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Onkyo AccuEQ Room EQ Review

Mocs123

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Question - are you running more than two speakers? I'm wondering if it was because @amirm only tested this with a two channel config.

Yes, I'm running a 7.2.4 setup.
 

North_Sky

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Kal Rubinson

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I'm also surprised that they give you the el-cheapo microphone on a $2K processor. I understand that on a $500 receiver, but not on a "high end" piece of equipment.
Whether a 2K processor is "high end" or not is irrelevant. Mose prepros and AVRs supplied with mics have cheap mics. I reviewed a Krell prepro once that came with a junky mic that fell apart in my hands. They supplied a replacement but found it one AliExpress for $2. Nonetheless, as long as the calibration for it is used, it suffices for the job.
No one in their right mind would use an included microphone anyway which is why some of the more high end stuff doesn’t even ship with one. You get a pro to calibrate or you buy a good microphone from third party and do it yourself. No point inflating the price even more when most people who care already have a good microphone at home since years back.
The majority of AVRs and prepros will not accept an external calibration file so there's no way to use a better or, indeed, any mic other than the one provided.
 

Sal1950

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No one in their right mind would use an included microphone anyway which is why some of the more high end stuff doesn’t even ship with one. You get a pro to calibrate or you buy a good microphone from third party and do it yourself. No point inflating the price even more when most people who care already have a good microphone at home since years back.
And most people who buy these low to mid end AVRs will just use what comes with it and think it sounds better. And it does.
Maybe not in the vane that most here would think "good enough", but for the average Joe it is because it did make a worthwhile improvement to his bass range. Even among our members, they take all different paths of DRC, they use the one they believe was "good enough".
Lastly I would debate your first sentence. Take the case of D-M gear and Audyssey, they supply one of those cheap mic's you refer to. But if they did their job right, they measured a group of them and found the average responce, then included that calibration into the software. If you use anything else you have no idea what the results might be.. I have a umik I use with REW but use my pre/pre included mic to do Audyssey runs. "Run what you broung" we always say in drag-racing.
 

napilopez

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It might be worth noting since this model is discontinued is that its using an older version of Onkyo's EQ system. The new one is called 'AccuEQ Advance' and seems to work a bitdifferently. I've not used it, but read up on it when looking up receivers:

It supposedly only EQs the Room part of the frequency response, and Onkyo's marketing material shows it as only affecting the lower half of frequencies (the FR image Amir posted seems to be from the new system?). Also, AccuEQ advance does measure at multiple points to help with standing waves.

That said, that treble rolloff is not okay. It seems they're are following the Cinema X curve, which we know is significantly flawed.
 

jgirado

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Question - are you running more than two speakers? I'm wondering if it was because @amirm only tested this with a two channel config.

No, I believe this Onkyo (and my previous Onkyo TX-RZ900) were the firsts with AccuEQ (after Onkyo abandoned Audyssey). They only support one position, the following models support more mic positions.

BTW, In my room + speakers, I used this Onkyo with AccuEQ Room Calibration disabled for L/R speakers "On (ex. L/R)", I liked it more than the option On (All Ch). Maybe because of what Amir found out, the treble roll-off. I'm glad now the Onkyo has this option!
I kept EQ for Standing Wave "on".
 
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amirm

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Clarifying, the treble roll off is a problem with the measurement mic. The EQ system did not change those high frequencies. It did however put a dip in midrange which is bad as it is. Combined with some speakers which already have a dip there, it will make things much worse.
 

Bear123

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I've seen Audyssey XT32/Denon factory mics tested and compared to calibrated Umik-1's and they were surprisingly good. As in, really really close to the calibrated Umik and therefore perfectly adequate for using to run room correction. I'll see if I can dig up the comparison. I have some time off coming up this weekend and next week. I'll try to post some pre/post Audyssey XT32 and pre-post Sub Eq HT with dual subs sometime in the upcoming week.

Link to mic tests including the Audyssey mic, some SPL meters, and a calibrated reference mic.
https://www.avsforum.com/forum/155-...hootout-emm-6-wm-61a-rs-33-2055-audyssey.html
 
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Wayne A. Pflughaupt

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The setup is too messy to show the picture of it. Indeed my listening room looks like a disaster area after I setup an entire new system to test this processor. So once again I am going to show you a picture of the room before this nastiness happened:

index.php

Amir, I think you and I are the only two people who point the measurement mic at the speakers. :)

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
 

jam

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This is a review and detailed measurements of the Onkyo AccuEQ room/speaker equalization. I tested it as part of the Onkyo PR-RZ5100 AV Processor which I recently reviewed.
Amir,
Did you try out the AccuEQ room correction feature just for fun and if you did, what did you think of it?
Not that I think you'd want to waste time measuring it considering the poor performance of the unit. I was just curious for a subjective impression from someone with your vast experience and trustworthiness.
Hi there. I have not. Setting up to run an EQ test is fair bit of work. Is AccuEQ common today in their products? I thought they were on Audyssey bandwagon.
Gee... thanks Amir for testing the AccuEQ DRC. I hope you didn't feel obliged by my initial inquiry. These are the first measurements I've seen from a credible reviewer. I would say that overall, it agrees with most of the anecdotal accounts I've read over time.
 
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amirm

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Gee... thanks Amir for testing the AccuEQ DRC. I hope you didn't feel obliged by my initial inquiry. These are the first measurements I've seen from a credible reviewer. I would say that overall, it agrees with most of the anecdotal accounts I've read over time.
No, that was a prodding and made me realize that the last room EQ review was popular so I thought it made sense to test this one as well.
 
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amirm

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Thanks for this @amirm, would you mind revealing your normal stereo gear driving those speakers? Would like to know what amplification you use, I can fairly guess the DAC side of things. Thanks, Ven
My normal system is the Mark Levinson No. 53 mono amplifiers. They are near the Revel Salon 2 speakers. The DAC used to be Mark Levinson but is now a Matrix Sabre MQA. A dedicated silent PC drives that using Roon player.

For this test, it was too hard to rewire my system so I used a Purifi amplifier from the Onkyo and that drove the Salon 2 speakers.
 

North_Sky

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Are you an Audio expert too? :)

Onkyo/Integra I believe showed in their manuals to point the mic upright, ...ceiling.
Same for Denon/Marantz
Yamaha Aventage
Pioneer Elite
Sony ES
NAD
 

A800

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Alice of Old Vincennes

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I am probably sounding like a broken record in other threads. I have used all the room corrections in numerous and sundry AVR's over many years. I have not used Dirac. Anthem Room Correction simply works. You don't need to tweek the inherent problems with Audessey or this goofy room correction. I don't believe Dirac properly integrates with sub without hit or miss efforts. Educate me if I am wrong. Regardless, Anthem solved my complaints and problems I have encountered over years and years in about one hour.
 

Sal1950

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