SVS AS-EQ1 vs Velo SMS-1

[gene]

Just to pipe in here as I have tons of experience with Audyssey and currently writing a multi subwoofer calibration article that utilizes Audyssey as a last and final step for calibration.

Don't believe the before and after graphs generated by Audyssey. They are entirely theoretical and have little basis in reality. Plus they are at best 1 octave resolution to give you a pretty picture.

If you are serious about proper calibration, then you need an external RTA or FFT analyzer. The Velodyne SMS-1 graphical output is also nothing more than a light show as it is only 1/3 octave resolution.

You need at least 1/12th octave resolution to do any meaningful tweaking.

 

[Franin]

Just to pipe in here as I have tons of experience with Audyssey and currently writing a multi subwoofer calibration article that utilizes Audyssey as a last and final step for calibration.

Don't believe the before and after graphs generated by Audyssey. They are entirely theoretical and have little basis in reality. Plus they are at best 1 octave resolution to give you a pretty picture.

If you are serious about proper calibration, then you need an external RTA or FFT analyzer. The Velodyne SMS-1 graphical output is also nothing more than a light show as it is only 1/3 octave resolution.

You need at least 1/12th octave resolution to do any meaningful tweaking.

If these graphs arent true and have little basis in reality and as you say give you a "pretty picture" than really what good is audyssey, really! Thats what im trying to understand, I Spent $1200AU on this unit and to know thats these dont give you a proper calibration is quite disheartening. I have noticed the audio change but if its not proper calibration what exactly is? I noticed your saying RTA or FFT analysers as proper calibration tools is there any you recommend? I know of sencore when I had my room HAA calibrated. I guess you can dismiss audyssey all together if you obtain these tools or use audyssey as icing on the cake.

 

[Franin]

Audyssey is not just a "real basic EQ system" but it is clearly the easiest to use system. As Warp said it is most effective when multiple positions are measured as it takes all of those locations into consideration when applying its signal processing.

As Mike stated, the After graph is a result of multiple locations being measured and so this graph has to be theoretical. There is no question that Audyssey affects the FR and sound. If you are happy with the results thats all that matters.

I was happy with the results rmk but I did find one sub working harder than the other. So im going to go Dual discrete and give that a go. Didnt realise there was a seperate thread for it so will post in there.

 

[gene]

If these graphs arent true and have little basis in reality and as you say give you a "pretty picture" than really what good is audyssey, really! Thats what im trying to understand, I Spent $1200AU on this unit and to know thats these dont give you a proper calibration is quite disheartening. I have noticed the audio change but if its not proper calibration what exactly is? I noticed your saying RTA or FFT analysers as proper calibration tools is there any you recommend? I know of sencore when I had my room HAA calibrated. I guess you can dismiss audyssey all together if you obtain these tools or use audyssey as icing on the cake.

I am NOT dismissing the merits of Audyssey. I use it myself. All I am trying to tell people is NOT to take their printouts as any reality of what is really happening in your room. These are NOT in-room measurements before and after. They are theoretical before/after results. Only advanced users should go back and tweak the settings assuming they have the proper measuring tools to do so and only if they understand what they are doing. Anything with less that 1/12th octave resolution is pretty useless for doing that task. I have had excellent results with Audyssey that have often required little tweaking to improve the response. It all depends on the room, the speakers and how everything is configured.

I realize its hard on everyone'ss eyes to see bumpy graphs but if your seeing something overly smooth just realize its there as a comfort tool but its not a very accurate representation of what is going on in your room. Stay tuned for the article I am writing on this very topic.

Also check out our SMS-1 review where we discussed that the graphical readout Velodyne provides is 1/3 octave smoothed.

 

[Franin]

I am NOT dismissing the merits of Audyssey. I use it myself. All I am trying to tell people is NOT to take their printouts as any reality of what is really happening in your room. These are NOT in-room measurements before and after. They are theoretical before/after results. Only advanced users should go back and tweak the settings assuming they have the proper measuring tools to do so and only if they understand what they are doing. Anything with less that 1/12th octave resolution is pretty useless for doing that task. I have had excellent results with Audyssey that have often required little tweaking to improve the response. It all depends on the room, the speakers and how everything is configured.

I realize its hard on everyone'ss eyes to see bumpy graphs but if your seeing something overly smooth just realize its there as a comfort tool but its not a very accurate representation of what is going on in your room. Stay tuned for the article I am writing on this very topic.

Also check out our SMS-1 review where we discussed that the graphical readout Velodyne provides is 1/3 octave smoothed.

personally Id rather have seen the bumpy graph to give me a better idea what my room is doing.

 

[gene]

personally Id rather have seen the bumpy graph to give me a better idea what my room is doing.

Most consumers can't handle a bumpy graph nor do they know how to read it. They want a smooth curve to make them feel all warm and fuzzy. I like to feel like that too but there are better ways to get that feeling

 

[Franin]

Most consumers can't handle a bumpy graph nor do they know how to read it. They want a smooth curve to make them feel all warm and fuzzy. I like to feel like that too but there are better ways to get that feeling

that's true