(Unscientific) Comparison between Audyssey MultEQ XT and XT32

[JustAnAudioLover]

Hi there!

I recently purchased a pair of second-hand Monitor Audio Gold 100 (5G). These are great little speakers, amazing sound. I demoed them in a shop (in an acoustically-treated room) before bringing them home.

I expected them to sound worse in my untreated room, but the difference was bigger than I thought. So I ran Audyssey MultEQ XT using my Denon X1700H receiver, and it improved things, but it still wasn't perfect by any means. Especially the "s" sounds from singers were a bit harsh.

So I ended purchasing a Denon X3800H, as I wanted to have pre-out for the front speakers, IR receiver input, and also get XT32.

I received the new AVR this morning, and set up everything. Ran XT32 and the difference is pretty huge. Now, I can't do back-to-back comparison, and there may be some placebo effect at play here.

But sound definitely seems to be improved. Especially in the bass section, things are more... controlled? Tight? Correct? Don't know the word, but it's better. Sound is also less harsh. Still not perfect, but calibration can only do so much.

I haven't tried Dirac Live (and don't intend to) as I don't have a mic, don't want to purchase an additional license, don't like how their licensing works (you should be able to buy the license for life and transfer it to any device of your liking, without any limitation), plus I would really miss Dynamic EQ, which is IMO absolutely amazing when you listen at low ~ moderate volume like me. So I can't say whether Dirac would be better, equivalent or worse in my room.

I don't think most people should upgrade their AVR just to get XT32, put the money to buy better speakers / subwoofers instead, or acoustic treatment for your room.

Due to room constraints, the two speakers, two surrounds and the subwoofer I have are kind of "end game" for me, as I couldn't fit anything bigger nor add any subwoofer in here. Same goes for acoustic treatment.

Didn't calibrate the surrounds yet, so can't say how much it would be improved, plus I wouldn't be able to compare efficiently, plus I'm gonna move the surrounds anyway.

So here it is for this (very) unscientific comparison

 

[JSmith]

Hey, you may find these threads of interest;

Difference between Audyssey Multeq VS Multeq XT Vs Multeq XT32

Are the three a lot different?(perceptible difference) Description says they differ by their filter resolution but I want to know whether it actually means something.

www.audiosciencereview.com

Audyssey Room EQ Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Audyssey Room Equalization. Audyssey is standard technology in a number of Audio/Video Receivers such as the Denon AVR-X3600H I recently reviewed. The standard version in the AVR is mostly all or nothing so I downloaded the Marantz/Denon...

www.audiosciencereview.com

... or long story short, XT32 is better, so likely not placebo here.


JSmith

 

[JustAnAudioLover]

Hey, you may find these threads of interest;

Difference between Audyssey Multeq VS Multeq XT Vs Multeq XT32

Are the three a lot different?(perceptible difference) Description says they differ by their filter resolution but I want to know whether it actually means something.

www.audiosciencereview.com

View attachment 437910

Audyssey Room EQ Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Audyssey Room Equalization. Audyssey is standard technology in a number of Audio/Video Receivers such as the Denon AVR-X3600H I recently reviewed. The standard version in the AVR is mostly all or nothing so I downloaded the Marantz/Denon...

www.audiosciencereview.com

... or long story short, XT32 is better, so likely not placebo here.


JSmith

Yeah but I also a lot of posts of people telling they upgraded from XT to XT32 and didn't hear much of a difference. Because it's technically superior doesn't mean they will be a big audible difference.
Same for Dirac Live, many people didn't like Dirac more than XT32, but if you look at recommendations Dirac Live comes on top 100% of the time. So pretty complicated topic...

That being said, I'm listening at a few albums right now, and I'm positive XT32 is definitely better, at least for my room. Everything is more precise in stereo, voices are clearer, better separated from other instruments. So it was a worthwhile upgrade.

 

[Oddball]

As you say it is difficult to generalise. Depends on the room and the curve one sets for the correction. But based on what's under the hood, and as noted, one would expect the XT32 to outperform XT. Not sure what is the difference between 1700H and 3800H in terms of measurements, so some might, or might not, come from newer design and higher up the chain model.

3800H can support MultiEQ-X Audyssey app ($200 extra), which would for sure be able to better fine-tune the calibration, especially if user demands are more rigorous.

 

[kyuu]

Also if you didn't already, try the Audyssey app. It's only $20 and allows you to fine tune the curve (and get rid of the default "BBC dip" that shouldn't be there), as well as restrict the frequency range that gets corrected (to under Schroeder, for example). But yes, XT32's additional resolution in the bass can definitely make a big difference.

 

[JustAnAudioLover]

Also if you didn't already, try the Audyssey app. It's only $20 and allows you to fine tune the curve (and get rid of the default "BBC dip" that shouldn't be there), as well as restrict the frequency range that gets corrected (to under Schroeder, for example). But yes, XT32's additional resolution in the bass can definitely make a big difference.

Yeah I'm using it, without the app Audyssey is pretty worthless to me. I use it mainly to remove the terrible midrange compensation which amazingly still can't be disabled from the AVR.