Calibrating the other speakers (not just the sub)

1712 Views 2 Replies 3 Participants Last post by gsmollin, Oct 26, 2010

lovingdvd

Discussion Starter · Oct 26, 2010

Having had great success in the past using REW with my BFD and sub, I'm now wondering about the feasibility of using REW on the other speakers in my 5.1 set up.

My room is far from the ideal room acoustic-wise. I use the YPAO on my Yamaha receiver which helps. But I'm sure that if I had the right equalizer in front of my mains and surrounds, I could do even better.

Do I understand correctly that the BFD is not ideal for doing the mid and upper frequencies? If so, what type of reasonably priced equipment/equalizer could I add in front of my AVR to handle this. Then again, this may not even be possible because perhaps it has to be tweaked after the AVR input yet before the output. IOW perhaps I will need a different AVR?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on what is possible on a reasonable budget and whether some folks are doing this and if so, with what equipment and configuration? Thanks!

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Wayne A. Pflughaupt

· #2 · Oct 26, 2010

Do I understand correctly that the BFD is not ideal for doing the mid and upper frequencies? If so, what type of reasonably priced equipment/equalizer could I add in front of my AVR to handle this.

Correct, the BFD is not a good choice for EQing the main speakers. It’s extremely noisy, especially in the +4 gain position.

People here have reported success with digital equalizers such as the Behringer DCX and DEQ models (the former also incorporating speaker processing capabilities) and dbx Driverack products (pricey). That’s about the only current-model gear that comes to mind. If you don’t mind shopping used, there are great deals on first-class analog parametric EQs from Rane and Symetrix, and digital EQs such as Yamaha’s YDP2006 parametric and YDG2030 1/3-octave. See here for alternatives.

Then again, this may not even be possible because perhaps it has to be tweaked after the AVR input yet before the output. IOW perhaps I will need a different AVR?

Outboard equalizing of the main speakers is no different than the subs: The EQ is inserted in the signal chain between the receiver’s pre-outs and the amplifiers. If the receiver has no pre out/main in jacks, then outboard amplification is required as well. If you intend to outboard EQ all the main channels, it can run into some serious coin, even with used gear.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on what is possible on a reasonable budget and whether some folks are doing this and if so, with what equipment and configuration?

Spridle’s experiment

You can also find links with my thoughts on using the Yamaha YDP2006 at the link above.

Regards,
Wayne

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