Seeing some interesting posts about the subject (mainly at www.hometheatershack.com/forums/), I became deeply involved into room responses investigations; my studio room is bad! Really small and without any acoustic treatment (no bass traps and absorbers, only many bad reflecting fornitures). Having no alternative location (and money ) I decided to try this way to have at least a minimum inprovement.
I bought a USB mic (UMIK 1) and started using REW (Room Eq Wizard) free software, wich is fully compatible with it.
At present I'm studing the REW help, that is very well done (woww...200 pages, many technical informations, I'm going back to school ) hoping to find the best way, as soon as possible, to make correct measurements.
Than there will be the equalization phase for responces correction: it's fully clear that the intervention can be limited, my room measurement will be plenty of non-minimum phase regions; but this intervention coupled with IR correction (I'll try to use free java sw DRCdesigner, very simpleto use, to create IRC filter, and to apply them with Voxengo deconvolver or SIR2) will give at the end an acceptable improvement to my gear

Being a newie in this matter,I would like to exchange infos and opinions with other more skilled members, if anybody is (or was) involved in the same activity and has a deeper knowledge of the needed practices.
Thanks in advance

 

You shouldn't get involved so much in this kind of... outdated approach, as long as IKMultimedia ARC2(which comes with a dedicated mic too) would've done it for you in a easier and more improved manner, because it's dedicated for this kind of task. Did you ever took this software in consideration?

 

Hello, I don't know much (enough) about Room acoustic stuff.
I can only give you a hint on Room EQ by mathaudio
KVR

Room Correction
Math Audio

Code:

http://mathaudio.com/

 

One simple thing : room correction by EQ NEVER worked ! And never will.
You can't correct time domain by frequency domain modifications. When a soundwave bounce on a wall, i don't see how an EQ will solve this.
That's why countless EQ "solutions" raised...and died the same way. And so, for more than 30 years.

Of course, if you get a ex:80Hz bump in your room, it will seems to sound better when EQ corrected...but in fact, you just hide the problems under the carpet
You lower that 80Hz freq, because it sucks and it is too loud. And it sucks/too loud because there is a resonance at this frequency, and no EQ in the whole world will solve this. It will not move or dampen your walls...you just lower level to hide the mess.

This is about large bumps...but what about holes ?
Do you know bad acoustic can create up to -18 dB holes in your spectrum ? You don't even need any analyzer : use your ears.
Do a sine sweep (20-200 Hz), listen to it several times, and now move a single side step. Your spectrum holes are not at the same places/levels, and no, it is not your monitoring system because sound change when you move

Are you going to do a 18dB boost at ex:100Hz to correct that, kill your ears and burn your speakers ?

Acoustic treatment and monitoring sources/listening position can do something for you.
Even opening your doors and windows will do. It will reduce SPL and resonances...and create other ones, but lower freq

Measure your acoustic yes, try several listening/monitors positions, but never count on any "voodoo" solution. There is none
There are cheap DIY basstraps solutions, like simple panels in the corners, roof/walls junction (start with Google/Youtube searches).

And you can always double check your bass content for freq correction (not global level, done with monitors) with headphones. It works when you are used to switch several times in a mix.

Good luck, and sorry about the long post, but i try to save you time, brain, monitoring and ears
I've gone the same way years ago

 

Nearfield monitors and enough volume that you are hearing most of the sound directly has done me in many different locations.
Obviously room treatment is the best option.
Having said that, the ARC 2 system is voodoo, but voodoo that works, don't knock it till you try it.For the money, the improvement it brings is real.
If i had to choose between having ARC 2 or the same money into room treatment, i would choose ARC every time, it's just more useful to me.

 

Thanks a lot for all the answers
Pipotron3000

I don't agree with you, or, at least not completely......the interventions you can make are surely limited, but in low and medium frequencies range you can add interesting optimizations. You have only to know well where and how.

GangamStyle and Evorax

I know ARC2, but it costed too much for me...using it without its calibrated mic is only a loss of time; anyway, what Im trying to do with my gear (UMIK-1 + REW) is more or less the same and the result, if you are skilled, should be betterr.....


Kookaboo

I know the product, seems interesting (and compatible with my mic), there is a downloadable demo available, I'll try it (an who knows...waiting for R2R )

But in the end, nobody using REW .......

 

Oh your wrong ARC and other similar solutions like JBL speakers and KRK Ergo is not enough you still need a good room treatment it is just a complement..

 

I am doing acoustic treatment almost every day, and i musst tell you, to try to correct your room with an EQ is the worse thing you can do. It will never work. And by the way, to build absorbers, basstraps and resonators is very cheap and easy, it's only tricky to tune them on the correct frequency. REW is a good startpoint, calibrate your soundcard, measure your room, after that, there are 3 things you should take care of, the SPL digram and the Watefall and RT60 diagram. At first your RT60 in the certain frequency range is important. If you need more help, contact me, i can analyse the Measurement for you, and calculate the absorbers, resonators and basstraps. And i can teach you how to build these stuff for yourself, and very cheap.

 

Thank you very much, Teletoby, as soon as I will be sure to have made a proper measurement, I will contact you

 

In Music Tech Focus - 34 - Mastering 2014 page 66 there are a lot of good advice for Do It Yourself affordable acoustic treatments. With plans and explanations.

You can find it at AZ

 

This is something i need to do soon, my tiny room is an audio disaster zone

Have you found the soundonsound forums yet, theres one all about studio design.

http://www.soundonsound.com/forum/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=DESIGN

Good luck, hours of useful reading and useful links to follow there.

 

I didn't bet for ARC@, it was just a suggestion based on his needs because i knew ARC2 to be dedicated for what he tried to do by himself, but anyway... The choice is his.

 

from my first readings(and measurements + attempts), as usual, the best is to find a compromise .
Obviously eq correction will never substitute room treatment.
But if you are able to identify minimum phase regions in your response,(and REW + good measurements can help you to do it), in these frequencies areas bad peak can be succesfully correct by a clever eq, flatting you speakers response.
Same for bad IR
Knowledge is needed, but I'm pretty sure that leaving all the job to the sw (arc, or any other) is really a bad idea; ther's a lot of marketing in that products, theyclai to correct something that cannot be changed.......

But for those like me that cannot operate a lot about room shape and treatment, I think it worths the pain. It's also an useful reason to increase technical knowledge :dancing: , that is never a bad idea