Audyssey MultEQ Pro Sound Equalizer Review

[gene]

<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><A href="http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/AudysseyMultEQp1.php"><IMG style="WIDTH: 150px; HEIGHT: 48px" alt=[SoundEQFront] hspace=10 src="http://www.audioholics.com/news/thumbs/SoundEQFront_th.jpg" align=left border=0></A>Ultimate audio performance within the listening area starts with the loudspeakers and the room</SPAN></EM><SPAN class=style201><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">. How the Installer gets the loudspeaker system to integrate within the listening space is what can make or break even the best assembled audio systems which was discussed in detail in our editorial: Better Sound Through Active Room Correction.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </SPAN>The Audyssey MultEQ Pro Sound equalizer is a stand alone processor that connects between the preamp and power amp and initiates auto room correction for up to 32 listening positions with the primary goal of broadening the sweet spot so every seat is a good seat in your home theater.<?xml:namespace prefix = o /></SPAN></SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN class=style201><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">[Read the Review]<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </SPAN>[Read the Primer to Room Correction]</SPAN></SPAN></P>

 

[briansmith]

Great article. I'm just suprised you reviewed a $2500 EQ w/ $150 speakers and a non-dedicated listening room. You have many other systems available so I'm suprised you picked the room and system you did. I'd like to see what the EQ would do in your reference system.

If you get time it would be interesting to see how the MultEQ Pro and the Denon 5805 handle the same room.

-Brian

 

[gene]

If you get time it would be interesting to see how the MultEQ Pro and the Denon 5805 handle the same room.

-Brian

Actually I have both systems in a dedicated "treated" room with a very high end system. There is no doubt the Audyssey Pro unit is much better at bass correction than the system in the 5805. As for speaker correction, Pro is better, but my speakers don't need alot of correction so I am just using the Pro unit for bass correction to the subs only to avoid the cable wiring nightmare. I will play around with this system more as well as publish measurements before/after once I get the new 8CH Axiom amp in for review. I will have more flexibility then to do a/b comparisons.

 

[Rik]

I have the Audyssey Pro... the 5805... once I get the new 8CH Axiom amp...

I was never a real envious person, until I joined this forum.

 

[Audioholics]

I was never a real envious person, until I joined this forum.

You and me both! lol

 

[plhart]

Building a system around the ASEq

Great article. I'm just suprised you reviewed a $2500 EQ w/ $150 speakers and a non-dedicated listening room. You have many other systems available so I'm suprised you picked the room and system you did. I'd like to see what the EQ would do in your reference system.

If you get time it would be interesting to see how the MultEQ Pro and the Denon 5805 handle the same room.

-Brian

I had a couple of goals in mind in doing this the first full review of the Audyssey Sound Equalizer. Please bear in mind-

a) This piece of gear has to potentially control very large frequency and phase deviations that occur in the interim when electronic audio signals are launched from their respective speaker cones, become acoustic audio signals, and reach the listening space. We’re potentially talking about several decibel variations at many, many points all along the 20Hz-20kHZ frequency spectrum and perhaps hundreds of degrees of phase change all taking place simultaneously.

b) Back in the days of stereo it was always recommended that to get the best sound/dollar the wisest way to apportion ones $$$ was to spend at least 50% of the system’s cost on the two speakers. In today’s multichannel home theater/music world would it then not logically follow that a 50% allocation of resources to all satellites and subs would also be the least % to be appropriated? Well, no. Not if we have a product like the Sound Equalizer. In the past we didn’t have such a wide variety of very high performance flat response loudspeakers available to us at such reasonable prices. Plus, we didn’t understand just how important the room was in influencing and distorting the sound of the speakers before they reached our listening area.

c) Thus,my attempt as I continue to tweak and upgrade my very modest system, is to see what might be possible for many Audioholics who also build their systems piece-by-piece over time. Hold the Audyssey Sound Equalizer as the “constant”, most critical component and vary the rest of the system through upgrade. That means starting with a worst case sort of room, one that is far more likely to be “typical” than a dedicated home theater for most Audioholics. It also means starting with a “known best value”, excellently performing speaker whose performance highs and lows are well known to me. Please stay along for the ride…

Patrick Hart

 

[Rik]

plhart, do you know why the EQ PRO doesn't handle all the crossover and delay duties on it's own? To me it makes more sense if Audyssey had designed the EQ PRO to work with everything on the pre-pro set to large and 0.0 feet and let the EQ PRO handle it.

 

[plhart]

plhart, do you know why the EQ PRO doesn't handle all the crossover and delay duties on it's own? To me it makes more sense if Audyssy had designed the EQ PRO to work with everything on the pre-pro set to large and 0.0 feet and let the EQ PRO handle it.

To have the Audyssey MultEQ Pro Equalizer handle the crosovers and delays the unit itself would have to become a pre-pro. A pre-pro capable of taking for instance four channels of separate subwoofer frequency and phase information packets and funnelling that information back down to the single .1 LFE track that exists for Dolby Digital and DTS playback on the software.

And what would prevent the ASEq Pro from selecting a 60Hz crossover for a tiny cube speaker which just happened to be located in a tiny room corner which gave the little speaker lots of boundary reinforcement?

The ASEq is being marketed through trained installers for a reason. Only a knowledgable human can make informed judgements on appropriate crossovers and delays when looking at the room/speaker information which is what the Audyssey calibrated microphone gathers from the acoustic bubble listening area.

 

[Rik]

Patrick thank you for the response. Any word on if the EQ PRO's higher resolution will make it into the Denon line up or will Audyssey save that strictly for their stand alone products?

 

[plhart]

Patrick thank you for the response. Any word on if the EQ PRO's higher resolution will make it into the Denon line up or will Audyssey save that strictly for their stand alone products?

At CEDIA three other manufacturers announced products with Audyssey MultEQ Pro; Denon in their 5805CI, Crestron in their Adagio receiver and NAD in a stand alone piece. I also remember reading in one of the CEDIA dailies that Denon eventually intends to bring Audyssey MultEQ Pro down to their upcoming 3807CI pricepoint.

The caveat to each of these products is that it will take some kind of code, known to qualified installers (with an Audyssey installation/calibration kit), to access and set up MultEQPro properly.

I do not know whether all of the features and the high level of functionality of the Audyssey Sound Equalizer will translate exactly. That information will have to wait until we actually see these three manufacturers' implementations of MultEQ Pro on the market.

I can tell you that I specifically asked Samit Varma, Audyssey's Director of Operations that exact question. Samit just smiled a sly smile and said, "We came out with the Audyssey Sound Equalizer first because it is and will remain our flagship statement piece".

 

[Rik]

I also remember reading in one of the CEDIA dailies that Denon eventually intends to bring Audyssey MultEQ Pro down to their upcoming 3807CI pricepoint.

This is very good news because the 3807 was already on my short list of AVR's to replace my 3805. Any chance Audyssey will sell me an installers kit?

 

[plhart]

This is very good news because the 3807 was already on my short list of AVR's to replace my 3805. Any chance Audyssey will sell me an installers kit?

I think its highly doubtful.

 

[Rik]

I think its highly doubtful.

What if I asked really, really nice?

 

[Nick250]

I am sure that with a few phone calls to local installers you would find one who would sell an EQ Pro to you. They are just business people and as such when they can buy a product and resell it for a profit, they do so.

Nick

 

[Sleestack]

I'm wondering why Audyssey is marketing that they are the first company to deal with time domain. That's simply false advertising. While their approach might be unique, they are hardly the first company to deal with time domain.

I really want to check out their standalone/pro system. Has anyone seen the related software?

 

[Sleestack]

The ASEq is being marketed through trained installers for a reason. Only a knowledgable human can make informed judgements on appropriate crossovers and delays when looking at the room/speaker information which is what the Audyssey calibrated microphone gathers from the acoustic bubble listening area.

Delays should be self calculating in an advanced room correction system. Also, professional installers are not required if the software is understandable and allows for visual mapping like the TACT software below. I haven't seen the Audyssey Pro software, but it definitely peaks my interest.

 

[Sleestack]

To have the Audyssey MultEQ Pro Equalizer handle the crosovers and delays the unit itself would have to become a pre-pro. A pre-pro capable of taking for instance four channels of separate subwoofer frequency and phase information packets and funnelling that information back down to the single .1 LFE track that exists for Dolby Digital and DTS playback on the software.

Why can't be done on the correction level. All you would have to do is incorporate the software that allows for it. I'm not sure if the physical design of the Pro allows for mixing and designation of channels, but if it does a software program could handle all crossovers and mixing for more user control over those parameters.

 

[plhart]

Singapore-Audyssey distributor set up

I am sure that with a few phone calls to local installers you would find one who would sell an EQ Pro to you. They are just business people and as such when they can buy a product and resell it for a profit, they do so.

Nick

Since the Audyssey Sound Equalizer is a very specialized product it is sold only through one distributor in each US market. To my knowledge all A/V specialist installers who purchase from these distributors have to agree, within the general purchase agreement required by the distributor, to not transship or sell any of the purchased products on the internet. To do so could result in the A/V installer losing the ability to purchase any further products from that distributor.

In response to the Singapore-based consumer’s request Audyssey’s Mike Thuresson set up and trained an Audyssey-Singapore distributor to take care of that particular consumer.

Patrick Hart

 

[plhart]

I'm wondering why Audyssey is marketing that they are the first company to deal with time domain. That's simply false advertising. While their approach might be unique, they are hardly the first company to deal with time domain.

Please let me know where you’ve found Audyssey “marketing that they are the first company to deal with time alignment”.

The term “time alignment” has always been used in reference to the horizontal (x-axis) difference in the vertical (y-axis) alignment between various transducers on the baffle (or baffles) of a speaker system. Since the Audyssey MultEQ technologies are technologies and not speaker systems I’m quite interested in where your claims of “false advertising” and “dealing with time alignment” emanate.

 

[plhart]

I really want to check out their standalone/pro system. Has anyone seen the related software?

I detailed the various MultEQ Pro screens in my review. If you are asking whether or not there is a "screen shot" similar to that of the Tact that is able to be manipulated the answer is no. There are, however, eight before and after screen shots (16 total) available at the end of the calibration sequence. Audyssey's target curve is preset. The system calibrates toward that curve.

If you'll refer to my first review/interview of the Audyssey system from late 2004 here you'll find the anwer as to why:

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/specsformats/AudysseyMultEQ.php

In the late '90s Tom Holman's challenge to the then nascent Audyssey team was to make the whole system set-up "automatic". By having the target curve fixed and hidden in the software the installer has only to focus on the appropriate-room-and-owner's-taste high frequency roll-off (or flat) response from the curves available.

In the case of the "target curve" and from my 35+ years of speaker design I believe that the Audyssey curve (which has never been exactly defined as it it part of their muli-patented system) is very, very similar to screen shot you show from your Tact system. The difference is the Audyssey guys can continue to "tweak" their curve for better performance based on information gleaned from feed back from installers.

They recently put a slight tweak (dip) into the curve at around 2000Hz. this dip was to make up for the difference in power response between a speaker system's mid-woofer(s) and tweeter(s) at that frequency. That is, 5.25" & 6.5" mid-woofers begin to beam too much as they approach 2KHz whereas tweeters have wide dispersion at this frequency. The Audyssey tweak allows the MultEQ Pro software to create a much smoother power response transition within this region.

BTW- Lest you think this type of ongoing tweaking is unusual in our industry think again. Both Dolby and DTS are continually changing (upgrading) their algorithms for their various Digital, ES, EX, IIx etc chips as their technology advances. The manufacturers just don't tell the consumers.