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What DRC do you use ?

E

Eddy

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A real mystery to me is that the topic of digital room correction (DRC) still receives so little attention among audiophiles. For example, it was almost non-existent at the High End 2024 in Munich. But you could get information about what felt like thousands of cables. (But I have the impression that the importance of DRC is slowly gaining acceptance among less stubborn audiophiles. For example, in a high-end studio near me, two out of five demonstration systems were equipped with DRC.)

My own experience is in stark contrast: DRC has the greatest influence on sound quality alongside the speakers and the room. Depending on the speakers and room, the influence of DRC may vary, but it is still much stronger than that of (state of the art) amplifiers or DACs, not to mention cables, etc. And I actually tried out different amplifiers and DACs. Even cables, I have to admit. ;)

Even though there may already be a few threads with various information about it, I would still suggest: If you use DRC yourself, share your experiences. Based on the popular thread “What headphone(s) do you own?”:

What DRC do you use?
How big do you estimate the influence on the overall sound quality?
Which DRCs have you had better experiences with and which ones have you had worse experiences with?

I myself have a Trinnov ST-2 HiFi in my main system and a miniDSP Flex with Dirac Live in a secondary system. I will report on this in more detail soon. I also plan to compare both in the same system.

Just a (certainly not complete) list of DRC I am aware of:

Implemented on standalone devices

Filter designer software
(generated filters to be implemented by a suitable software/device like Roon or various other players)
 
After discovering REW a long time ago and recognizing its potential, I purchased a miniDSP and delved deeper into my obsession with learning more. Once I reached the limits of what I could achieve with that, I also learned to use rePhase. While researching Dirac Live, I was convinced enough to try it out, even though I was already satisfied with my sound. But wow! It completely transformed my listening experience. It clearly did something better than I could accomplish manually, and to this day, I still don't fully understand what it does, as their algorithms are proprietary.

I went through a lot of blind testing with various curves and adjustments to get the sound just right for my preferences. Eventually, I reached a point where further minor tweaks didn't enhance the sound, so I haven't changed my Dirac Live settings or curves in nearly two years. Since then, I have felt no urge to upgrade anything, and I thoroughly enjoy every moment spent in my chair listening to my playlists.
 
I began employing digital room compensation several years ago with the release of Dirac Live, and am now running Anthem’s ARC Genesis with my current pre-pro. Both of these automated room compensation software packages made profound improvements to the clarity of music played through my system by reducing the influence of my rather live listening space.

Although neither was a complete panacea, the improvements of each sounded equally transformative in very conspicuous and positive ways, and I confirmed my subjective impressions with objective measurements. The subsequent addition – to the extent that my better half would tolerate – of passive room compensation via the introduction of absorbers, diffusers, and traps provided further improvements, but to a lesser degree.
 
Using MathAudio RoomEQ for stereo and Pioneer MCACC for multichannel here.
Love them both. Bit of a learning curve with MCACC.
The fact that MathAudio RoomEQ is free and extremely easy to use, makes for top marks in my book.
Very good software indeed.
 
I'm using a MiniDSP 2x4HD with some custom PEQ filters by using some measurements done using a UMIK-1 and REW.
I'd consider this MiniDSP (and the none HD-version I had before this one) the biggest upgrade in sound quality that I've ever gotten, this because it cleans up the bass modes so nicely while also giving me the possibility to fix some speaker issues and letting me setting a custom subjective curve that I like.
Of course it's also a preamp with inputs for my computer and my music/video streamer. All this for only ~300 euro.
 
I used REW and use DIRAC.

REW had the biggest and most immediate effect, when I shaved off some bass peaks. It was easy to clean up the bass this way.

Then I used DIRAC as well. Dirac made it easier for me to get a good image. The soundscape narrowed though. I find it had a great effect on my 2.1 system which I also use for TV duty. Watching TV with Dirac turned on and off is a night and day difference, especially now that I've gotten used to it. It is almost like I become cross eyed, but for my hearing if that makes sense, when I turn it off. With DIRAC on the sound very accurately tracks the image. For music, however, it is less indispensable. Shaving off bass peaks is its most important duty here too. For music I only want to use DIRAC for the lower frequencies (up until 250 hz). It sounds more natural. I find DIRACs medium narrow measurement setting works best for my living room.

A previous Black friday deal lured me into trying DIRAC for my desktop as well. Here I find the effect less useful, perhaps because I mainly use it for music during office work and for games, where with short distance the 'pinpoint image' becomes less important. Here, in retrospect, REW and Peace PEQ was more than sufficient in shaving off nasty bass peaks and desk resonances.
 
Eddy said:
A real mystery to me is that the topic of digital room correction (DRC) still receives so little attention among audiophiles.
Click to expand...
A bit of a mystery in the wider world of audiophiles, but around here it gets recommended in pretty much every advice thread.

Personally I just use REW and EQAPO / SoundSource on my work computer, nothing fancy, just straight PEQ to correct the bass. I am going to be implementing something similar in my living room with a WiiM Pro.
 
I bought an Anthem MRX540 after seeing measurements for the AVM70 and MRX1140 which means I'm using ARC. It's great. Love the better (looking) mic and "real" mic stand. The ARC software has a user friendly UI, and allows for custom adjustments. I've found it to make my system sound better than when I was using Dirac through a NAD T758 V3.
 
I had Dirac Live on my PC as a plugin in JRiver (with Topping DM7 8-channel USB DAC, 2-way setup with and without near-field subwoofer). It worked very well in the frequency range of the room modes, but at the cost of spatiality. The sound of my ESS AMT-1 dipole tweeters became two-dimensional and squashed, regardless of whether phase correction was switched on or off.

To avoid problems with the timing between the USB measurement microphone and the DAC, I even bought a Motu Ultralite MK 5 and a Beyerdynamic MM1 measurement microphone so that both have a common time base.

That didn't help either and in the end my DRC now runs with frequency and delay correction created with REW, which I'm very happy with. Further experiments with rePhase for phase correction are still pending. Just for fun, I deactivated all DRC and listened to a few pieces of music and that is completely unacceptable. The latter is confirmed by two friends with certain audiophile standards, for whom I have adjusted the parametric EQs of their RME ADI-2 DAC FSs with REW.
 
Last edited:
I use REW plus a Behringer DEQ2496 as DRC.

Works very well, but as a functional home audio component it's rather limited. Would love to move towards something more integrated with remote controlled source selection and volume control. Other than that it's been the most significant upgrade to my setup since getting my speakers.
 
Any double blind testing?

Here's an article by Sean Olive on tests he performed back in 2009, though he doesn't name products. (He mentions in a comment that the two best performing were Harman products, and the others tested were not good... one was no better than no treatment, another was worse!)

seanolive.blogspot.com

The Subjective and Objective Evaluation of Room Correction Products

In a recent article, I discussed audio’s circle of confusion that exists within the audio industry due to the lack of performance standards...
seanolive.blogspot.com seanolive.blogspot.com
 
Mal said:
Any double blind testing?

Here's an article by Sean Olive on tests he performed back in 2009, though he doesn't name products. (He mentions in a comment that the two best performing were Harman products, and the others tested were not good... one was no better than no treatment, another was worse!)

seanolive.blogspot.com

The Subjective and Objective Evaluation of Room Correction Products

In a recent article, I discussed audio’s circle of confusion that exists within the audio industry due to the lack of performance standards...
seanolive.blogspot.com seanolive.blogspot.com
Click to expand...
To be honest, I’m not sure how useful I find this test. For instance, if I simply use the stock curve recommended by Dirac, I don’t like the sound it produces. Other types of room correction DSPs would likely behave somewhat similar in that aspect. I believe there are far too many variables in room correction software to make meaningful comparisons in this manner and reach a sound conclusion.
 
Hi

I use Audyssey MultEQ-X with a Denon AVR. I am extremely satisfied. I use it for the entire spectrum 20Hz to 20 kHz... I will have to verify where they are on software release, last time I used it was 6 months ago. I don't feel the need to correct my system further, although, I need an additional subwoofer capable of plumbing the depth around and below 20 Hz, as it is, I don't have much headroom in that region :)

Learning curve is steep but manageable. Results are IMHO, very good.

Peace.
 
Most of the products under consideration have undergone multiple evolutionary cycles since 2009, so that test by Olive is likely well past its "Best By" date. I'd take it with a grain of salt.
 
I use MiniDSP with Multi-Sub Optimizer (MSO) with multiple subs to set delays and AP and PEQ to phase align my subs across multiple seats in my media room, then Anthen ARC Genesis to integrate this "virtual" sub with all of the speakers in my 5.3.4 setup. I like that I can use the ARC UI to fine tune the target response and correction range on speaker by speaker basis, and have multiple options easily selectable at run time. ARCg also allows you to see the actual PEQ filter correction values for each speaker so I can check to make sure the corrections are not wildly different across my LCR which are matched speakers.

Currently I've landed on using correction from 15 to 5000Hz and it sounds really really good, and I would never want to use uncorrected sound.

IMO the best thing about it is if done correctly, it makes the 3D Atmos Soundstage absolutely seamless in all directions - there are no more awkward changes in timbre as the sounds moves around the room and not just old school left to right, and while I have pretty decently timbre matched speakers, they are not all exactly the same as bought at different times and some are on wall, the Atmos are in Ceiling. Surrounds are bi-polar but it does not matter and is much much better than if no DRC.
 
Denon AVR-X6300H with Audyssey MultiEQ XT32. I do use the $20 app to more easily customize curves and frequencies. I have thought about the full MultEQ-X but never have felt that motivated to move on up. Perhaps in time I will. I need to install new rear surrounds first, then it may be time to take the plunge. But in general, I'm very happy with the current sound, so I'm not sure how much better it could be vs. the time commitment.
 
Anton S said:
Most of the products under consideration have undergone multiple evolutionary cycles since 2009, so that test by Olive is likely well past its "Best By" date. I'd take it with a grain of salt.
Click to expand...
You're absolutely right -I didn't notice the year of the test. That completely invalidates its relevance, if there was ever any doubt.
 
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