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Article: A New Listening Room Part Two: Acoustics, Speakers, DSP


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What a pleasant surprise reading this article. For the past year I have been toying with the idea of buying a little too large speaker for my office (already acoustically treated with GIK panels). I embarked on researching (and hearing) various hardware based DSP solutions, Anthem STR preamp, Linn Selekt DSM, Lyngdorf 2170, and Deqx (not heard). However, none of them really moved me like a non-DSP based preamp and amp combo that I heard and had to get.

 

Not sure how I got to this stage but I came across the Acourate DSP Software and the following book 

Barnett, Mitch. Accurate Sound Reproduction Using DSP. Kindle Edition.

 

I was excited to learn that I could use Roon, my computer, a rendu, and the non-dsp preamp and amp I preferred to tailor the speaker to fit into my smallish room. Now I come to this web site and read that the heavy hitters here are also touting the same path as me. This gives me a lot of confidence on what I am embarking on.

 

I have started to read this excellent book and a novice like me understands it so far. I need to buy some measuring tools next.

 

I will add the following info for the next guy/gal thinking of doing this:

 

My next step is to buy the following items to run the Acourate software. This will cost me $4K new.  There are other options to substantially lower the cost, I will spend a little more.

 

1) Earthworks M30 Omni Measurement Mic 
2) Millennia HV35P 1-ch Mic Preamp 
3) Lynx HiloUSB 12x16 A/D D/A Converter 
4) On-Stage Stands Mic Std Rnd
5) 3' Studio Mic Cable XLRF-XLRM 
6) 50' Studio Mic Cable XLRF-XLRM 

 

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5 hours ago, firedog said:

 

Sounds like a great plan. But I have a suggestion that you might be happy with and will save LOTS of money:

Try the UMIK-1 USB mic first and see what you think of the results.

 

It's simple, doesn't need a preamp, and is cheap. 

 

Most people - even with high end systems -  find it more than adequate. I had an Earthworks mic and didn't really feel the results using it were any better than with a simpler mic that had an individual calibration filter (the UMIK does). You can always add in the more expensive HW later, and the UMIK is very moderately priced, so the cost is trivial if you are playing in this arena. 

 

I did look at this mic ($75), the reason I did not select it was because I was reading to avoid USB mics for the Acurate software. However, for $75 I can try it given such a strong endorsement. I have not bought anything yet and I will contact the software designer before I buy anything. 

 

It is actually a little confusing as to what the designer is saying about USB mics,

https://www.audiovero.de/en/system-requirements.php#

 

Anyways, your suggestion will save me $2K.

 

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3 hours ago, mitchco said:

@yyz Agree with @firedog the UMIK-1 USB is great value being able to plug and play and not have to purchase a separate mic preamp and/or ADC. The accuracy of the mic is just fine for taking acoustic measurements.

 

One potential issue is clock rate offset and/or clock drift between the input (i.e. the USB mic with it's own clock) and the output (i.e. DAC). However, John Mulcahy has this fixed in the latest versions of REW. Bernt also has clock drift compensation in Audiolense 6.x and Uli has a special version of Acourate LogSweepRecorder that can be downloaded here for taking measurements with UMIK-1. In the case of Acourate, which uses ASIO, one will need to download Asio4All as well.

 

First of all let me thank you for your book, I like it. Thanks also for this detail set of instructions on the UMIK-1 USB. I think this alleviates my confusion about the synergy with the Acourate software and USB mics. I will finish reading your book to figure out what I need to do. Your statement that I may not need an ADC would be a massive saving for me. Whatever, the case I will learn something from your book and give your firm a call, most likely to fix my mistakes. Best way to learn is to make mistakes.

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@mitchco Seeing as you have the KEF LS50 and also your comparison of the KEF LS50 with the JBL, I am curious if you have tried the BACCH DSP system from Princeton?

https://www.audiostream.com/content/bacch4mac-3d-audio-playback-system

 

It is also very favorably reviewed by Soundstage.com a few times recently. They test out the $25k+ hardware version. There is a $5K MacMini software even slightly more powerful than the $25K-50K versions. They demo with KEF LS50's.

https://www.theoretica.us/bacch4mac/

 

It would be very interesting to hear your take on this new cutting edge tech.

 

I hope to buy the $5K MacMini variant in a few months and use in my second LS50 system.

 

 

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