Home Theater Systems - Electronics and Forum - HomeTheaterShack - View Single Post - My first REW -- please chime in
View Single Post
Old 10-10-07, 10:34 PM   #4 (Link)
 
brucek
Shack Administrator
Platinum Supporter
Alias: brucek
User: #6
Since: Apr 2006
Posts: 4,985
brucek is online now
Re: My first REW -- please chime in


Quote:
When you say "narrow filters could easily make things worse," specifically what are you referring to here and what is considered "narrow." I've already ordered some used Ranes PE 17s so I will at least give it a try.
Observe the peak at 700Hz or at 850Hz. You could easily apply a filter to those peaks and render them flat. That flat response will only be valid at that exact position where you measured because the bandwidth of those peaks is so narrow. A small positional change and those peaks may have been dips and so the filter you are applying to them will result in a greater dip. You're making things worse.

This is not the case with low frequencies where the dips and peaks are caused by room modes, and the wavelengths compared to the room dimensions are large enough that primary reflections from the walls, floor and ceilings of the room arrive at the listening position with a phase shift of much less than a cycle. These peaks respond very well to equalization, and over a larger listening area than higher frrequency peaks.

I know the Rane has good specs, but equalization at higher frequencies should be limited to broadly affecting large areas (like a tone control) and not for removing narrow peaks (i.e. the one at 700Hz or 850Hz in your plot).

Quote:
I've read all sorts of things about this and house curves, but I'm totally confused.
In a nutshell, we hear poorly at low frequencies. A flat response may look nice on paper, but you don't hear 30Hz at the same level you hear 500Hz (and that response gets worse as the SPL level drops). Experience has shown that people like the bass boosted at lower frequencies. Different rooms require different boosts.

Quote:
One problem I know I have is that my speakers are not far enough apart
If those are your speakers 'in the wall' in that picture, you couldn't have them in a worse spot. Mains speakers need room. They need space all around them. Several feet would be nice. I suspect that's not possible...

Quote:
attached is LF waterfall plot.
Don't extend the horizontal axis past ~500Hz.

brucek


Forum Rules Reply With Quote