I have had my eye on this software for a while, see links below including a very fine article from "Mitcho" on Audiophile Style.
https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/reviews/c...gner-r990/
https://www.focusfidelity.com/
OK, Michco's article is about calibrating desk top speakers, which is an interesting idea in itself, but everything written there is pretty much applicable to room correction of full system.
I had a few plans for last weekend that were all basically abandoned due to very wet weather in the UK. So finding myself with a little unexpected free time, I decided I would re-measure my room using REW, and with that done buy myself a copy of the Focus Fidelity Filter Designer software.
I suspect that anyone who follows the topic of room correction on Audiophile Style will acknowledge that Mitchco is an expert in this field, by contrast, I am not.
So when I read Mitcho's article regarding Focus Fidelity Filter Designer and he states that the software is "easy to use", I did kind of think in my head "yes, for you maybe, but I bet I'll get stuck somewhere". The point being, that I can of many time in my life when I have tried some new software package and have found myself wasting hours on end wondering why it does not work as it should. Maybe a bug somewhere, some odd setting that I have not got right, unexplained weird results, this kind of thing. I have a fear of new software, which I see as route to frustration and hours of free time wasted.
So having sorted out some new REW measurements, I took the plunge and purchased the Filter Designer software.
Completely new to the software, I ran trough the instructions in the manual, step by step. Where default settings were available, I simply kept with the defaults, I just wanted to see if I could get this thing working. Anyway, within about one hour of starting the download for the software package itself, I had created a zip file for my convolutions, loaded them into Roon and had music playing. I was actually expecting to hit a few issues and problems, but no, the software did it's stuff and everything seemed to work as it should.
With a quick listen, I was not that happy with the result, I had just used the automatically generated target curve, and the tonal balance did not sound right at all to my ears. To be honest, I was just pleased I had got everything working. So, a second attempt, this time making some minor adjustments in the target frequency curve editor. The results were better, this was moving in the right direction, but it still did not sound as I had hoped. Then a third attempt, a bit more fine tuning of the target curve, this was much better.
After that, I just sat down and listened to selection of music. Everything sounded good, from acoustic stuff, to rock, to electronica. The main difference is a simple step forward in clarity, the effect is remarkable. Sound that is a little muddled and irritating is replaced by music. Maybe when people talk about "digititis" what they are actually suffering is "roomititis", but this is the effect, music sounds less reproduced by digits and more real. Improvements in sound staging were obvious, the speakers become a less obvious source of the sound, moving towards invisibility, and a definite step up in clarity. In the past, I have pretty much found the Devialet's bass control to be useless in practical terms. OK, it works, but if you happen to listen to an album that is inherently bass light, think of the classic "80's CD sound", then adding bass gain often just makes things sound worse, it just adds mud to the sound and sounds wrong. Running the Focus Fidelity convolutions, suddenly the bass control does what it should, you add bass gain, you get more bass, clear bass. I think this is clearly indicative of how Focus Fidelity is "cleaning" the sound of the system in the room
I was worried that would would struggle to get anywhere with this software, but it basically took my one Sunday morning from scratch to get a result that I was pleased with, and I am a room correction novice.
I am sure that I still have a lot to learn, and I am also sure that I can improve on this early result. The good thing is that the software is quick and easy to use, so I am happy that once I have had some time to listen more to the convolutions that I have, I will be able to investigate some of the settings in more detail, it should be easy to "fine tune", create new convolutions, and experience the results for myself. This is where I think this software will be invaluable to myself. Room correction is very complex topic, but there is nothing to beat being able to fine tune some parameter or another, and within a few minutes being able to listen to the results for yourself.
To be clear, the hardest part of this entire process was getting the actual measurements made in REW. So I would say that for anyone who is at a level where they can perform the required REW measurements, using Focus Fidelity Filter Designer should be relatively simple, it is far more intuitive than REW.
It is very early days for myself, I have a lot to learn, a lot to investigate and try, but this is a great tool to start the convolution journey. The fact that someone like myself can get good results in one rainy Sunday morning perhaps tells you all you need to know.
At UK prices, the cost of the software worked out at £185. Based on my experience of the software so far, this is £185 well spent and an absolute bargain in audiophile terms.
As an aside, I still have room treatment on my "to do" list. I am sure that actually fixing the room is a better approach that just using software. But here is another good thing about the Focus Fidelity software. If I do make changes to the room, it is just a couple of hours work to remeasure the room in REW and make some new convolutions. When I do finally get around to installing some room treatments, this software can go with me on the journey.
https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/reviews/c...gner-r990/
https://www.focusfidelity.com/
OK, Michco's article is about calibrating desk top speakers, which is an interesting idea in itself, but everything written there is pretty much applicable to room correction of full system.
I had a few plans for last weekend that were all basically abandoned due to very wet weather in the UK. So finding myself with a little unexpected free time, I decided I would re-measure my room using REW, and with that done buy myself a copy of the Focus Fidelity Filter Designer software.
I suspect that anyone who follows the topic of room correction on Audiophile Style will acknowledge that Mitchco is an expert in this field, by contrast, I am not.
So when I read Mitcho's article regarding Focus Fidelity Filter Designer and he states that the software is "easy to use", I did kind of think in my head "yes, for you maybe, but I bet I'll get stuck somewhere". The point being, that I can of many time in my life when I have tried some new software package and have found myself wasting hours on end wondering why it does not work as it should. Maybe a bug somewhere, some odd setting that I have not got right, unexplained weird results, this kind of thing. I have a fear of new software, which I see as route to frustration and hours of free time wasted.
So having sorted out some new REW measurements, I took the plunge and purchased the Filter Designer software.
Completely new to the software, I ran trough the instructions in the manual, step by step. Where default settings were available, I simply kept with the defaults, I just wanted to see if I could get this thing working. Anyway, within about one hour of starting the download for the software package itself, I had created a zip file for my convolutions, loaded them into Roon and had music playing. I was actually expecting to hit a few issues and problems, but no, the software did it's stuff and everything seemed to work as it should.
With a quick listen, I was not that happy with the result, I had just used the automatically generated target curve, and the tonal balance did not sound right at all to my ears. To be honest, I was just pleased I had got everything working. So, a second attempt, this time making some minor adjustments in the target frequency curve editor. The results were better, this was moving in the right direction, but it still did not sound as I had hoped. Then a third attempt, a bit more fine tuning of the target curve, this was much better.
After that, I just sat down and listened to selection of music. Everything sounded good, from acoustic stuff, to rock, to electronica. The main difference is a simple step forward in clarity, the effect is remarkable. Sound that is a little muddled and irritating is replaced by music. Maybe when people talk about "digititis" what they are actually suffering is "roomititis", but this is the effect, music sounds less reproduced by digits and more real. Improvements in sound staging were obvious, the speakers become a less obvious source of the sound, moving towards invisibility, and a definite step up in clarity. In the past, I have pretty much found the Devialet's bass control to be useless in practical terms. OK, it works, but if you happen to listen to an album that is inherently bass light, think of the classic "80's CD sound", then adding bass gain often just makes things sound worse, it just adds mud to the sound and sounds wrong. Running the Focus Fidelity convolutions, suddenly the bass control does what it should, you add bass gain, you get more bass, clear bass. I think this is clearly indicative of how Focus Fidelity is "cleaning" the sound of the system in the room
I was worried that would would struggle to get anywhere with this software, but it basically took my one Sunday morning from scratch to get a result that I was pleased with, and I am a room correction novice.
I am sure that I still have a lot to learn, and I am also sure that I can improve on this early result. The good thing is that the software is quick and easy to use, so I am happy that once I have had some time to listen more to the convolutions that I have, I will be able to investigate some of the settings in more detail, it should be easy to "fine tune", create new convolutions, and experience the results for myself. This is where I think this software will be invaluable to myself. Room correction is very complex topic, but there is nothing to beat being able to fine tune some parameter or another, and within a few minutes being able to listen to the results for yourself.
To be clear, the hardest part of this entire process was getting the actual measurements made in REW. So I would say that for anyone who is at a level where they can perform the required REW measurements, using Focus Fidelity Filter Designer should be relatively simple, it is far more intuitive than REW.
It is very early days for myself, I have a lot to learn, a lot to investigate and try, but this is a great tool to start the convolution journey. The fact that someone like myself can get good results in one rainy Sunday morning perhaps tells you all you need to know.
At UK prices, the cost of the software worked out at £185. Based on my experience of the software so far, this is £185 well spent and an absolute bargain in audiophile terms.
As an aside, I still have room treatment on my "to do" list. I am sure that actually fixing the room is a better approach that just using software. But here is another good thing about the Focus Fidelity software. If I do make changes to the room, it is just a couple of hours work to remeasure the room in REW and make some new convolutions. When I do finally get around to installing some room treatments, this software can go with me on the journey.
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
