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

dimedrol

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The response of this speakers is 44hz and up . So my uneducated thinking is I’m losing sounds below that and I want to hear them.
I do miss bass sometimes so I planned to set svs to 44hz and below
I am yet to see one person whose true primary dissatisfaction with a decent stereo system is its inability to play below 44hz. And I am certainly not one. 44Hz is great and is more than enough to enjoy any kind of music. I have pair of Dynaudio C1's and they dig about that deep and if anything - I have always found them a bit too bass heavy. I also have a pair of near-field monitors with a sub that dig down to 25Hz that I listen to every single day and they never made me think less of the Dynaudios cause of their 44Hz. Just saying - maybe lower freqs have nothing to do with your dissatisfaction with your system. I would bet the issue is elsewhere and most likely in your room response, because your stereo is great.
 

voodooless

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I assure you there's no damage done, I 99% enjoy the system and I want the 99.9% if you know what I mean :) I paid for it 8k total for grade B/used so I think I made a good deal.
Good to hear! Second hand can be a very good option.
Now having that behind us, room treatment it is then. I'll ask local dealers if they can lend that Umik-1 as I don't see the point buying it and using it once.
You won’t be using it once I would think. Every time you change your room, you’ll need it again.
I consider it entry setup into audiophile world to learn on.
High cost != high performance. You can get objectively much better performance for a lot less money. The audiophile world is full of snake oil. Better have an antidote at hand.
 

bluefuzz

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I paid for it 8k total for grade B/used so I think I made a good deal.
That's still 2 or 3 times more than you needed to pay for the best possible sound.
I'll ask local dealers if they can lend that Umik-1 as I don't see the point buying it and using it once.
Seems an odd thing to economise on, especially considering the money you've already burned. You won't use it once. You'll need many hours (years?) of experimenting and learning just to just to begin to be able to understand what it's telling you.
 

Willem

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You have what you have and there is nothing wrong with it. Your real problem is the room: it is small and, realistically, too small for unproblematic deep bass. If you still want more low end response, count on using at least two subwoofers, or more (such as two small ones and one somewhat bigger). And use Multi Sub Optimizer software and a miniDSP 2x4HD to tame the room modes. But first get that UMK-1 and start your career in REW measurement. You will be horrified by the response below about 400 Hz. Subwoofers will fill in the dips and MSO will flatten the peaks over a wider area than other options.
 

antcollinet

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I'd also invest a few hundred on some furniture to sit it all on. Tidy up the whole setup, hide the wires, fit tv to wall, or put on tv bench etc. It'll all sound better when it looks nicer. :)
 

Marc v E

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What am I looking at?
The red line is the frequency response. Good speakers have a flat line with a somewhat downward slope. Yours look pretty good.

When you do a measurement with a umik-1 microphone and REW software, the response will look different. That way we can see what your room does to the frequency response. You can apply eq there to get as close to the ideal slope as possible.
 
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Diseasex

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That's still 2 or 3 times more than you needed to pay for the best possible sound.

Seems an odd thing to economise on, especially considering the money you've already burned. You won't use it once. You'll need many hours (years?) of experimenting and learning just to just to begin to be able to understand what it's telling you.
hmm you're right.
The red line is the frequency response. Good speakers have a flat line with a somewhat downward slope. Yours look pretty good.

When you do a measurement with a umik-1 microphone and REW software, the response will look different. That way we can see what your room does to the frequency response. You can apply eq there to get as close to the ideal slope as possible.
awesome!
getting that Umik then !
Looks like it's likely I will need to work on below 50 frequencies to even out the line

any reason to aim for below 20hz frequencies for music?
 

dshreter

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A small room with all hard surfaces is going to be overly reflective which causes a number of problems. Here are the steps I would take:
  1. Number one and easiest step is adding an area rug.
  2. Adding acoustic treatment to the front and back walls
  3. Acoustic treatment to the ceiling if you can get away with it.
 

voodooless

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getting that Umik then !
Looks like it's likely I will need to work on below 50 frequencies to even out the line
Not quite. Room interaction works upto several hundred Hz at the very least.
any reason to aim for below 20hz frequencies for music?
Do you like organ music?
 

SKBubba

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The response of this speakers is 44hz and up . So my uneducated thinking is I’m losing sounds below that and I want to hear them.
You aren't losing much if anything. Low E on an electric bass is about 42hz. Kick drum is about 50-60hz. Subs are more for special effects in movies, or for bookshelf speakers with small drivers.
 

voodooless

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You aren't losing much if anything. Low E on an electric bass is about 42hz. Kick drum is about 50-60hz. Subs are more for special effects in movies, or for bookshelf speakers with small drivers.
Not only special effects. Note that the in bass below 150 Hz you have the most output by far. A big sub can give you vastly more output capability as well as a lot lower distortion.
 

SKBubba

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Not only special effects. Note that the in bass below 150 Hz you have the most output by far. A big sub can give you vastly more output capability as well as a lot lower distortion.
Plus crossing it over at 60-80hz takes some load off the amp, but I don't think the hegel has bass management?

Anyway, my main speakers have 10" woofers and 12" radiators in the rear and I use a sub and it does sound better (with audyssey dynamic eq).
 
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Diseasex

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Plus crossing it over at 60-80hz takes some load off the amp, but I don't think the hegel has bass management?

Anyway, my main speakers have 10" woofers and 12" radiators in the rear and I use a sub and it does sound better (with audyssey dynamic eq).
No it’s just amp with dac with no EQ whatsoever. What I did I did some EQ in foobar and that have improved sound significantly

Now I know I can adjust EQ scientifically
 

voodooless

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Plus crossing it over at 60-80hz takes some load off the amp, but I don't think the hegel has bass management?
Nope, it’s about as barebones as it gets for a streaming amp.
 

Sukram

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After tidy up use a room correction system like DIRAC.
I'm using a dbx venu 360 with excellent results.
I wouldn't care for the deep bass
 

Puddingbuks

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Nice setup. Add absorption panels on the first reflection points left and right, and on the ceiling if possible. This will give the system much more focus, precision and detail.

Treating your room is the best way to hifi heaven. You could start with some cheap polyesterwool panels and experiment.

I had focal 1028BE, I was never fully satisfied, the stereo imaging was never really good, instruments not clearly pinpointed. Switching to the dutch & dutch was a big step forward.
 

bluefuzz

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any reason to aim for below 20hz frequencies for music?
Get what's happening above 40 Hz right first. There are great things to be found in the bottom octave (yes even in music) but not before the rest is as good as can be. The important stuff is between 80 - 8000 Hz (arguably 80 - 800).
 

Purité Audio

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Thank you for your feedback,
I assure you there's no damage done, I 99% enjoy the system and I want the 99.9% if you know what I mean :) I paid for it 8k total for grade B/used so I think I made a good deal.
Now having that behind us, room treatment it is then. I'll ask local dealers if they can lend that Umik-1 as I don't see the point buying it and using it once.

I do have budget, and was already setting sights at Scala and 804 d4.
But that will come once I master all the skills you guys have, eventually. I consider it entry setup into audiophile world to learn on.

I love the fact that you approach it scientifically and not rubbish "warm, speed, robust blah blah" and actually measure stuff
I would really look at some of the loudspeaker threads here before you purchase the B&Ws.
Acoustically measuring with RE`W and a microphone is a start.
Keith
 
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