Active/Room Equalization

sdclc126 · 24th January 2005, 04:59 PM

I referred to this in my previous thread, but decided to start a new one on this subject by itself...

I am interested in "active", or room equalization of loudspeakers, where the EQ has a mic & pink noise generator. Active may not be the correct term as I believe it referrs only to EQs between the source and the amps, but I guess it's active in that it (potentially) allows a greater degree of correction when one includes room modes as part of the sound experience, which I guess one should!

Anyway, anybody have this? Any kits out there or mid-priced units you might recommend? Again, I'm not looking for high end, just something that gets the job done.

An addendum - if equalizers, with enough bands, can balance a speaker's hills and valleys in frequency response, would this be an acceptable approach, in terms of simplicity, as opposed to doing all kinds of tests trying to build the ideal passive (or active?) crossover design? Isn't this (among other things) what EQs are for?

tiroth · 24th January 2005, 05:37 PM

The usual cheap suggestion would be DEQ2496.

Room EQ in no way replaces crossover design. If there are nulls in the crossover no amount of EQ can correct them. What it can do is make the crossover designer's job easier; for instance, a design I worked in had a deep off-axis null. I could significantly reduce this null by changing the crossover, but I got a ~3dB bump at another point as a result. This bump can be corrected by EQ, whereas the null could not, so the tradeoff was worth it.

As with everything else in audio, you must optimize the entire system for best performance.

A popular way of killing two birds with one stone is the DCX2496, which has both crossover and limited EQ functionality.

sdclc126 · 24th January 2005, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tiroth
The usual cheap suggestion would be DEQ2496.

Room EQ in no way replaces crossover design. If there are nulls in the crossover no amount of EQ can correct them. What it can do is make the crossover designer's job easier; for instance, a design I worked in had a deep off-axis null. I could significantly reduce this null by changing the crossover, but I got a ~3dB bump at another point as a result. This bump can be corrected by EQ, whereas the null could not, so the tradeoff was worth it.

As with everything else in audio, you must optimize the entire system for best performance.

A popular way of killing two birds with one stone is the DCX2496, which has both crossover and limited EQ functionality.

Yes, this is another product I'm considering - but again, I'm an XO novice - what is a "null"? And what is "off axis"?

bzdang · 24th January 2005, 08:34 PM

Hopefully helpful - dig in !

http://www.rane.com/library.html

This drinking-fountain of knowledge [wwweb] can sometimes seem like a fire hose

sdclc126 · 24th January 2005, 08:48 PM

More OOOOOH! AAAAAAH! factor! Didn't know there was so much out there - thanks!

ScottG · 24th January 2005, 09:01 PM

http://drc.wildgooses.com/index.php/Main_Page

pinkmouse · 24th January 2005, 09:13 PM

I prefer to look after time domain problems with room treatment, a few well placed bookshelves, rugs and items of soft furnishing can make all the difference, without spending more money that could better be spent on music.

24th January 2005, 04:59 PM	#1
sdclc126 diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: San Diego, CA	Active/Room Equalization I referred to this in my previous thread, but decided to start a new one on this subject by itself... I am interested in "active", or room equalization of loudspeakers, where the EQ has a mic & pink noise generator. Active may not be the correct term as I believe it referrs only to EQs between the source and the amps, but I guess it's active in that it (potentially) allows a greater degree of correction when one includes room modes as part of the sound experience, which I guess one should! Anyway, anybody have this? Any kits out there or mid-priced units you might recommend? Again, I'm not looking for high end, just something that gets the job done. An addendum - if equalizers, with enough bands, can balance a speaker's hills and valleys in frequency response, would this be an acceptable approach, in terms of simplicity, as opposed to doing all kinds of tests trying to build the ideal passive (or active?) crossover design? Isn't this (among other things) what EQs are for? __________________ Soft Dome

24th January 2005, 08:34 PM	#4
bzdang diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Pickering, Ontario	Hopefully helpful - dig in ! http://www.rane.com/library.html This drinking-fountain of knowledge [wwweb] can sometimes seem like a fire hose __________________ Benford's law of controversy - Passion is inversely proportional to the amount of real information available.

24th January 2005, 08:48 PM	#5
sdclc126 diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: San Diego, CA	Rane... More OOOOOH! AAAAAAH! factor! Didn't know there was so much out there - thanks! __________________ Soft Dome

24th January 2005, 09:01 PM	#6
ScottG diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: US	http://drc.wildgooses.com/index.php/Main_Page __________________ perspective is everything

24th January 2005, 09:13 PM	#7
pinkmouse diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Chatham, England	I prefer to look after time domain problems with room treatment, a few well placed bookshelves, rugs and items of soft furnishing can make all the difference, without spending more money that could better be spent on music. __________________ Al I conceive of nothing, in religion, science or philosophy, that is more than the proper thing to wear, for a while. Charles Fort


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24th January 2005, 05:37 PM	#2
tiroth diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA	The usual cheap suggestion would be DEQ2496. Room EQ in no way replaces crossover design. If there are nulls in the crossover no amount of EQ can correct them. What it can do is make the crossover designer's job easier; for instance, a design I worked in had a deep off-axis null. I could significantly reduce this null by changing the crossover, but I got a ~3dB bump at another point as a result. This bump can be corrected by EQ, whereas the null could not, so the tradeoff was worth it. As with everything else in audio, you must optimize the entire system for best performance. A popular way of killing two birds with one stone is the DCX2496, which has both crossover and limited EQ functionality.

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