Room EQ yes or no or sparingly

[PENG]

I turned it off and rebuilt a kinder, gentler version.
My little room is pretty lively, and I know that my speakers aren't to blame. I experimented previously with my GEQ making a little swale of -1.5dB at 2kHz, and -.5 at the neighboring toggles. With this instance, I did -1.38dB in the Curve Editor at 2kHz, and had to play with the points to get it a little smoother coming out of the dip, but it works! There's a cut from Tori Amos, Northern Lad, that exemplifies this: in the chorus, her voice just hammers me. I listened to this one day for an hour... the Lady was about to go all Snapped on me!... but between Audyssey On with the Mid-Range Correction On, Aud. Off with nothing, and Aud. Off with GEQ enabled, I could listen with that minor dip I made.
I tested it again today after building that in to the curve editor. It's a -3dB crater the way Audyssey is programmed. By making it shallower and a bit wider, I don't notice a dulling in the frequencies the way I did with MRC ON. Overall, the tunes are still lively, but that 'perking' of my ears isn't a thing now.
Since I learned I do have a sensitivity to something that matches with listening fatigue, this alleviates it. In this room. If I set up in my greatroom, I might not need it. Or, when I get a little extra damping action in my room (Curtains for the windows, a little bit of diffraction, etc),we'll see how it tests out.

Thank you for confirming my suspicious, as I did notice your mrc being a little shallower than the default one. I don't use my HT set up for music so to me I wouldn't bother customizing anything other than the bass but good to know it works well for you. Great idea! This also confirms the original BBC (iirc)'s idea of mrd (d=dip) has merits afterall, at least in your enviroment/setup!!

 

[RTG]

When I was living in an apartment with hardwood floors I found the MRC sounded better than the Flat curve. A lot of people dismiss it but it can be helpful. I personally dislike it, turning it off has done wonders in my room.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

At the risk of getting flamed for derail, got a question.

All of my measurements ever, have used my umik and audyssey mic and spl meter on a short tripod. What’s different though, is I use two pillows from my bed which are a memory foam/gel insert top, to rest the tripod on. My logic is that this more closely represents a person sitting in the LP. I’ve always followed a “practice like your gonna play” mentality and to me it makes sense as without anybody in the LP reflections off the couch(which i sometimes deal with by laying a blanket on the back) and bass interaction with the couch might be different. I have not measured without my pillow setup ever, although I do have mic stands and a large camera tripod and might try to A/B. My bass FR is outstanding measuring and EQing this way so I’ve never considered another way.

Any thoughts?

 

[PENG]

At the risk of getting flamed for derail, got a question.

All of my measurements ever, have used my umik and audyssey mic and spl meter on a short tripod. What’s different though, is I use two pillows from my bed which are a memory foam/gel insert top, to rest the tripod on. My logic is that this more closely represents a person sitting in the LP. I’ve always followed a “practice like your gonna play” mentality and to me it makes sense as without anybody in the LP reflections off the couch(which i sometimes deal with by laying a blanket on the back) and bass interaction with the couch might be different. I have not measured without my pillow setup ever, although I do have mic stands and a large camera tripod and might try to A/B. My bass FR is outstanding measuring and EQing this way so I’ve never considered another way.

Any thoughts?

I am happy to tell you I have done something similar.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I am happy to tell you I have done something similar.

Whew! That’s a relief. I have seen a number of techniques over the years but not that.

 

[RTG]

I highly recommend using a Mic stand. I bought mine from Amazon for $30, it came with grips that are perfect for holding the Aud mic. I notice my levels are better including subs and dialogue is clearer. What I like about using the mic stand is it allows me to keep my throw pillows and blankets on the sectional. I had to remove them when using the tripod. It also allows me to have a tighter formation and it’s perfectly at ear height and much quicker to use.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

If I get some extra time(yeah right!) I will try and experiment. I have a variety of stands and stuff so why not? I never thought of not doing it my way. Now that I’ve given it some thought, I am very curious.

 

[RTG]

I didn’t think a mic stand would make a different but it definitely did so experimenting is a great idea.

 

[PENG]

I get good results (according to the graphs) with mic stand or tripod, the cushion thing is as William mentioned, to try get the mic to be nearer to my ears in my main sit position.

 

[ryanosaur]

I like the pillow idea. It does make me wonder how (if) measurements account / adjust for our bodies. When you start that thread @William Lemmerhirt, make certain you name it something catchy, pls! Like Pillow Play with Bill, or...
Ha!
Couldn't pass it up, my friend! But I would like to know if you find anything different with a human body analog as the mike stand...
...perhaps a bicycle helmet, with the audyssey mic mounted on top (you might have to bribe one of your kids with ice cream!). (And if you do, as Swerd likes to say: "photos or it didn't happen!")
Whew... I think I got it all out there.
I do recall seeing something though where they mention elevating the mic a bit in the event that your ears are below the back of the couch. My thought would be that they want the room without us... In fact I thought about doing my testing with me out of the room. As well as with the door open vs closed. (Though I think REW would give better data than Aud for that latter instance.

Anyway, all ribbing aside, I like the idea!
Cheers!

 

[RTG]

Here is a pic I took a few calibrations ago before I moved my subs and main speakers closer to the wall.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I like the pillow idea. It does make me wonder how (if) measurements account / adjust for our bodies. When you start that thread @William Lemmerhirt, make certain you name it something catchy, pls! Like Pillow Play with Bill, or...
Ha!
Couldn't pass it up, my friend! But I would like to know if you find anything different with a human body analog as the mike stand...
...perhaps a bicycle helmet, with the audyssey mic mounted on top (you might have to bribe one of your kids with ice cream!). (And if you do, as Swerd likes to say: "photos or it didn't happen!")
Whew... I think I got it all out there.
I do recall seeing something though where they mention elevating the mic a bit in the event that your ears are below the back of the couch. My thought would be that they want the room without us... In fact I thought about doing my testing with me out of the room. As well as with the door open vs closed. (Though I think REW would give better data than Aud for that latter instance.

Anyway, all ribbing aside, I like the idea!
Cheers!

Lmao! Pillow play with bill...like a late night radio show. (Sultry late night voice) “call in now, and let’s talk about your...Sub.....woofer.....”

Believe it or not, I saw a guy put an audyssey mic on his head to calibrate. Swore it made a huge difference. Can’t remember his verbiage but he justified it. To himself anyway...

Ive also seen the, over the chair back recommendation. I like the blanket on the back better because it represents where I am when I’m actually listening. And yes, I do lay a blanket there when I have time to stop and reeeaally listen.
I like these kinds of talks. It’s like asking 10 builders how to build a house. You’ll get at least 10 answers!

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Here is a pic I took a few calibrations ago before I moved my subs and main speakers closer to the wall.

Nice room!
I was wondering if you had the opportunity to spend time getting your height modules at the right ...ahem height!

I know they can be very fussy and I’ve seen where guys have maximized their effectiveness by raising them, or changing their angles. Maybe they’re perfect where they are. Just wondering...

 

[RTG]

Nice room!
I was wondering if you had the opportunity to spend time getting your height modules at the right ...ahem height!

I know they can be very fussy and I’ve seen where guys have maximized their effectiveness by raising them, or changing their angles. Maybe they’re perfect where they are. Just wondering...

Thanks! Yeah the modules take time to to get right. I tried mounting them right above my mains but I was crazy about the sound. I like the bubble effect when they bounce. I had Onky modules before and they were horrible. I also had satellites mounted in my ceiling and didn’t care for them. A little too distracting. I will be adding another pair behind on my sofa table in June.

 

[ryanosaur]

I like these kinds of talks. It’s like asking 10 builders how to build a house. You’ll get at least 10 answers!

I've said the same thing about Chefs... but more along the lines of "ask 3 chefs how to do something and you'll get 10 different answers!"

I'm eager to get the goods: the speakers, the mic, and REW is a no-brainer (FREE!!!).

My only question really is if I buy an OmniMic with DATS for the DIY thing, or not. (Significantly changes the price). Oh well... 21st century problems for a month or two down the line!.

 

[PENG]

I've said the same thing about Chefs... but more along the lines of "ask 3 chefs how to do something and you'll get 10 different answers!"

I'm eager to get the goods: the speakers, the mic, and REW is a no-brainer (FREE!!!).

My only question really is if I buy an OmniMic with DATS for the DIY thing, or not. (Significantly changes the price). Oh well... 21st century problems for a month or two down the line!.

The USD75 Umik-1 and REW, is all I need so far. I've never even consider the much more expensive Omni mic until now that I am building my first pair of speakers and feel the Omni/DATS package could be useful. Before you pay premium for the Omnimic you may want to ask @RichB who iirc, has experience with both. Are you interested in DIY speakers though, if not, is there something you feel REW cannot do for you?

 

[lovinthehd]

I have the Omnimic (V2) but if I had to do it over again I'd probably just get the Dayton UMM-6 or the miniDSP Umik-1 mic alone and use REW...but mine wasn't bundled with DATS but if you want that, you can buy that separately. The Omnimic package is a nice one stop way to go but REW works very well, too (and you can use the omnimic mic with REW too).

 

[RTG]

You boys aren’t making me want to get into REW...

 

[lovinthehd]

You boys aren’t making me want to get into REW...

It's definitely another level of participation to dive into the measurements thing....Omnimic's all in one package may make it slightly easier, tho. Especially if you like the sound as is

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

You boys aren’t making me want to get into REW...

Once you know....you can never go back. Lol

Learning curve is steep but it’s so worth it. Resolution and detail that’s x the editor app. Hard part is knowing what to do with the results!

(Whisper voice) do it.......do it......do it...........lol