AVS Forum banner
38K views 49 replies 25 participants last post by  AustinJerry 
#1 · (Edited)
Note: Because AVS no longer supports the use of the Internet Explorer browser, some images in these posts may no longer be visible. All images should be visible using the Edge browser, and most other browsers. Safari on iOS devices may also have trouble displaying images, but the Chrome browser on iOS displays everything properly.

The purpose of this thread is to document my listening room, equipment, and the listening room's audio performance. It is not intended for feedback, although if you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them.

Equipment List

Listening Room Layout and Pictures

Note: Layout is not to scale.

Slope Rectangle Plot Triangle Font


My listening room in 3D (diagram courtesy of Roger Dressler). Note: Height and Wide speakers have since been removed since converting to Dirac Live.

Rectangle House Font Magenta Ceiling


Furniture Building Property Television Window


Property Furniture Couch Table Window




Window blind Window Wood Shelf Shelving


Window Window blind Vehicle Automotive design Audio equipment










Property Window Fixture Building Window blind


Window Building Fixture Shade Lighting


Wood Propeller Material property Shade Ceiling fan


Rectangle Wood Grey Flooring Wall


Property Building Wood Fixture Interior design


Flooring Floor Tints and shades Wood Asphalt


Wood Rectangle Grey Audio equipment Hardwood


Wood Interior design Vehicle Flooring Floor


Building Shade Wood Window blind Lamp


Furniture Black Window Fixture Wood


Building Table Wood Shade Lamp


Wood Lighting Rectangle Grey Flooring



Room Treatments:

2'x4' Bass Traps (23 total, 4 RealTraps Mini-Traps, 17 GIK 244 Bass Traps, 2 GIK Monster Bass Traps)
2'x4' Full-Spectrum wall panels (2 total, GIK 242 Panels)
 
See less See more
19
#2 · (Edited)
Equipment List

Speakers (7.1 configuration) - see attachment

Monolith HTP-1 Processor with Dirac Live and Dirac Live Bass Control
ATI AT527NC 7-channel Class D Power Amp
Oppo UDP-203 UHD/HDR
DirecTV HR-54 Genie w/2TB eSATA SSD drive
AppleTV 4K
Sony XBR75Z9F UHD/HDR/DV Flat Panel with AutoCal
MediaLight Quad 6500K Bias Lighting
SpectraCal C6 HDR2000 Colorimeter
Sanus LL22-B1 wall mount
Sonos Port with Wyred4Sound Modification (Port Mod)
CMX-6 Power Distribution System
APC UPS

Speaker list:

Text Font Line Number Parallel


How I spent my AV budget - see attachment

3066395
 
#3 · (Edited)
Room Response Characteristics (updated August 6, 2018)
 
Measured using REW 5.019 beta 11, UMIK-1 USB mic.  Noise floor measured using RTA is 50dB.

Room correction is Dirac Live using MiniDSP DDRC-88A with bass management plug-in.























The screenshots below are from the Dirac Live Configuration Tool, and show the measured "average before" speaker responses, the Dirac custom target curve, and the calculated "average after" speaker responses. The custom target curve features a 6.5dB bass boost, the shape of which is suggested in a white paper authored by Sean Olive, Todd Welti, and Elisabeth McMullin titled “Listener Preferences for In-Room Loudspeaker and Headphone Target Responses”, dated October 2013, available for downloading here.













 
 
#4 · (Edited)
Analysis - Benefits of Multiple Subwoofers

The purpose of this post is to show the interaction of multiple subs in the listening environment, and how careful placement and tuning can result in a significant improvement in bass response. The subs used in this analysis are four Hsu Research ULS-15 sealed subs. The subs are placed in the listening room as per the diagram in the first post in this thread. The two front subs are at the 1/4 and 3/4 spots along the front wall, and the two rear subs are collocated at approximately the center of the back wall. All four subs are gain-matched. A single output from a Marantz 8802A is used, connected to the Sub input on a MiniDSP 88A. The single sub output of the 88A is connected to one input on a MiniDSP 2x4, and the four subs are connected to the 2x4 outputs. The 2x4 is currently only providing time-alignment (no DSP). The layout is per this diagram:


Update April 2021: Since this discussion was originally presented, I have replaced the Marantz 8802a+MiniDSP 88a setup with a single device, the Monolith HTP-1, which is also a Dirac Live processor. The HTP-1 processor was initially implemented with the same sub configuration--using a single sub output feeding a MiniDSP 2x4 for sub consolidation. Subsequently, the release of Dirac Live Bass Control allowed the MiniDSP 2x4 to be replaced with full bass control and consolidation with Dirac Live in the HTP-1. However, the conclusion reached in this discussion, i.e. that more subs are better than one, has not changed, and the original measurements have stayed essentially the same.

The measurement of the subs independent of each other, and as front and rear pairs, reveals that the in-room response (without room correction) is not very smooth.

Individual subs:









Sub Pairs:





However, when all fours subs are driven at the same time, we start to see advantages in the summed response:



Using the four-sub combined response as input to REW's EQ tool, the response can be improved by applying PEQ in the MiniDSP 2x4 prior to running automated room correction:



After PEQ has been applied, the REW measurement shows a significant improvement, which will make it easier for automated room correction.



And Dirac Live room correction puts the final smoothing on the response:



And finally, combined response including center channel:



This analysis clearly shows the benefits of multiple subs in the listening environment.

To add some historical perspective, here is what the bass response looked like in October 2011, when I had only two subs, and no bass treatments in the listening room.


As you can see, it has been a long journey, and a successful one.

What about other steps to improve subwoofer response, i.e. time-alignment and polarity matching? The following link will provide an overview of these two topics:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3yy0uay0u...time alignment and polarity matching.pdf?dl=1
 
#5 · (Edited)
Power Distribution

My listening room has two 20 Amp electrical circuits. Recently, I spent some time re-balancing the distribution of my equipment across the two circuits. Here is what I came up with:

Circuit 1

ATI 7-channel Class D power amp
MiniDSP 2x4
Apple TV 4K
Oppo UDP-203
Sonos Port

Circuit 2

HSU ULS-15 Subwoofers (4)
APC UPS, Protecting the following equipment:
  • Monolith HTP-1 Processor
  • DirecTV HR54-700 DVR
  • e-SATA Hard Drive for the DVR
  • Sony XBR75X940D flat panel
 
#6 · (Edited)
Sony TV Autocalibration

In December, 2018, I added a Sony Master Series XBR75Z9F LED display to my setup. This is the first Sony TV to support SpectraCal's autocalibration using CalMAN software.

For the autocalibration, I purchased the SpectraCal C6 HDR2000 meter and CalMAN Home Enthusiast software. On the display, I downloaded the "CalMAN for Bravia" app from the Google Play store. This app communicates with CalMAN over the wireless network and facilitates "Direct Display Control", which allows CalMAN to directly adjust display settings. For the calibration, the test patterns were generated by the CalMAN software running on a Windows laptop with Intel graphics, connected to the display using an HDMI cable.

At the beginning of the autocalibration workflow, a "Pre-Calibration" measurement was taken:



After the autocalibration was complete, a "Post-Calibration" measurement was taken:




As the measurements show, the autocalibration results are excellent!
 
#9 ·
Hi Jerry,


Just curious, why do you have the L/R at +/- 45 degrees? That's pretty wide (usually 30 is plenty). Considering you also have wide speakers (at +/- 65) it does not seem you'd be lacking for width cues.
 
#10 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roger Dressler  /t/1495869/austinjerrys-set-up/0_20#post_23969431


Hi Jerry,


Just curious, why do you have the L/R at +/- 45 degrees? That's pretty wide (usually 30 is plenty). Considering you also have wide speakers (at +/- 65) it does not seem you'd be lacking for width cues.
 

Roger,

 

 

Perhaps you are miss-interpreting my drawing.

 



 

The front speakers are at an angle of 27.3 degrees, and the Wides are at an angle of 51.2 degrees, which is actually a narrower angle than the recommendation.
 
#11 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by AustinJerry  /t/1495869/austinjerrys-set-up#post_23969840


Roger,


Perhaps you are miss-interpreting my drawing.
Oops, yes, I did not notice the angles! I just plopped it into Corel and measured them. The drawing is, as they say, "not to scale."



Sorry for my confusion.
 
#12 ·

No harm done.  It is just a PowerPoint drawing, so no way to draw it to scale.  I used to use AutoCAD when I was working, but don't want to spend the money for a personal license.  If you know of a good consumer-class (read:  inexpensive or free) CAD program, I would welcome the recommendation.  In the meantime, I determine angles by using a spreadsheet that calculates the angles from the distances of the legs of the triangle.
 
#13 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by AustinJerry  /t/1495869/austinjerrys-set-up#post_23970440


No harm done.  It is just a PowerPoint drawing, so no way to draw it to scale.  I used to use AutoCAD when I was working, but don't want to spend the money for a personal license.  If you know of a good consumer-class (read:  inexpensive or free) CAD program, I would welcome the recommendation.  In the meantime, I determine angles by using a spreadsheet that calculates the angles from the distances of the legs of the triangle.
If you like to have the option for 3D rendering, try SweetHome3D . I found it much easier than Sketchup.

 
#14 ·
Here's your room translated to SweetHome3D




The project's file:
Jerrys Room.zip 144k .zip file
 

Attachments

#17 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roger Dressler  /t/1495869/austinjerrys-set-up#post_23976586


Here's your room translated to SweetHome3D




The project's file:
Jerrys Room.zip 144k .zip file
Quote:
Originally Posted by AustinJerry  /t/1495869/austinjerrys-set-up#post_23977171


Wow, I am impressed.  I need to download that software.  Thanks!

I am IMPRESSED as well!!! Sweet, indeed!
 
#20 ·
Great Looking (& sounding ) room, came here from the link in your sig & your suggestion in the REW thread about a month ago - trying to get caught up as we speak so I may join the discussion.. just started measuring a few weeks ago after a lot of lurking & learning..
 
#22 ·
Great setup and seeing those graphs is very helpful and encouraging. Nice to see such good response after all the hard work you put in.


Big thanks for recommending the sweethome3d program... what great software. I was able to model the before and after of my room in no time. So much better than google sketch. Thanks again.
 
#24 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roger Dressler  /t/1495869/austinjerrys-set-up#post_23971093


If you like to have the option for 3D rendering, try SweetHome3D . I found it much easier than Sketchup.


Going to have to try this software as I have gotten some comments about my build thread not having a layout. Thanks!
 
#27 ·
Beautiful set up.

I was wondering if you might be able to share your process in choosing acoustic treatments. I am in the early stages of planning acoustic treatments, and am trying to figure out what I need.

Did you try to place as many bass traps as you could, given that you have 4 potent subs, or did you follow the REW measurements, or something else?
 
#28 ·
Treatments accomplish two things--they reduce bass resonance, and they tame reflections in the spectral region. The guidelines for treatments to control bass resonance are to 1) choose treatments designed specifically for the longer hass frequencies (which are generally thicker), and 2) to place the treatments in the most effective locations, at the intersection of multiple surfaces, e,g. room corners, wall to ceiling, etc. Also, the more traps, the more effective the resonance control.

Treatments for spectral reflections are different. The treatments themselves must be full-spectrum treatments, and they are placed at spots specifically associated with reflections. You can analyze room reflections using the REW ETC measurement.

There are threads here on AVS that provide more specific guidance on effective room treatment.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top