it’s a naive question but I don’t really understand, not how, but why fiddle with the DSP settings. I enjoy a broad church of music but primarly classical. Are there any guides as to e.g. the best settings for classcial or is it all about what feels best to you?
For instance I went to a live concert last week where I sat about 3 metres from a pianist playing a Steinway piano - the sound was amazing. Is there any advice as to the best DSP settings to reproduce e.g. a piano or a tenor voice?
I use DSP for small correction of the base. My room is small and having two subs can do some shaking. I do listen almost 98% classical so I’m not thinking base like in electronic concerts but still there is base (not to talk about classical organ).
So I’ve bought a mic, and using a free app, REW, I can do some filters that I copy on my roon and have a better linear sounding speakers and subs. Also you can pay professionals to do those corrections as REW it is not easy to learn and master.
As for the emphasizing of different instruments I do not know. It would be a nice idea. Pretty similar to your question, I was listening to some string quartets and the sound was focused but not in your face until the violin that being in a high freq was on another focus level. But haven’t think until now that I could try and lower the volume for those freq. Good question and looking froward for better answers.
I’ve read — unfortunately I don’t remember where — that a statistically significant number of listeners thought grand piano sounded better using linear phase filters during sample rate conversion, as compared to minimum phase filters.
I can’t tell you I notice a difference, but I use linear phase filters for piano concertos, sonatas, trios, etc., ever since I read that.
(I use Roon DSP to upsample to 24/highest power of 2.)
My memory is that whatever I read explicitly said grand piano, so I don’t know if it applies to, e.g., fortepiano.
Hi @Ken_Talbot,
Generally the DSP is related to your equipment. I use sample rate conversion to optimise sound from a specific device, and parametric EQ on various speakers and headphones, most of which I get from GitHub’s AutoEQ page here: AutoEq/INDEX.md at master · jaakkopasanen/AutoEq · GitHub. I normally gravitate to files from oratory1990, as they seem to fit my taste better than most of Crinnacle’s files. Again, this will depend on your system, speakers and headphones.
Having delved into how the DSP works, my key finding was that it’s quite complicated and beyond my abilities. This is why I depend on EQ files from elsewhere. Good luck with it.
I’d recommend to read this free AES paper about " The Measurement and Calibration of Sound Reproducing Systems" to get started about the scientifically verifiable approach regarding optimum sound reproduction with loudspeakers in rooms.
Of course, everyone is free to do or believe in what they seem to prefer in this audiophile hobby.
On the other hand, there’s glaring evidence by means of serious scientific work, that the vast majority of listeners, young or old, trained or not, professional or hobbyist - you name it - prefer a certain balance in amplitude response combined with minimal distortion products in controlled blind listening tests.
Having different systems, rooms, hearing and tastes don’t matter, really, once you get to hear the difference!