Review and Measurements of Lyngdorf RoomPerfect EQ

[Snarfie]

That is about FR, but what is this technical advantage claimed by Lyngdorf, POWER response ?!

"measures the power response in the room instead of the frequency response"

Beeing transparant how most DSP measure solutions measure an not enough eleborate let alone share suche information is understandebly from commercial or stategic point of view. A recent (october 2024) paper about Exploring the Current Landscape of Open Research Software in Room Acoustics is studied/published by the university of Eindhoven here in holland.

 

[terfenol-D]

Is there a difference between Lyngdorf RoomPerfect EQ ver McIntosh MEN220 Room Correction System ?
All my Audio kit ia McIntosh.
How can I decide what to buy ?
Thanks.

McIntosh MEN220 Room Correction System

The MEN220 Room Correction System offers an all-in-one solution for sophisticated room correction, custom EQ, and two-way crossover functionality.

www.mcintoshlabs.com

I asked this question in the lyngdorf Axpona room today and they indicated it is the same system. Moreover, there has not been any updates to room perfect itself since introduced. There has been updates such as web interface but the underlying algorithm is the same.

 

[Panelhead]

I believe that. I first saw it and listened to it at RMAF. The demo was very impressive. In a motel room setup.
Was not sure if demo was rigged. Seemed like a loudness control. Clarity, bass response, midrange definition were improved when turned on.
Purchased a unit with it a couple years later. Ran it on and off for a long time. Might roll back software on a computer to run it again. Apple started making it difficult for software designers to maintain software ten to twelve years ago. By the time they caught up, there would a new release of OS and it would break again.

 

[Snoopy]

So how good is room perfect in 2025? 20 years of no updates seems extreme ?

 

[terfenol-D]

So how good is room perfect in 2025? 20 years of no updates seems extreme ?

I don’t have the Lyngdorf but do have the men220 which licenses room perfect. The version I have is about 5 years old and am happy with it. There is a newer version that adds a GUI which mine does not have. I have experience with audessy (an older version), Dirac, and REW creating my own curves.

The way it was explained to me made some sense. Other systems are adjusting your frequency based on a target room response curve while their system uses two verified test tones and a calibrated mic to make the produced sound the most accurate at your listening position. I will say setting room perfect to global vs the focused listening position noticeably decreased sound quality.

 

[Oddball]

So how good is room perfect in 2025? 20 years of no updates seems extreme ?

I was not aware of that so thanks for sharing. So with Lyngdorf and Audyssey in deep sleep mode seems like not that many "active" options.

ARC does not seem to be pushing the envelope, rather responding and following. Dirac is still trying to deal with DLBC roll-out and ART seems to be somewhere near to nowhere except on Storm. There is Trinnov that seems to be most active as their flagship status would command, but then their pricing model is too rich for most people even if they are otherwise doing pretty well.

Does not seem things are moving fast in the mainstream room correction area. Pity as there is so much more to be improved there.

 

[Panelhead]

The hardware I have is old. The software to run Room Perfect still offers great results. Especially for blending in subs. But need to have 12 year old OS to run room calibration.
I have been told that small tweaks have been implemented in Room Perfect by Lyngdorf. Not sure if they were being protective of software or just did not know what or if.
I am thinking of getting an old Mini up with compatible software just to run RP. It can offer sonic benefits.

 

[KxDx]

Are you still satisfied with the TDAI 2170? Why did you choose the "old" one and not the TDAI 1120?

Sorry I didn't see your question until today...

I'm still happy as can be! I got the 2170 for an incredible price (less than what 1120s are selling for used), and it has more power, which is always good.

I'm still in love with it. I hope one day I can afford a TDAI3400 for my living room. I can dream...

 

[celo]

I wonder if anyone has compared RoomPerfect to Dirac? Of course same system, same room.

 

[Steve356]

I wonder if anyone has compared RoomPerfect to Dirac? Of course same system, same room.

To a certain extent, I have. I owned an Arcam AVR 850 for a while running Dirac. I was never happy with Dirac for stereo music in my room, so after a lot of trial and error, I tested a couple of Lyngdorf amps at home for 3 months (TDAi 2170 and 3400). I was able to try Dirac alone, Room Perfect alone and a Dirac/RP combination over that time. Room Perfect was the easy winner in my room and I ended buying the 3400. That was over 5 years ago and I can honestly say that I've never regretted the decision. The Arcam has since been retired and replaced with an Anthem MRX740 and I've been able to compare Room Perfect with ARC Genesis too. Room Perfect is still the winner in my room and system.

In my room, Room Perfect just seems to sort out most of the bass issues while retaining the sonic qualities of speakers/subs. There is no lack of dynamics and soundstage is huge, things that Dirac especially seemed to mess up. Dirac also seemed to skew imaging sometimes too, something that RP never has.

If of any interest, speakers are ATC SCM19 and subs are M&K X10. Music sources are an Oppo 203 and Roon Nucleus One running FLAC files or Qobuz streams.

 

[Paffi]

I wonder if anyone has compared RoomPerfect to Dirac? Of course same system, same room.

Yes, I did some years ago. For me, RoomPerfect was better, even the Antimode X2. Same issues as the post before mine: Dirac killed dynamics and destroyed imaging.

 

[Abdo]

I would like to take advantage of this topic to ask, outside of REW and House Curve that I know, do we have other options for calibrating rooms that do not depend on purchasing equipment that only works like them or licensed equipment like Lyngdorf to make these adjustments?

 

[PaulF2020]

HI Guys, Could someone explain me what RP does to sub? I have few questions:
1. I assume it is still better to find best sub placement using REW/Crawl before running RP?
2. I assume I still need to match levels for sub and mains in REW before running RP?
3. Does RP adjust delay/phase? If now how do I approach it? I have one sub which is wireless with significant delay. Do I just adjust it using REW and Distance before running RP?
4. Lyngdorf has xover settings in output, does RP adjust Xover point? If not, do I just set it manually, using REW measurements and then rung RP?

 

[terfenol-D]

HI Guys, Could someone explain me what RP does to sub? I have few questions:
1. I assume it is still better to find best sub placement using REW/Crawl before running RP?
2. I assume I still need to match levels for sub and mains in REW before running RP?
3. Does RP adjust delay/phase? If now how do I approach it? I have one sub which is wireless with significant delay. Do I just adjust it using REW and Distance before running RP?
4. Lyngdorf has xover settings in output, does RP adjust Xover point? If not, do I just set it manually, using REW measurements and then rung RP?

1 -Yes. It is always better to start with best placement regardless of room correction system.
2. If volume is controlled by dsp in your sub it is best to bypass all dsp utilizing the lfe input. DSP adds delay.
3. You set the distance to the primary listening location for all speakers. Room perfect automatically corrects the delay. I am not sure the formula but I bet there is a way to manually adjust the distance to accommodate for the delay. (IE -if your sub is 20 feet from you main listening position and wireless adds a 5 ms delay set the distance to 35 feet. That is just an example. I have no idea if the math is correct.). The best course is to use a wired connection.

I believe RP adjusts phase automatically.
4. You manually set crossover point. I have not found a good example yet explaining the best way to do it other than using few and going for the best measurement. If you find a good example please share.

I will say I emailed lyngdorf questions and their customer service was very good.

 

[PaulF2020]

1 -Yes. It is always better to start with best placement regardless of room correction system.
2. If volume is controlled by dsp in your sub it is best to bypass all dsp utilizing the lfe input. DSP adds delay.
3. You set the distance to the primary listening location for all speakers. Room perfect automatically corrects the delay. I am not sure the formula but I bet there is a way to manually adjust the distance to accommodate for the delay. (IE -if your sub is 20 feet from you main listening position and wireless adds a 5 ms delay set the distance to 35 feet. That is just an example. I have no idea if the math is correct.). The best course is to use a wired connection.

I believe RP adjusts phase automatically.
4. You manually set crossover point. I have not found a good example yet explaining the best way to do it other than using few and going for the best measurement. If you find a good example please share.

I will say I emailed lyngdorf questions and their customer service was very good.

2. I think volume always controller by subwoofer amplifier. So I guess it is the best to match speakers on a sub first, otherwise amp will try to increase or decrease the gain on output RCA, which is less ideal
3. Distance and relay are the same thing. Distance is just user friendly way showing delay for the end user. So I'm not entirely sure if RP does adjust distance/delay or not. Because if it only relies on entered distance number in speaker config, it will be way out as every sub will be slightly different in terms of the delay.
4. Yeah, make sense, shame it is not implemented automatically, it would be killer feature.

 

[olegtern]

3. Does RP adjust delay/phase? If now how do I approach it? I have one sub which is wireless with significant delay. Do I just adjust it using REW and Distance before running RP?
4. Lyngdorf has xover settings in output, does RP adjust Xover point? If not, do I just set it manually, using REW measurements and then rung RP?

RP adjusts the sum of sound in the speakers + subs, including: your crossover settings, delays, speaker or subwoofer equalizer (but does not include voicing). It does not change delays and other settings, it equalizes from above. So adjust it using REW before running. The better the band summation works before the RP, the better the result it will give. Although with poor settings, the difference before/after may be more dramatic

 

[PaulF2020]

1 -Yes. It is always better to start with best placement regardless of room correction system.
2. If volume is controlled by dsp in your sub it is best to bypass all dsp utilizing the lfe input. DSP adds delay.
3. You set the distance to the primary listening location for all speakers. Room perfect automatically corrects the delay. I am not sure the formula but I bet there is a way to manually adjust the distance to accommodate for the delay. (IE -if your sub is 20 feet from you main listening position and wireless adds a 5 ms delay set the distance to 35 feet. That is just an example. I have no idea if the math is correct.). The best course is to use a wired connection.

I believe RP adjusts phase automatically.
4. You manually set crossover point. I have not found a good example yet explaining the best way to do it other than using few and going for the best measurement. If you find a good example please share.

I will say I emailed lyngdorf questions and their customer service was very good.

I spoke to Lyngdorf support and they said RP does not adjust delays or phase on subs. So It looks like it would be cricital to set those correctly prior to running RP, same for xover.

 

[Oddball]

Dirac ART.

 

[terfenol-D]

I spoke to Lyngdorf support and they said RP does not adjust delays or phase on subs. So It looks like it would be cricital to set those correctly prior to running RP, same for xover.

Hmmm….why would they have you enter measurement of the sub from the listening position if not for setting delay?

 

[PaulF2020]

Hmmm….why would they have you enter measurement of the sub from the listening position if not for setting delay?

Generally distance equals delay. The problem is the delay comes not only from distance but also from electronics on a sub. And in my case also from wireless transmitter.