I’m experimenting with https://shanonpearce.github.io/ASH-IR-Dataset/ and wanted to use the filters he provides to downmix 5.1 files to 2.0 for headphone listening. However Roon already downmixes the file before it is fed to the convolution engine. Is there any way to prevent this?
Hi @DeLub,
Can you please share a screenshot of your Device Setup tab for this zone (showing both the general and the advanced section)? You can access Device Setup by going into Roon Settings -> Audio -> Cogwheel next to zone -> Device Setup.
Ah… yes. You triggered me. In the advanced section it says (if I translate correctly) “Downmix when necessary” I’ve changed that to “channel mapping only”.
Thanks
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I’m not familiar with the filters you linked, and I very well might be missing something…
But, upon first inspection, these seem to be 2 channel filters, right ?
In other words : they require a stereo input, and convert that into an artificial binaural 2 channel output.
And not the other way around, as you described here : downmixing a multichannel input, into something compatible with headphones.
As they require a stereo input, the Roon downmixing makes perfect sense in this case.
(Ik had dit ook in het Nederlands kunnen schrijven, maar ja, internationaal forum hè 
)
It works a bit differently:
They put a head and torso simulator with mics in a room and placed loudspeakers around it. This allowed them to measure how sound coming from different angles reaches both ears. For instance, if they play a sound coming from an angle of 30 degrees from the left, it reaches the right ear with a short delay and with less highs, compared to the left ear. Then they created a stereo convolution filter for a mono signal placed at a certain position.
What I’ve done with the Roon’s convolution feature is convolving each channel separately into a stereo signal, and then adding them all up. So, this indeed downmixes a 5.1 signal into a stereo signal in a not so straightforward way.
This is done in Roon by creating a .cfg file pointing to the different filters that are required. Each channel is convolved with its own filter into a stereo channel (sub+center channels are combined). The filters used are coming from the site linked above.
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Maar ik hoop dat mijn verhaal toch enigszins duidelijk is 
Nice explanation, thanks, and a creative solution!
Once you have a bit of experience with the sound of it, would you mind to share your opinions on it ? Could be a very interesting solution for me as well…
My initial impressions are not that positive. Somehow these filters do manage to create some sense of front and back (I’ve compared this with the standard downmixing of Roon from 5.1 to 2.0). But the left/right “sound stage” narrows quite a bit. This is a bit similar to the crossfeed filter present in Roon. So, it might have some use …
… however …It depends a bit on which set of filter you chose to download from the site, but the room they recorded the filters in is very present. The reverb is huge. This means that the only viable set of filters for me is the one made in the least reverberant room. But still I don’t like that set of filters either because they also alter the frequency response in a dramatic way: highs disappear and worse, the bass is way too loud.
My personal conclusion: very nice as an experiment, but not useful for serious listening and music enjoyment.
Thanks! Yes, I was afraid of that already. It seems to be an emulation of a room. And room effects on your head, I don’t know, but my gut feeling tells me that this would feel very un-natural (apart from the reverberation field that was not in the original recording).
Bummer, but nice try .
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