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New near-field speaker setup for a home office? Pictures!

Spocko

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I guess its because only one kind were measured, but I've not seen much love for the rest of Adam's speakers. I've been using these Adam A7X's for my near-field setup for almost 7 years and they sound amazing (and should measure equally so).

EQ done with REW/Umik, playback via Roon. Have since replaced the dac with a topping stack but too lazy to take another photo.

View attachment 118518
I hear the recently updated Adam S-series lineup is quite an improvement with the updated tweeter and better off-axis response. I'm especially intrigued by that mid-range driver which is getting pretty good reviews. Sadly, prices have been jacked up accordingly.
 

nimar

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I hear the recently updated Adam S-series lineup is quite an improvement with the updated tweeter and better off-axis response. I'm especially intrigued by that mid-range driver which is getting pretty good reviews. Sadly, prices have been jacked up accordingly.

Look pretty. Though for true nearfield listening, how much does off axis really matter? You've got them pointed at your head. I'm waiting on speaker delivery and I moved them downstairs for a bit and they sound awful at 3m distance compared to 1m. Though after a week or two, I stopped noticing the difference. Maybe burn in is a thing, just needed 7 years and a week (joke).
 
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Vict0r

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Do those diffusors on the side walls do anything? They don't look to be positioned for any purpose. It's unlikely you will have problems from side wall reflections in this nearfield set up. If you are still suffering from reflections off the front window you could try placing the diffusors there, firstly at least, to hear if they do anything. If they do perhaps you can have them on stands so they can be moved out of the way when you want some light.

Those diffusers are just standing there, waiting for an application. I bumped into a bunch of those skyline diffusers on the local Craigslist, and have used a few in my cinema room, on the back wall behind the listening position. I still have two left and they are currently just idling in my office. :)
 

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Those diffusers are just standing there, waiting for an application. I bumped into a bunch of those skyline diffusers on the local Craigslist, and have used a few in my cinema room, on the back wall behind the listening position. I still have two left and they are currently just idling in my office. :)

Put them to work!
 
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Put them to work!

Since the window isn't centered in the back wall, placing them both behind the speakers symmetrically is a bit tricky.

Schermafbeelding 2021-03-17 om 13.06.53.png
 

Hipper

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Just place them there temporarily to hear what effect they have. If they do something worthwhile you can think about making feet for them to make them more mobile.

Imagine a sound ray bending round the baffle of your speaker, reflecting off the wall/window towards your ear. Place each panel to block those rays from each speaker. Placement doesn't have to be exact for this experiment.
 
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Vict0r

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Was bored so I made some measurements of the office. Pretty horrid in the bass department! This is the average of 7 measurements in and around the listening position.

Before correction:

rew average.jpg


Funny thing is, when I use REW in combination with my UMIK1 to attenuate some of the peaks for EqualizerAPO, it (subjectively) sucks out ALL the bass and the end result sounds nasally and thin. The room needs treatment. Me measuring lazily in between the speakers at ear level instead of measuring per channel probably doesn't help either, but oh well... The "bass" I'm now missing was probably my desk vibrating. :p

After correction:

rew target.jpg


I'll save the measuring and DSP for when I have my new speakers and have the room as treated as I can, because in its current state the office doesn't benefit much from EQ'ing.
 
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Hipper

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You may be used to boomy bass so when you level all the bass frequencies off it will sound anemic. Whilst I like a flat response some aim for a downward slope from bass to highs, something between plus 3-6dB at the bass end. Read about 'house curves'.

You should get used to the new sound though as you can hear all the bass notes, not just the boomy ones, and so can more appreciate bass playing. Not only that but the boominess hides a lot of the mids and highs. With more even bass, vocals, rhythm guitar, piano etc will become more accessible. It's a major jump in listening quality.

That's why I and others recommend that if you are serious about getting the best sound, bass issues need addressing first. They are the hardest to solve but the rewards are significant.

I suggest you should still try DSP with your current speakers if you have the time. You will learn what is possible and probably find that your current gear is pretty good.
 
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Vict0r

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You may be used to boomy bass so when you level all the bass frequencies off it will sound anemic. Whilst I like a flat response some aim for a downward slope from bass to highs, something between plus 3-6dB at the bass end. Read about 'house curves'.

I suggest you should still try DSP with your current speakers if you have the time. You will learn what is possible and probably find that your current gear is pretty good.

I've set the house curve according to the general Harman curve, but I'm still very much a REW noob. In my current EQ profile, REW only levelled the peaks, not raised the dips (I don't yet understand why), so that 85hz dip you see in the first average is still there. Combined with the adjustments of all the peaks, the bass does feel very anemic now. I'm optimistic, though. This measuring and adjusting is a fun hobby, and I'm sure I can eventually adjust the room to sound pleasant. There's barely any treatment now so there's still a lot of potential.

I'm also curious to find out what I can do with DSP software like Dirac and SonarWorks. A friend of mine has a SonarWorks license and mic I can use, so I'll try that one out as well. Haven't yet found a way to affordably experiment with Dirac, though.
 

DJBonoBobo

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whazzup

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Are you doing equalization for each speaker separately?
 
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Are you doing equalization for each speaker separately?

No, I've not yet figured out how that works. :D Currently I am doing it like this (comb filtering and all...)

- UMIK1 on a stand in the listening position, raised to ear level, pointed right at the computer screen, dead center in between the monitors.
- Make a measurement. I've followed this video tutorial:

- Repeat 6x more times, with slight variations of mic placement, trying to simulate my head movements and body positions in the chair.
- Make an average of the 7 measurements
- set target level somewhere in the middle of the graph in the REW equaliser
- export to txt, load txt into Equalizer APO
- fix potential gain issue (mostly -0.4db or something)
- cry after hearing the result
- repeat
 

whazzup

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ok, I'm far from an expert on this, so take my suggestion with that in mind.
I went through those videos as well when first doing eq, and tried REW's auto eq functions. But after a while, what I settled on these days, is a way simplified approach.

Assuming you already have the cal file set up. Use the 90 degree one, as you'll be pointing the mic upwards.

1. Click the Measure button in REW. Beside the Output dropdown, set to either L or R, so that you only measure 1 channel.
2. Sit where you normally sit, hold up the mic somewhere in front (3-5 inches) of your face, with the mic roughly at ear level, pointing up. Then run the measurement. You now have 1 measurement.
3. Do the same for the other channel.
4. Now click on the 'All SPL' tab above the graphs to see both left and right channel. You should be able to compare the 2 graphs. Start by focusing only on the 100-200hz region.
5. Now, instead of using REW's auto eq, try using APO to knock down any of the massive peaks you see, manually. Using the Peace UI addon will help a lot here. Probably focus on 1 channel first.
6. Then run the measurements again to see how your eq affected the result.
7. Rinse and repeat. You'll probably be playing a lot with the amplitude and Q factor to get the frequencies to behave and at the same not affect the surrounding frequencies too much.

In this way, you're getting your hands dirty, you're getting quick feedback on how your eq affects the measurements, and focusing on the area below 200hz makes it easier for you to visualize the results (you can move on to eq higher frequencies if you so wish later).

While holding your mic in your face is probably frowned upon by purists, as long as you hold your mic somewhat still, the measurements (for lower and mid frequencies) should not deviate too much (can repeat a few measurements to compare). And note that our bodies make a measureable difference to the results. Also, it's way faster than having to crouch beside your chair while trying to click the mouse button. You can try various scenarios later to see the effects on the measurements (your body in chair, mic in your chair and so on).

If both your left or right channels are already pretty close in measurements (and your room is not affecting any single one of them weirdly), then go ahead to measure and eq the L+R. To be clear, after going through the different methods of measurements, nowadays I just tackle the biggest offending resonant frequencies and call it a day... :p But that's just lazy me....

And from your posted graphs so far, it does seem that you should be getting a sub instead for the biggest gains...
 
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Vict0r

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ok, I'm far from an expert on this, so take my suggestion with that in mind.
I went through those videos as well when first doing eq, and tried REW's auto eq functions. But after a while, what I settled on these days, is a way simplified approach.

I'll definitely give that exact method a try tonight! Thank you very much for the elaborate response. I'll post the results here when I'm done. And yes... a subwoofer will fill in the gaps no room treatment or DSP probably can. I'll have to figure that out too. :)
 

whazzup

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I eq my sub and speakers to the 'house curve' or descending frequency response (desktop system, in a less than ~3m room). That 70hz dip is due to my sub's current placement, will need to shift it around when I get the time. Graph is with 1/24 smoothing.
sksSJmZ.jpg



I did get a multi channel dac (the asus xonar) so that I could eq the sub separate from the speakers. It's a budget sub, and originally had a peaky response at around 50hz, so I turned up the gain to ~75%, then shelved the frequencies down above 20hz (and reduced specific resonant frequencies).
3jXMyLj.jpg
 
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Vict0r

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Well, I just paid for a second hand pair of iLoud MTM's. Whoops! Paid 450 EURO for them. Hopefully I'll get them on tuesday. Will post impressions and measurements when I've toyed around with them a little. :)

$_86.JPG
 
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I'm an idiot. I didn't realize the iLouds have a balanced XLR input only. Now I've got to figure out how to connect a pair of active monitors with a balanced XLR connection to my unbalanced Topping E30 that only has RCA out. Don't tell me I need to buy a balanced audio interface... :p
 

txbdan

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I'm an idiot. I didn't realize the iLouds have a balanced XLR input only. Now I've got to figure out how to connect a pair of active monitors with a balanced XLR connection to my unbalanced Topping E30 that only has RCA out. Don't tell me I need to buy a balanced audio interface... :p

You can use an adapter or make an adapter cable. Shouldn't be a problem.

I've been following your thread as I recently wanted a redo on my office setup. I settled on Genelec 8030Cs, MOTU M4 interface (already had it for music/guitar stuff and the DAC is excellent), and use Dirac Live room correction. It sounds incredible. I truly believe that I am done here for a very very very long time. Well except I might add a sub. But as for DAC/amp/speakers I'm done!
 
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Vict0r

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You can use an adapter or make an adapter cable. Shouldn't be a problem.

I've been following your thread as I recently wanted a redo on my office setup. I settled on Genelec 8030Cs, MOTU M4 interface (already had it for music/guitar stuff and the DAC is excellent), and use Dirac Live room correction. It sounds incredible. I truly believe that I am done here for a very very very long time. Well except I might add a sub. But as for DAC/amp/speakers I'm done!

Congrats! That's a sweet setup. I'm looking at the M2 and M4 as well, but I'll play around with my unbalanced setup for a while and see if I can properly control volume using the e30's preamp function. It's not ideal, but it might be good enough. If that doesn't work, I'm going the Motu route as well, I guess. :)
 

rcstevensonaz

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While this comment is late for your purchase, I wanted to add Neumann KH-120A to the list for future reference; potentially combined with their L65 speaker stand. Since I am driving these from a DAC (RME or Topping D90), I prefer to avoid the added DA/AD cycle that the KH80 adds. If anything, I will route the audio through a more advanced room correction (e.g. Dirac), which further removes the value of the DSP built into the KH80s.

The KH-120A are designed for near-field listening, and are front-ported (which I prefer when desk will be closer to wall). The stands put the speakers right at ear level and are easy to adjust toe-in angle.

In my setup, I find that my 32" monitor fits very well in the gap and allows for ideal speaker placement distance.
 
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