface. Sure you can connect the MiniDSP in between your Audio interface and the speakers. In my opinion a waste of money and would add even more latency, plus you loose the balanced connections.

Alternatively to the MiniDSP you can do RoomEQ (same as MiniDSP) with your PC with free EQ software called APOEQ and feed the corrected signal via your audio interface to your speaker and still use VST guitar amps and or your DAW for further guitar effects and your audio interface for recording/guitar playing.

EQ Software for Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS/iPadOS and Android.

Any suggestions are welcome. Post suggestions here. I will gather the details and add them. Thanks. :D This will be organized as results come in. @sweetchaos made a guide for PEQ filter data input and operation. For crossover software go here. Windows: AutoEQ four easy steps to make your...

www.audiosciencereview.com

For both the miniDSP and APOEQ you need a 100USD UMIK1 microphone and REW(free) to measure your room response and derive the filters which you either plug into miniDSP or APOEQ.
I hope that helps you a bit in your decision making.

 

[AudioStudies]

RoomEQ (same as MiniDSP) with your PC with free EQ software called APOEQ

do you have a lot of firsthand experience with APOEQ? Is there a big learning curve?

 

[bodhi]

do you have a lot of firsthand experience with APOEQ? Is there a big learning curve?

It's pretty straightforward to apply filter set created in REW based on desired house curve eg. Harman. Just watch a youtube video and you are done in 30 minutes.

Now if you want to get into fine tuning stuff to your own liking there are no upper limit on how much time you can spend...

 

[Pancreas]

The miniDSP provides RoomEQ in one box, but does not have instrument inputs eg you can’t connect your guitar or a microphone needing 48V phantom voltage and feed them into your PC (eg DAW, VST amps etc). Secondly for guitar playing you generally want minimum latency in your system because it is otherwise irritating for the player. Audio interfaces generally have better overall ADC and DAC latency.
Therefore I did not recommended the miniDSP for your particular purpose as you would still need your Audio interface. Sure you can connect the MiniDSP in between your Audio interface and the speakers. In my opinion a waste of money and would add even more latency, plus you loose the balanced connections.

Alternatively to the MiniDSP you can do RoomEQ (same as MiniDSP) with your PC with free EQ software called APOEQ and feed the corrected signal via your audio interface to your speaker and still use VST guitar amps and or your DAW for further guitar effects and your audio interface for recording/guitar playing.

EQ Software for Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS/iPadOS and Android.

Any suggestions are welcome. Post suggestions here. I will gather the details and add them. Thanks. :D This will be organized as results come in. @sweetchaos made a guide for PEQ filter data input and operation. For crossover software go here. Windows: AutoEQ four easy steps to make your...

www.audiosciencereview.com

For both the miniDSP and APOEQ you need a 100USD UMIK1 microphone and REW(free) to measure your room response and derive the filters which you either plug into miniDSP or APOEQ.
I hope that helps you a bit in your decision making.

Yeah, I came to that conclusion myself. So basically, I have to buy their microphone is like $79?

I have to download apoeq ?

Equalizer APO

Download Equalizer APO for free. A system-wide equalizer for Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10 / 11. Equalizer APO is a parametric / graphic equalizer for Windows. It is implemented as an Audio Processing Object (APO) for the system effect infrastructure introduced with Windows Vista.

sourceforge.net

and REW?

REW room acoustics and audio device measurement and analysis software

REW is free software for room acoustic measurement, loudspeaker measurement and audio device measurement and analysis

www.roomeqwizard.com

Honestly i have no clue how to do this

 

[Holmz]

This is my setup.
…

View attachment 261363

A corner is a great spot for a desk, but the position and room may be where the cheapest and best improvement starts coming from.

 

[kemmler3D]

+1 to what others have said, to improve your setup:

1. Sub(s)
2. Room EQ
3. Speaker stands / absorptive mat on desk
4. Acoustic room treatment

The UMIK + REW + APOEQ thing is not too hard to do. The UI is pretty daunting but there are MANY tutorials on it.

Basically this is how it works:

1. Hook the mic to your PC
2. Play some sweep tones through your speakers using REW
3. REW records the tones and tells you what the frequency response is like in your room
4. You use REW to generate an EQ curve to fix that frequency response
5. You import that into APO EQ
6. Done

 

[poxymoron]

Get a Umik-1 and REW. Then when you see the improvements you can get with a bit of work with those get a miniDSP and Dirac and get even better results with little or no work.

 

[HarmonicTHD]

Yeah, I came to that conclusion myself. So basically, I have to buy their microphone is like $79?

I have to download apoeq ?

Equalizer APO

Download Equalizer APO for free. A system-wide equalizer for Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10 / 11. Equalizer APO is a parametric / graphic equalizer for Windows. It is implemented as an Audio Processing Object (APO) for the system effect infrastructure introduced with Windows Vista.

sourceforge.net

and REW?

REW room acoustics and audio device measurement and analysis software

REW is free software for room acoustic measurement, loudspeaker measurement and audio device measurement and analysis

www.roomeqwizard.com

Honestly i have no clue how to do this

Don’t worry. It takes a bit but you can do it.

Take it slow. Start with downloading and setting up REW and take your first measurement. Come back for questions.

Begin maybe with some YouTubes the REW manual is more for reference and can be a bit daunting at the beginning.

REW help

REW is free software for measuring and analysing room, loudspeaker and device responses

www.roomeqwizard.com

Room Measurement Tutorial for Dummies Part 1

There are few more things transformative in audio than learning how room acoustics works. You never look at any system the same again. Like moving from film photography to digital, measurements give you instant feedback on what your system is doing. Even if you choose to not make any changes...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[AudioStudies]

I would like to know if APOEQ can be used with various media players such as Plex or Windows Media. Or, if you have to use APOEQ only to play back music files. Is it equalization only or also a media player? And if its both, can one use only the equalization portion?

 

[HarmonicTHD]

I would like to know if APOEQ can be used with various media players such as Plex or Windows Media. Or, if you have to use APOEQ only to play back music files. Is it equalization only or also a media player? And if its both, can one use only the equalization portion?

Look at the website / wiki (see below). APO EQ "sits" in between any Windows audio and your soundcard / audio interface so whatever you play in windows is EQed (e.g. room corrected), as long as "sound enhancement" (see manual below) is checked to on.

Equalizer APO / Documentation Wiki / Documentation

sourceforge.net

 

[Pancreas]

If i do this then can i still use boom 3d?

 

[kemmler3D]

If i do this then can i still use boom 3d?

Should be no problem doing so, but I would expect to mess with configuration a little. You can just try it, APO EQ is free to download.

 

[Pancreas]

Should be no problem doing so, but I would expect to mess with configuration a little. You can just try it, APO EQ is free to download.

I decided to uninstall Boom 3d is a gimmick is just an eq and processor all it did was raise the high and low to give the illusion of surround, like radio business does lol it actually lowered the volume of my speakers somehow, when i would turn off boom 3d, my speaker would be louder

these eqs are ok for cheap speakers, cellphones, etc that has crappy speakers, but it changes the sound, so is not fidelity

 

[AnalogSteph]

I decided to uninstall Boom 3d is a gimmick is just an eq and processor all it did was raise the high and low to give the illusion of surround, like radio business does lol it actually lowered the volume of my speakers somehow, when i would turn off boom 3d, my speaker would be louder

Digital audio has finite headroom, so if you want to boost certain frequency ranges, pulling down the overall level generally is quite inevitable if you want to avoid clipping.

When you make an EQ in REW, the list of PEQs will show the required headroom, so you get an idea how much level reduction you'll need.

When you're using PEACE with Equalizer APO, that can also turn down the level automatically once it encounters clipping.