Tips and advices for choosing reputable brands.

[Deleted member 77673]

I'm going to call it 'room correction' here to avoid any confusion with simple 'equalisation' using PEQ filters or traditional tone controls. If you did actually mean simple equalisation please say and we can respond appropriately.

If you choose the Wiim Ultra (or even one of the cheaper Wiims) you have the whole audio chain integrated in it so you just tick the 'Room |Correction' option in the menu and push the button to have it measure and set up your room corrections which will also help to flatten your speaker response if that isn't already perfect. On the Wiim room correction covers both digital output to active speakers and analogue output to power amp and passive speakers so again you have no chain to consider.

For other not-fully-integrated solutions where you implement room correction is going to depend on what audio chain and devices you choose but the general principle is:
1) As room correction is digital processing put the room correction (and/or eq) into your chain before the signal gets converted to analogue.
2) But put it as late in the chain as late as you can so that it is available for as many sources as possible. Ideally in the speakers themselves if they are active and have this function, for passive speakers in the DAC if your DAC has that facility. The worst place to put it is in the source itself as that will limit its use to just that single source.

OK, thanks for the clear answer, really thanks. Is there some kind of difference in quality between the Dirac solution vs Wiim Ultra solution? I mean room correction.

 

[gwing]

OK, thanks for the clear answer, really thanks. Is there some kind of difference in quality between the Dirac solution vs Wiim Ultra solution? I mean room correction.

I'm not an expert on DIRAC but the Wiim solution is free, easy to use and a revelation compared to simple eq or nothing at all. The next step up is to get a proper measurement mic and use that instead of just your phone's mic. DIRAC is a more complex beast that appears to offer control over other stuff such as time alignment and phase control which might give even better results especially if you have tricky room problems to solve and are trying to integrate subs as well and you most importantly know what you are doing. I wouldn't myself want to inflict that on a mate who is just looking for a simple first system though. You can always add DIRAC later if you really, really want it but try what comes free and is already integrated into the solution first.

P.S. the reason I suggested this hardware combo is that the Wiim, although ridiculously cheap considering your budget, is considered to be 'audibly transparent' for it's preamp, streaming and DAC functions (as are many other devices these days) so you won't get any other solution that actually sounds better no matter what you spend on these electronics. That leaves all the rest of your budget for speakers where it really does make a difference to sound quality. If you choose passive speakers with a power amp instead of active speakers then again spend most of the budget on speakers because you can get an essentially perfect amp quite cheaply these days.

 

[IngMishael]

Is there difference in quality between DIRAC in hardware mode vs software installed on a laptop?

the hardware bypasses Windows Audio Mixer all together. But that is a small blip as I'm sure the software one has a bypass system in place so it is more a peace of mind thing than anything

 

[Multicore]

WiiM is a nice product. I have one for steaming and it's great.

You can connect a WiiM Mini to a Yamaha A-S801 with an optical cable.

 

[Mr. Reeee]

KEF LS60 + 2 good subs would be in this budget.

I have LS60s and two KC62 subwoofers!
Fantastic!

Probably outside budget here.
A couple of KUBE 10 MIEs should work.

I have a KUBE 10b with my LSX and it sounds great.