Room EQ Newbie Confusion

[Bill99]

Ok. I have read a lot of posts and listened to a lot of YouTube videos and I am very confused. My system is 2 main Magnapan speakers that are bi-amped and 2 SVS 1000-Pro Woofers. These speakers are controlled by a miniDSP Flex 8 where the main speakers are biamped and the Woofers are separated into Left and Right control so I am using 6 of the 8 RCA outputs. My confusion is what to do first, second, etc. There is Dirac Live, Dirac Base Management, Magic Beans, Studio QC pro, etc. and setting Phase, Room EQ curve, Woofer integration, MSO, Crossover Frequencies etc..

I don't really need a full explanation of how to do Room Correction but rather just the high level steps to consider and what software do people recommed.

I like learning more about what is involved with acoustics and will push through the details of the process.

I have the UMIK-1 microphone, tripod, the miniDSP Flex 8 and will be using my HP laptop to control the software.

Please provide helpful comments.

 

[kemmler3D]

Howdy @Bill99.

At a high level the sketch of what you will want to do, assuming you're using the MiniDSP for the crossover...

1. Get speaker response dialed in. (Xover settings, REW, nearfield measurements if performing any)
2. Get subs integrated (REW, mso / Dirac)
3. Do room correction (Dirac or REW)
4. Do phase correction (REW, rephase)

Others are far more expert on these software packages than I am... I also have a 2x SB-1000 setup and I just use MMM with REW to generate room correction EQ, and that alone makes a big impact.

I think you are in for big improvements if you stick with the process, but it does take time and discipline, as you'll find you're doing a lot of measurements to ensure changes made have the intended effect.

 

[Keith_W]

Very broadly:

1. Loudspeaker correction if possible,
2. Integration of subwoofers to main loudspeakers
3. Room correction

The big question is whether you want to do loudspeaker correction. You will need to take quasi-anechoic measurements of each driver and sub. Since you have bi-amped main speakers and 2 subs, that's 6 measurements you need to take. It is extremely challenging to take a quasi-anechoic measurement of a dipole for the purpose of DSP. There is a high chance you will capture an artefact, and if you attempt to correct an artefact, bad results will follow. You really have to learn a lot about taking measurements before you attempt loudspeaker correction. As a minimum, you need to recognize what is an artefact and what is real, and how to get rid of artefacts. I strongly suggest you forego loudspeaker correction until you learn more. Do it later when you have more experience.

For now, learn how to take timing measurements and integrate your subs to your main speakers. If you want, you could also time align your woofers to your high freq panels. Then do overall room correction, cutting off any DSP correction above 200-300Hz. i.e. steps 2 and 3.

It is absolutely crucial to learn how to take good quality measurements. To learn how to take quasi-anechoic measurements for the purpose of loudspeaker corrections, read this thread. For room measurements and how to interpret them, read this eBook.

As for what tool to use ... since you own a MiniDSP, your options are manual correction or automatic correction with Dirac. You will get a much better result if you decide to go through the trouble of learning how to make corrections manually. The downsides are: steep learning curve, a lot of iterations required, potential to make a lot of mistakes. But you will gain a lot of knowledge and your correction will be better (eventually!). You can use REW, and it is free. If all this sounds too difficult for you, you can go purchase a Dirac license. Dirac automates a lot of these procedures and usually gets you a correction which is "good enough".

 

[janbth]

I agree with what has been suggested, so start with the miniDSP and set it up with crossovers and sub integration.

One recommendation, though: Use bass management. Both subs should play L+R, not L and R separately. Your sub integration procedure should start by integrating the two subs with each other first. Start by having them play the exact same (mono) signal and tweak it from there. After that you can integrate the subs with the mains.

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[janbth]

I agree with what has been suggested, so start with the miniDSP and set it up with crossovers and sub integration.

One recommendation, though: Use bass management. Both subs should play L+R, not L and R separately. Your sub integration procedure should start by integrating the two subs with each other first. Start by having them play the exact same (mono) signal and tweak it from there. After that you can integrate the subs with the mains.

Good luck and enjoy!

I almost forgot the most important advice: Try to map out the room modes in your room, and get an idea about how the standing wave patterns look like - at least for the first few lowest lying modes. You will be rewarded with a much better understanding of the bass region in you room, where to put the subs, and much more!