Measurements, EQ, and what we actually hear

[James]

I've looked at a lot of stuff about REW, but most of it seems very hard to understand.

Just now I found a very good basic guide on getting a minidsp UMIK set up with REW, and how to get started measuring - in case anybody else might find it helpful:

UMIK-1/2 setup with REW (minidsp.com)

Unfortunately it stops there, and I haven't found a comparable guide on how to then use REW to generate corrective eq curves (and which curve would be the most accurate/neutral).

Since my set-up is old, simple 2-channel, I could set the corrections manually on the Behringer after that.

I found something from somebody who had a PhD in Physiological Acoustics that he had a hard time understanding and using REW - that made me feel a bit better about my trouble with that.

[James]

Our local library has a recording studio, which is pretty cool, and you can hire an engineer.

Maybe the best thing for me to do, when the time comes, is to find one with experience with REW and hire them to help me use it.

The program offers a lot for free - I wouldn't mind paying a bit to use it correctly.

[racrawford65]

It isn't really too difficult to measure with REW...plenty of folks on AVS that will answer questions...but it's your money..

[James]

Seems awfully complicated to me.

I found a local engineer who'd be willing to help me with it for a reasonable hourly rate, which is exciting. As long as it doesn't take too long, it should be fine.

The first thing would be to get the equalizer and play with it - it would be about 1/2 the financial investment of getting everything. It should be easier to connect and use than the software. And if it colored the sound in some way we don't like, we could probably return it.

Also, I'd be very interested to see what the REW software shows, if we've gotten the system equalized to where it sounds very neutral to us - how close or far we are from actual neutrality and/or the REW recommendations.

The system sounds very good to us right now - there aren't that many changes I'd plan to make with the Behringer.

The possibility of getting this stuff and improving our system should get me through a couple of big house projects - something to look forward to :-)

[James]

Well, I finally found a guide to using REW that I might be able to use on my own:

Room correction with REW using PEQ (mehlau.net)

It might not be the ideal way to use it - there are choices to be made along the way that I don't fully understand. But I can at least try it on my own first and see how it works.

[James]

Next step seems to be picking a "house curve".

Bob Katz suggests flat from 20-1000Hz, then a straight line down to -6db at 20kHz will sound neutral to us at the listening position.

He's a very well-respected mastering engineer, so I'll start with his suggestions.

[curtis]

In all of this, how does the system sound to you now, before you even get started?

You don’t have a baseline of your own thoughts before being influenced by anything.

REW is the first step no matter what you do afterwards.

[James]

The system sounds very good, both with test tones and with music.

It seems to be generally neutral, with a few deviations. It rolls off a bit earlier in the bass than I'd like, around 45-50Hz (I'd like it flat to 40Hz, so I can fully hear the lowest note on a double bass). There are at least a couple of room modes that create extra resonances. And the 500-1000Hz region seems a bit elevated to me.

It's the best sound we've ever had, and it sounds very good with different genres of music. We listen to mostly acoustic music, but there are synthesizers on some of the stuff we listen to as well.

[James]

I'd love to get everything right now and use it, but that's not possible.

And I want to make sure that the Behringer equalizer doesn't sound weird to us because of the internal AD/DA converters first, before getting a mic and REW.

So it'll be two steps, and I'll have to be a bit patient about it.

[curtis]

I'd love to get everything right now and use it, but that's not possible.

And I want to make sure that the Behringer equalizer doesn't sound weird to us because of the internal AD/DA converters first, before getting a mic and REW.

So it'll be two steps, and I'll have to be a bit patient about it.

What is holding you back from getting REW up and running? No PC or mic?
Before all else, you need to know what is going on in your room.

The Behringer would be least worry on my list. You could/should do things with the room/positioning, even just to experiment, before employing any kind of EQ.