Onix R-DES Rocket Digital Equalization System Review

[Audioholics]

<A href="http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/OnixRocketDigitalEqualizationSystemp1.php"><IMG style="WIDTH: 125px; HEIGHT: 83px" alt=[OnixRDES] hspace=10 src="http://www.audioholics.com/news/thumbs/OnixRDES_th.jpg" align=left border=0></A>Being an official Audioholic comes with a couple of drawbacks. The first of which is that you are required by Audioholic charter not to believe in many of the tweaks out there. Magic rocks, cable risers, wooden volume knobs, batteries anywhere in your system but in your remote… What is a bona fide Audioholic to do? Well, after treating your room, the next “tweak” is an EQ for your sub. At least it is for me. I’ve wanted one of these for a long, long time. When Clint mentioned in passing that he needed someone to review the Onix R-DES, I practically tackled him.

[Read the Review]

 

[jongaro]

<A href="http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/avhardware/OnixRocketDigitalEqualizationSystemp1.php"><IMG style="WIDTH: 125px; HEIGHT: 83px" alt=[OnixRDES] hspace=10 src="http://www.audioholics.com/news/thumbs/OnixRDES_th.jpg" align=left border=0></A>Being an official Audioholic comes with a couple of drawbacks. The first of which is that you are required by Audioholic charter not to believe in many of the tweaks out there. Magic rocks, cable risers, wooden volume knobs, batteries anywhere in your system but in your remote… What is a bona fide Audioholic to do? Well, after treating your room, the next “tweak” is an EQ for your sub. At least it is for me. I’ve wanted one of these for a long, long time. When Clint mentioned in passing that he needed someone to review the Onix R-DES, I practically tackled him.

[Read the Review]

although it sounds like a great product it would seem WAY too labor intensive to make it worth my while. time is money and that is why i purchased the sms-1. phasing also places a huge role in the freq curve. i was able to make positive changes in my freq curve simply with placement and phase adjustments.

bottom line, if this product were $199 i'd say it is a great value but for the price, the amount of work it takes to eq a sub, and its lack of flexibility... i'd say the SMS-1 is a MUCH better value.

 

[RMK!]

although it sounds like a great product it would seem WAY too labor intensive to make it worth my while. time is money and that is why i purchased the sms-1. phasing also places a huge role in the freq curve. i was able to make positive changes in my freq curve simply with placement and phase adjustments.

bottom line, if this product were $199 i'd say it is a great value but for the price, the amount of work it takes to eq a sub, and its lack of flexibility... i'd say the SMS-1 is a MUCH better value.

Considering that I have seen the SMS1 for as low as $499, I agree.

 

[jongaro]

wish i could have found it at that price!

some other points to consider... balancing your sub with mains, crossover, multiple subs, minor adjustments such as a couple inches one way or another or spinning the direction of the sub, trying multiple locations, different volume levels, etc. imagine having to plot a graph everytime you wanted to do something like mentioned above. all these things impact the frequency curve and sometimes in big ways. to see it quickly and visually is a tremendous time saver. plus it becomes fun tweaking your sub settings!

 

[RMK!]

wish i could have found it at that price!

some other points to consider... balancing your sub with mains, crossover, multiple subs, minor adjustments such as a couple inches one way or another or spinning the direction of the sub, trying multiple locations, different volume levels, etc. imagine having to plot a graph everytime you wanted to do something like mentioned above. all these things impact the frequency curve and sometimes in big ways. to see it quickly and visually is a tremendous time saver. plus it becomes fun tweaking your sub settings!

With as many subs as you have you may need another

Dual BMF's on the way!

 

[mlschifter]

although it sounds like a great product it would seem WAY too labor intensive to make it worth my while. time is money and that is why i purchased the sms-1. phasing also places a huge role in the freq curve. i was able to make positive changes in my freq curve simply with placement and phase adjustments.

bottom line, if this product were $199 i'd say it is a great value but for the price, the amount of work it takes to eq a sub, and its lack of flexibility... i'd say the SMS-1 is a MUCH better value.

Thanks for your post...

Honestly... it's not diffficult to use this product at all... In fact --- sort of simple and intuitive...

We realize that the Velo product is very very good... but we sincerely like our features-to-price ratio and it's lovely GUI... Makes it fun to use...

Greetings to all from Far East Russia (Khabarovsk)...

All the best...

mls

PS... a HUGE thanks to Tom Andry and to you guys for getting the review up and posted... GREAT JOB...

 

[WmAx]

Just curious: how did price come about being listed in the pros?

Consider that you can purchase a Behringer DCX2496 loudspeaker management system that is far more powerful for $250.00, compared to $400.00 for the reviewed product.

-Chris

 

[ned]

Considering that I have seen the SMS1 for as low as $499, I agree.

Any links?

 

[ned]

Just curious: how did price come about being listed in the pros?

Consider that you can purchase a Behringer DCX2496 loudspeaker management system that is far more powerful for $250.00, compared to $400.00 for the reviewed product.

-Chris

Could you comment more about your EQ?

 

[RMK!]

Sms-1

Any links?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Velodyne-SMS1Subwoofer-Management-System-EQ_W0QQitemZ170012983973QQihZ007QQcategoryZ3275QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[silversurfer]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Velodyne-SMS1Subwoofer-Management-System-EQ_W0QQitemZ170012983973QQihZ007QQcategoryZ3275QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Great price, but how could it be "unopened and sealed" if he took it out, turned it on, and took a picture of it?

 

[WmAx]

Could you comment more about your EQ?

What do you want to know, specifically? Here is the product summary page:

http://www.behringer.com/DCX2496/index.cfm?lang=ENG

-Chris

 

[ned]

Great price, but how could it be "unopened and sealed" if he took it out, turned it on, and took a picture of it?

I guess he meant when he bought it at first!

 

[Tom Andry]

Just curious: how did price come about being listed in the pros?

Consider that you can purchase a Behringer DCX2496 loudspeaker management system that is far more powerful for $250.00, compared to $400.00 for the reviewed product.

-Chris

Clint and I thought about this when discussing the review but decided that while it is a great product it isn't really a direct competitor. Yes, it can do the same thing (and more) but it is really a pro audio product and isn't really marketed or targeted for the Home Theater user. You have to use an XLR to RCA cable which can introduce ground loop problems. There isn't the graphical interface which makes the RDES much more intuitive and easy to learn. I only know of one other product on the market like the RDES and that is the SMS-1. And it is cheaper than that so price is a plus. But it is harder to use than the SMS-1 so manual measurement process is a minus. It's all a balancing act.

Considering that I have seen the SMS1 for as low as $499, I agree.

We've discussed this before but price comparisons come from MSRP comparisons. I'm sure you can check Ebay for a reduced price RDES as well.

 

[WmAx]

You have to use an XLR to RCA cable which can introduce ground loop problems. There isn't the graphical interface which makes the RDES much more intuitive and easy to learn.

An XLR-RCA adapter has the same chance of inducing ground loop as RCA-RCA interface. All the adapter is doing is bypassing the balanced circuitry(which normally has the noise rejection ability as found on all pro gear, which is superior to that of unbalanced consumer gear).

The DCX has a graphical user display screen on the unit itself, and has graphical interface PC software, which is top notch.

The only issue(that has not been addressed) with the DCX, is that one may need to use a voltage divider on the output to some amplifier inputs, since the DCX has pro signal voltage output levels, and has a limited range of adjustment on the output trims.

-Chris

 

[jongaro]

i just don't see how having to go through test tones with a rat shack meter is easy regardless of how the GUI looks. I think Mark and company put out some amazing products for an amazing price, but not in this case. now if you guys made the arguement that the signal was less processed versus the sms-1 then i could see how you could justify it being comparable to the sms-1.

i'll say it again, minute adjustments can play a big role in flattening the freq curve. i'd rather fiddle with room placement and phasing before trying to cut or boost the signal at a specific frequency. given that we are all migrating to multiple subs these days, the sms-1 makes eq'ing multiple subs painless.

had the sms-1 not come out, i'd say the r-des is a great product, but it just isn't the case given the price.

 

[RMK!]

Clint and I thought about this when discussing the review but decided that while it is a great product it isn't really a direct competitor. Yes, it can do the same thing (and more) but it is really a pro audio product and isn't really marketed or targeted for the Home Theater user. You have to use an XLR to RCA cable which can introduce ground loop problems. There isn't the graphical interface which makes the RDES much more intuitive and easy to learn. I only know of one other product on the market like the RDES and that is the SMS-1. And it is cheaper than that so price is a plus. But it is harder to use than the SMS-1 so manual measurement process is a minus. It's all a balancing act.

We've discussed this before but price comparisons come from MSRP comparisons. I'm sure you can check Ebay for a reduced price RDES as well.

True an ebay price may not be a fair comparison but I would imagine that there are many more SMS-1's in the world than RDES's so availability through Audiogon or ebay is going to be much better. Personally, I would take a new SMS-1 over a new RDES at full list price. I would also consider discount/used sources but that is just my risk taker mentality .

 

[jongaro]

didn't see any R-DES on ebay but two SMS-1's for $499

 

[WmAx]

i just don't see how having to go through test tones with a rat shack meter is easy regardless of how the GUI looks. I think Mark and company put out some amazing products for an amazing price, but not in this case. now if you guys made the arguement that the signal was less processed versus the sms-1 then i could see how you could justify it being comparable to the sms-1.

i'll say it again, minute adjustments can play a big role in flattening the freq curve. i'd rather fiddle with room placement and phasing before trying to cut or boost the signal at a specific frequency. given that we are all migrating to multiple subs these days, the sms-1 makes eq'ing multiple subs painless.

I don' t know about painless, but a single DCX2496 can control up to 6 subs.

-Chris

 

[Nick250]

What do you want to know, specifically? Here is the product summary page:

http://www.behringer.com/DCX2496/index.cfm?lang=ENG

-Chris

Hey Chris, how about something like the FBQ800 for $50 for non professional home EQing a sub? Or is it necessary to go up the food chain to something like the DCX2496 for good results? This is new territory for me so it's very possible that I am totally misunderstanding the functioning of the two products.

http://www.behringer.com/FBQ800/index.cfm?lang=ENG

Nick