CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

perisoft · Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 2920 Location: Ithaca, NY

So, my fight with a couple of hardware equalizers has ended up with nasty slider problems that make my sound awful. It'll require some messing with to fix it all.

First, I was trying to find a software 5.1 equalizer that would hook windows output so anything I played would be EQ'd correctly. There are lots of windows equalizers... but none that do anything but stereo, that I can find. Evil or Very Mad

In my wanderings, I found out that Windows 7 has built in room correction - which, by nature, handles per-channel EQ as well as reflections.

Has anyone used it? Is it any good? It's always seemed to me that room correction ends up with things sounding bizarre and squishy, but maybe things are different now - or maybe the built-in type stuff I've heard is just crap. I haven't used one that uses a mic to do the calibration, for instance - just stuff that makes assumptions based on room size and speaker placement.

So: Has anyone used the Win7 version? Any other versions?

Some of them just make some filter you have to apply to your files, which is pretty useless. But apparently there are also directshow things that hook in and run the filters... I'm not sure exactly what's useful and what isn't. Advice appreciated!

CRT_Ben · Joined: 28 Aug 2006 Posts: 1684 Location: Northern Virginia

I know almost nothing about this, but I came across this site a week or two ago and I bookmarked it for future reading:

http://www.duffroomcorrection.com/wiki/Main_Page

Hope it's what you're looking for!

perisoft · Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 2920 Location: Ithaca, NY

CRT_Ben · Joined: 28 Aug 2006 Posts: 1684 Location: Northern Virginia

akajester · Joined: 09 Jul 2008 Posts: 934 Location: Wisconsin

I've never heard of this in windows 7. I'd like to know more. Do you have a link to your findings?

thanks!

dale

akajester · Joined: 09 Jul 2008 Posts: 934 Location: Wisconsin

A dj friend of mine uses Breakaway Audio equalizer and it's really nice. I have a feeling it's stereo only though.

greg_mitch · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 5321

Found this with a google search over at the A site.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1168448

It actually references Windows Vista features I think...

Here is the information from the Windows Blog original referenced in the A site thread:

http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/archive/b/windowsvista/archive/2006/08/24/450038.aspx

ecrabb · Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 12:25 am Post subject:

I realize that blog post from Microsoft is about four years old, and that Windows was doing with room correction was pretty nice compared to what most AVR's had at the time, which was mostly just level-matching. But, that was four years ago. Now, I can't see how it's comparable to what you'd get from even an entry-level AVR from Onkyo or Denon with Audyssey 2EQ. I mean, an Onkyo HT-RC260 is $330 at Amazon. I know $330 isn't exactly chump change, but is it really worth all the hassle anymore screwing around with this plugin, that codec, this driver, that application, this piece of open source software, that filter, this utility, that script... And on and on and on and on?

SC

perisoft · Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 2920 Location: Ithaca, NY

akajester · Joined: 09 Jul 2008 Posts: 934 Location: Wisconsin

wow, I had no idea that windows had this type of correction built in. I'm curious to try it out and see what it can do! Thanks for the info. It doesn't cost me anything (but time) to try it out. Smile

perisoft · Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 2920 Location: Ithaca, NY

perisoft · Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 2920 Location: Ithaca, NY

And here's another question to audio guys: I've got a relatively beefy - but old (2001 or so) - Technics AVR. It's rated at 100WPC RMS and can drive the two front 12" Cerwin Vegas fairly cleanly probably 5db past the "f*ck this is loud" point.

Right now I use it only for the fronts, and use different amps for the center / surrounds, going on the theory that loading each amp less will result in better quality for each pair of speakers. (It also lets me set levels independently more easily, and do analog EQ).

Would shifting the center/surround load back to the technics (so I can use digital output and thus gain access to apparently digital-only DRC) significantly affect the THD / etc on the other channels? I'm running a full range front but smaller (2x4" but 100-watt-handling) surrounds.

The counter-argument, of course, is that the quality of the amps I'm using for the center/surrounds may be worse than the hit I'd take for stretching the technics, even if I did take a hit... I'm using some random Sony for the center and another random Sony for the surrounds (though those just tend to play reverb, echoes and "shhhh" and "zing" anyway).

Thoughts?

Francesco · Joined: 08 Jul 2010 Posts: 64 Location: Italy

You can look at this thread in the hometheatershack forum: http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/rew-forum/7347-using-convolver-universally-htpc.html
I think you'll need a new soundcard (you'll need directwire-capable drivers).

This is the way I'll try to go when I'll build my htpc.

MikeEby · Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Posts: 5238 Location: Osceola, Indiana

From what I gathered you need at least a Microphone for calibration. This is the one everybody seems to recommend.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000HT4RSA/curtpalmecrtp-20

You also need a Pre-amp/Power Supply this USB one is pretty cool.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000VZ8WC2/curtpalmecrtp-20

I've always wanted to try this myself. But I have about 20% loss of hearing in one ear and fairly bad Tinnitus so I question if it's worth the time to doing a top notch audio calibration. I've also never seen a simple guide that walks you though all the steps...All the information seems very convoluted and hard to follow.

Mike

Francesco · Joined: 08 Jul 2010 Posts: 64 Location: Italy

I have a behringer xenyx 502 mixer with phantom power: it's cheap and works well. My mic is a ECM8000, it's behringer too.

MikeEby · Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Posts: 5238 Location: Osceola, Indiana

If you using ReClock as your audio render you need to not use WASAPI exclusive mode...Because it bypass the Windows Mixer. I also assume you need to use Analog out, I don't think SPDIF will work...I'm not sure about that, is that what you mean by direct wire Francesco? Your link doesn't seem to work for me.

Mike

Francesco · Joined: 08 Jul 2010 Posts: 64 Location: Italy

Hi Mike
Directwire is a feature of ESI drivers (available only to ESI and AudioTrak soundcards afaik) which allows you to route audio streams between different applications. This enables a world of possibilities, like routing audio signal from multimedia players (ie. WMP) to plugins like equalizers, bass managers, filters and so on. Think of it like an Audissey system embedded in your HTPC, totally configurable according to your needs. This is no easy set-up, but results seem to be wonderful.
You'll need to measure your room's response to each system channel (main speakers, center, etc etc), create the appropriate filters and then put those filters "between your player and the soundcard's analog outs" and this is where directwire comes into play... excuse my english, I hope you understand what I mean.
You can't do this with all soundcards, so I'll buy an AudioTrak 7.1 Hi-Fi which has analog outs and directwire drivers.

Hope this is of some interest... for me it's a great feature.

Bye
Francesco

PS I fixed the link, take a look at those before-after graphs!

pedcam1356 · Joined: 01 Aug 2015 Posts: 1

HI Im NEW HERE just wanted to ask since its very hard to keep it enabled the room correction software from Microsoft is there any other program that does the same thing i had it once and never heard surround better