Using a HTPC and a receiver with 5.1 channel analog inputs vs. a miniDSP

[aweir]

I would like to have a more granular control over my room EQ than what my Yamaha 5.1 channel receiver with YPAO can provide. It only has a 7 band graphic equalizer which doesn't EQ lower than 63Hz (come on Yamaha, what are you thinking?) I have plenty of options. I could upgrade the receiver to one with Audyssey that has EQ down to 20HZ.

I also have a Dayton subwoofer amp with parametric EQ but no way to measure it. I could purchase a calibrated microphone and manually adjust the EQ of the sub manually, or purchase a miniDSP 2x4 and plugin, which IMO would be a bit overkill for just a sub especially since it already has parametric EQ.

So I was thinking of using a PC as my HTPC and using parametric EQ software (such as Equalizer APO) but I'm not sure if it can EQ all 5.1 channels independently and have global EQ when watching Bluray movies or Netflix ect.

Here is a list of VST plugins. https://bedroomproducersblog.com/2011/03/03/bpb-freeware-studio-best-free-parametric-equalizer-vst-plugins/ It would be nice to be able to EQ each channel independently. I see no reason to purchase a miniDSP just the my sub, but there is also the higher end miniDSP which I can't really afford, so the cheapest option for me is software EQ on a HTPC.

 

[rojo]

So I was thinking of using a PC as my HTPC and using parametric EQ software (such as Equalizer APO) but I'm not sure if it can EQ all 5.1 channels independently and have global EQ when watching Bluray movies or Netflix ect.

Yep. See the Equalizer APO documentation. Just have the global EQ first in your config file, then add "Channel: 4" to apply subwoofer-specific EQ. Or you can explicitly declare all channels, whichever you prefer. You can also do neat stuff like delays to time-align each channel to your listening position. If you want different EQ for BluRay than for Netflix, you can have multiple config files and use the include directive within config.txt to choose which config you want active. Or if you want to get fancy, use If / ElseIf / Else / EndIf to define your desired correction based on input channel count or sample rate, since your BluRay drive is probably multichannel, whereas Netflix through a browser is stereo. Buy yourself a calibrated mic and get to measuring.

The only benefit to a miniDSP would be if you use sources other than your PC, which is no small thing to consider. If your only source is now and will only ever be a PC, then Equalizer APO and a measurement mic ought to be all you need. If you do plan to use a console BluRay player, a Roku, and other dedicated sources while using your PC as an audio preprocessor, I'm afraid I don't have any experience with that.

 

[aweir]

I found out that it is not possible to use Equalizer APO with Netflix because it will "break the secure audio path". Apparently DRM has something to do with not being able to use audio processing objects. If I can't get it working with all 5.1 channels, then I plan to use my PC in between my receiver and subwoofer amplifier to at least equalize the sub using the line input of the PC from the receiver, then connect the Sub/center output to the subwoofer amp. I don't see why this wouldn't work.

Receiver's subwoofer pre out->Line input of PC->Equalizer APO->subwoofer/center output->subwoofer amplifier.