Dirac and room correction software

[Hifi_swlon]

Great to hear how you're getting on with Dirac!  I must give it another go sometime, inspired by your enthusiasm.

To get the calibration to work I found I had to play the test tones much louder than I normally listen to the system, which made me a bit apprehensive about the whole calibration phase -- "how was it for you?", to coin a phrase...

Yeah, I'm really loving it.

I'll be gutted if they don't release an OSX fix for the dropping of the preferred output, but they have said xmas best case, first Q 2016 worst case, so there's hope.  
Roon implementing AU/VST plugins would fix it too, and everything would stay centralised and make RoonSpeakers an option as well as Dirac, but we'll see….

I had a really good listen last night.  The target curves are getting closer, I have a bit more of the Facts character back, but with everything 'there'.  They've definitely taken some dialling in - much more finicky than the Neats - probably made harder because I'm very accustomed to my music through them so pick up the changes in sound much more easily.

It does mess with your head a bit.  I've read quite a few people saying they didn't like it because they experienced loss of detail, or emotion, or magic or whatever - and I can see where they're coming from.  When you A/B there's a big change.  But when you look at the measurements, and compare to the results using filters, it all makes sense.  When you first hit the filter off, you get a wave of what you think you might be 'missing' because in my case it reverts back to the sound I'm more familiar with, which really emphasises the highs and details there. But it immediately becomes thin and uninteresting compared to the filtered.

I feel I still need more time to tweak the curves, and that process is a little slower than ideal - I think Rodneys approach with an active EQ running is better - but I'll stick with what Ive got for now and Im sure I'll get it 'perfect'.  I'm happy with any of the filters made so far compared to 'off', so its sort of irrelevant, I'll be enjoying my music while I tweak.

In a way I feel like I can relax now, even if its not perfect.  I know its only a hifi, but having invested (wasted) a lot of money trying to 'solve' my problem, it had become a bit of an obsession and a cause of frustration.  I 'knew' something was missing in my setup ages ago, and I wasn't happy with the way it sounded, but I never really associated it with a move to a new house as I never imagined the change of room could have had such a big impact.  I think I'd read a few articles, but like so many things in life, you don't really know until you know for yourself. People even posted help to me, saying 'whats your room like - have you measured it', and things along those lines, but I just didn't get it. Not really.

I just started buying stuff, hoping that it would change the situation. OK, each thing I bought probably was 'better' in some way, and I was always going to change kit because I wanted to go from CD to streamed solution so it wasn't like a mad spending dash, but I could have done it a lot more efficiently!   Of course, the chrome slab I have on the wall now looks better than my Naim stack at the time (not that I didn't like how it looked), but thats another story…

No kit I bought during the last couple of years, or tweaks I made, ever fixed the problem in the way Dirac has - they just changed it. That's what was so FRUSTRATING!!!!.  Things added more detail, less detail, more this or that, but I never got the sound I wanted.  In fact the final big change to the Devialet actually worsened the treble thinness - I assume because it has finer resolution there (I'd love to go back and measure the previous kit - measure everything!!).  But filling in those missing troughs for me has put real weight and depth back to the music - vocals, bass, and fine details, all there - more how I remember hifi in my old old house funnily enough   .  

I can't believe I went down the road of obsessing over cables, and Regens, and forums I was never interested before (not this one ) to try and get my system right. It all seems totally pointless now. Even if the sound is being processed, and even if there are things being 'lost' by using a filter, it doesn't bother me at all - because I like the final result so much.  Knowing how long it usually take sme to adjust to big changes, once I let it settle I'm sure I'll be really happy long term.

Sadly I dont have much time to enjoy it for the next few weeks as I'll be travelling, but will be more excited to listen when I come back.

I had it a little louder last night and maybe I am into the -20's now for LOUD!  But its nicer to listen to loud. Much nicer than before (note to self remember to look after your ears, they need some TLC).

As for the test tones thumb5, they did seem bit loud - not uncomfortable - but oddly loud for such a sweep (especially up high).  I think the amp was in the -22 range, which I've NEVER set on the dial before, and the mic levels weren't exactly high, they were just below or just into the green, for the most part.
Its really just annoying as 9 positions takes a while, especially if you're waiting for quetter gaps on a noisy day, household traffic etc, and its not exactly 'nice' to listen to - each position being 3 sweeps so a total of 27 weird wooooooooouuuuuuupp noises.

As per Rodney's hunch, I had to dial SAM back to 20% to get what sounded like a 'nice' sweep. Going higher (I went all the way baby), seemed to make the lower levels just go quieter in the deep notes, and then pick back up higher up the bass, so I figured this was protection.  I was pleased that it seemed to be done very cleanly, no harsh noises or 'clacking' or anything like that just a bit like a soft mute.

And I guess once its measured 'right' (I may still try another set slightly closer together, I think I overcompensated and went a bit too wide last time), the measurement part can take a vacation and you can just enjoy the music.

Before starting to think about the next cable upgrade, hahahhahahahaaa