Moving from Audirvana, EQ issues

Roon Software Discussion
1

Hi,

I have been using Audirvana with Tidal for the past year and I have been very happy with the sound and (purists don’t shoot me now) how its EQ can tweak the sound to match my preference. My set-up is Hugo 2 + Sennheiser HDV 820 + Sennheiser HD800S. The cans are open and I like to add a bit to the low end through the EQ as they can sound a bit thin on some tracks. With Audirvana, a small increase in bass through its EQ (with increased headroom to prevent clipping) delivers a very nice and tight bass through this setup.

So I have been happy with the resulting sound but the actual implementation of Tidal and my libraries in Audirvana is so basic that I never use it to discover any new music. I heard about Roon and I wanted to see what the fuss is all about. So I installed it on a trial basis and as many others on here, I fell in love with the UI and overall integration. It fixes many issues I had and it’s allowed me to listen to music in ways I didn’t even consider!

However, despite many attempts to use the EQ (which, I must say, has been quite a challenge to master initially) I find that Audirvana generally delivers more superior bass response as well as sound clarity. I understands that each engine will have a different approach to processing the sound but despite a lot of effort, I find the bass and the overall sound somewhat lacking. I have tried to add significantly more dB to the low end (with an appropriate amount of headroom) than I do in Audirvana and the latter still delivers the bass with much more authority and presence.

Has anyone made the jump from Audirvana and had any similar experiences? I really want it to work, I’m happy to try different things but I’m stuck at this stage… I’m new to Roon and don’t really know it inside out so perhaps I’m missing something in the settings?

Many thanks in advance for reading my post and for any advice.

Cheers
Rosta

2

Hi Rosta,

Can you post a screenshot of the EQ Settings you are using in Roon ?

3

Of course, Andy. I hope you will tell me I’m a fool for having it done wrong! :slight_smile: Here are screenshots of EQ in Roon and Audirvana. In Audirvana, I have two EQ settings I use, one adds more bass than the other. I apply them depending on how much bass I prefer on different tracks. Both EQ settings in Audirvana deliver more bass…

Roon:

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Screen Shot 2018-05-16 at 22.10.41.png1414×1002 112 KB

Audirvana 1:

55
Screen Shot 2018-05-16 at 22.04.55.png1240×632 102 KB

Audirvana 2:
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Screen Shot 2018-05-16 at 22.18.29.png1244×626 102 KB

4

I’m afraid I can’t do that. You’ve recreated the curve well using the tools including a global gain cut to work up to 0db. Are you adding some headroom in Roon’s DSP engine Headroom Management as well ?

I understand the HDV 820 has “gobs of power” (to quote one reviewer) so that’s not likely to be the problem.

The only suggestion I could make is to tinker with a small boost (up to +3 dB) in the lowest shelf filter above 0dB and increase the Q for a steeper curve down. It may be that differences in filters etc. mean that the same sound as Audirvana in Roon looks like a slightly different curve.