Using RTA for Car Audio

[ecwl]

For a few years, I have been using my iPhone AudioTools app as a real-time analyzer for my car audio to measure the frequency response so that I can tune the Bass Boost and Treble settings to achieve a grossly reasonably ideal frequency response curve.

 

I was wondering if most people on this site do this or am I an obsessive-compulsive outlier?

I have to admit most people I know don't do this and think I'm being a bit excessive. At most, they might tune their car system by ear. But to me, if there is anything unequivocally Objective-Fi, that would be these simple settings to optimize the sound?

[cjf]

On 1/13/2022 at 1:15 PM, ecwl said:

For a few years, I have been using my iPhone AudioTools app as a real-time analyzer for my car audio to measure the frequency response so that I can tune the Bass Boost and Treble settings to achieve a grossly reasonably ideal frequency response curve.

 

I was wondering if most people on this site do this or am I an obsessive-compulsive outlier?

I have to admit most people I know don't do this and think I'm being a bit excessive. At most, they might tune their car system by ear. But to me, if there is anything unequivocally Objective-Fi, that would be these simple settings to optimize the sound?

Anything worth doing is probably worth over doing. Why not run a 100ft balanced XLR cable out to the vehicle using your room measurement MIC fed into REW and give the car audio the royal tuning treatment? 😀

 

Back in the day I was pretty big into car audio but these days I've lost the motivation to get back into it. This is likely due to me still licking my wounds thinking about the money spent/lost in pursuing the ideal sound in a less than ideal listening environment. I do still have much of the equipment available to pursue it again but I'm afraid the dust and grunge build up that has accumulated on the components would like be a fire risk if I were to try and feed it an electrical signal these days.

 

I've settled on now just basking in the sound created by my high revving Coyote V8 with full aftermarket exhaust, E85 tune and CAI.

 

But it seems like your approach is a nice compromise in making the best of what you have without going full out.

[NOMBEDES]

Car Audio. Why bother?  Unless you are rolling a Bentley, or such like, road noise and other external distractions will erase any improvements you strive for.  Just my opinion, enjoy your hobby - if you think it is worth the effort, go for it.

[Ghoostknight]

On 1/13/2022 at 9:15 PM, ecwl said:

For a few years, I have been using my iPhone AudioTools app as a real-time analyzer for my car audio to measure the frequency response so that I can tune the Bass Boost and Treble settings to achieve a grossly reasonably ideal frequency response curve.

 

I was wondering if most people on this site do this or am I an obsessive-compulsive outlier?

I have to admit most people I know don't do this and think I'm being a bit excessive. At most, they might tune their car system by ear. But to me, if there is anything unequivocally Objective-Fi, that would be these simple settings to optimize the sound?

Even if some people think "room" correction is bad or just dont bother to do it, since i own my studio montors as "hifi-setup" i know how important linear frequency response is to get the music sound like it "should", most opinions about this just come from a more "pleasent" but "untrue" mid hump for example

(tho i still attentuate highs 4k-20k by 2db myself, because it just is more fatiquing, specially in long "sessions" but i also noticed that the more you optimize usb cables for example the less attentuated highs are needed for that (i started with 3-4db))

 

and while its possible todo it somewhat per ear (tho you kinda -always- tend to overshoot the true linear response with that) a measurement mic is the nonplusultra for that, specially non-audiophiles tend to idk, boost mids to +5-10db?! for example (and SPECIALLY bass...) which is just colored af in the end

 

i will also get next month a umik-1 to do room correction with camillaDSP :)