Current Harman Room Curve

Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.
I don't think it is "one curve that rules them all"...

From my own experience, I've adjusted my speakers to my liking (by starting with some known curves, like B&K, another curve from Bob Katz and some different curves from JBL I came across). In the long run, I kept adjusting what I had over a long period of time. After quite a while of adjusting and zooming in on my own preferred curve I came across this particular group of curves as presented by Toole from their research on the subject:

attachment.php


Low and behold, the curve I ended up with by myself had a more than remarkable likeness to the "Trained Listeners" curve as presented in that graph.
It may not be an exact fit, but it's closer to my own "curve over time" than any of the other curves that I had seen. So now, whenever I (have to) start over, I just start with that curve (trained listeners) and I may tweak a few little things to make it all fall into place.

Earlier than the above discovery, I have talked a lot about curves in general on my thread about my speakers/room. I wasn't alone in my quest to find something useful. One of the people that responded more than once was diyaudio user: mitchba.
That's probably how that Toole curve came onto my radar.... ;)
Here's a nice article from Mitch, where he goes more in depth about things like this to give a little more insight in the reviews he does from time to time:

Dynaudio Focus 600 XD Loudspeaker Review - Reviews - Audiophile Style

In it you'll find a graph from Mitch's system compared to mine (Ronald) and even a picture of my setup. See how different they are from each other? Yet we both ended up with very similar curves. That article (and lots of the other reviews Mitch did) has a lot of background articles listed for a good read.

So this may not be the 'end of all curves' from JBL, but it does clearly show not all of us prefer the same things. By only looking at these results it becomes obvious there is definitely room for your own taste to play a role too.
It could depend on more than one factor, the speakers you use, or the room they are in but also personal preference... Take it as a starting point and go from there would be my advise.

A little disclaimer: Both Mitch and myself have worked on a 'controlled' setup within our room to get what we want. Meaning: early reflections have been avoided or treated to get more direct vs indirect sound at the listening spot. We both also use DSP to further optimize our results. Not the same software, but comparable.
 

Attachments

  • toolecurve.jpg
    toolecurve.jpg
    52.5 KB · Views: 953
Thanks Ronald! I also have a fairly controlled room. I use some ambient speakers, as you do, sitting atop my waveguides and pointing directly back at the front wall with digital delay.

Audyssey App lets me apply room curves quickly. I certainly prefer the sound of the JBL curve to flat. I'll do some more poking around your thread and articles my Mitch.

Best,
Shawn
 
Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.