# Room EQ for the stereo & 5.1 home theater



## michael123 (Jul 26, 2008)

Hi,

I am new to REW and while reading the guides, I figured out that the mechanism is primarily to flatten bass response and the cabling goes to the subwoofer.

I am not a fan of bass, and the subwoofer is usually switched off. In either case, I listen mostly to stereo sources, and occasionally to the home theater setup through movies.

So, I was looking into the equalization kit for both stereo & home theater

How can I equalize all 6 channels with REW?


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## atledreier (Mar 2, 2007)

Not a fan of bass? That's sort of a strange statement. It's like saying you just like half of a musical piece. I am not a fan of POOR bass either, but saying that bass is bad is going a little over the top, in my opinion.

So, on to your question. Most modern surround processors/receivers have automatic EQ for all channels that usually work very well. 

I would suggest trying a properly calibrated sub, and then tell me what you think.


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## michael123 (Jul 26, 2008)

Hi

I have a new Audiolab 8000AP (audio-only) processor that does not have any kind of EQ, and I listen to stereo mainly. Surround setup sounds good to my ears, but stereo a quite "thin"
I listen to stereo music without subwoofer (and yes, my subwoofer purchase was not a very good one few years back..)

Is REW relevant to stereo music reproduction? Is it really only for the (very) low frequences?
How can I configure Behringer DEQ2496 for the purpose of equalizing stereo with REW?

thanks


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## brucek (Apr 11, 2006)

> Is REW relevant to stereo music reproduction? Is it really only for the (very) low frequences?


REW can test the full audio bandwidth. It is a mono signal and is used speaker by speaker, and can be helpful in finding the best positioning for speakers and for the effectiveness of room treatment. It can be fed to each surround speaker through the individual analog 5.1 inputs on most receivers, or alternativeley it can be fed to an AUX or CD line-input and each speaker can be wired individually to that channels output.

If you have an equalizer on the mains, you can certainly create filters with REW and then evaluate their effect with REW.

brucek


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## michael123 (Jul 26, 2008)

brucek

thanks indeed.

Do you have a link to some online guide I can read?
Otherwise I will start to ask so many basic questions, which you may already answered million of times before (like wiring diagram, list of equipment to buy, etc.)

again, thanks a lot, it looks promising.


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## brucek (Apr 11, 2006)

Read the REW HELP FILES and the REW Connections and Cabling guide. 

brucek


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## michael123 (Jul 26, 2008)

I read yesterday before I posted the question, but the guide refers to the subwoofer calibration and so all the drawings..


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

> Do you have a link to some online guide I can read?
> Otherwise I will start to ask so many basic questions, which you may already answered million of times before (like wiring diagram, list of equipment to buy, etc.)


If the "on line guide" you're looking for is regarding full-range equalization, see my posts in the link below for some helpful hints. 
Spridle’s experiment

Regarding wiring, the Behringer DEQ will connect between your Audilab's left and right outputs and your amplifier. It's best to use RCA to XLR connectors that have the RCA's tip (signal +) going to the XLR's pin 2 connection, and the RCA's sleeve (signal -) to the XLR's pin 3.



> How can I configure Behringer DEQ2496 for the purpose of equalizing stereo with REW?


The DEQ manual will tell you how to accomplish stereo EQ (i.e., where filters for both channels are dialed in tandem) or "split," where each channel can be set separately. 

If you have a symmetrical room you'll want to equalize both channels identically. If you have a non-symmetrical room, everything above ~200-250 Hz should be treated with identical filters. Using different (non-matching) filters above that point will result in an audibly bad effect, due to the phase changes that filtering introduces. I've found ~200-250 Hz to be the point where non-matching phase changes are no longer an audible issue. Often in a non-symmetrical room your speakers end up being placed non symmetrically (e.g., one near a corner, the other near a door opening), which will result in them having different bass response. Equalizing each speaker separately below 200-250 Hz or so will help balance their bass response.

Wayne


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