# MultEQ XT - Single position music optimization



## Robertsmania (Jan 20, 2013)

My preamp has Audyssey MultiEQ XT and I am experimenting with it for my studio where I want to focus on just one listening position without compromise.

Does it really make sense to take all the possible measurements at places around the listening position? Or would it be better to just take a few sets from the same location?

My thinking is that I dont want to pollute the data with measurements from other positions and have that essentially make the analysis compromise the results.

Or is it best to just go along with it and collect all the possible measurements?


----------



## Kal Rubinson (Aug 3, 2006)

Using only a single, fixed position for one or more measurements is not ideal. Your head is not nearly so fixed and each unique position has unique acoustical characteristics. Using multiple but closely clustered sites is important.

BTW, there is a dedicated "official" Audyssey thread on AVs with excellent guides linked in the first post.


----------



## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
In addition to Kal's sage advice, the first listening position when running MukrEQ is decidedly the main position and EQ is truly tailored for that position. You could do the two other positions within a foot of the first You have to setup the supplied microphone at a minimum pf 3 locations with the option of doing as many as 8 with XT.
Cheers,
JJ


----------



## stereo2.0 (Sep 25, 2009)

The Audyssey Guide has good general rules, but doing something out of the ordinary is a good reason to break those rules.

Example: The Audyssey guide always suggests keeping the microphone at least 2 feet away from any wall boundary. However, the main seating area in my basement is directly up against a wall and all attempts to run Audyssey with the mic at least 2 feet away from the wall during any of the sweeps always resulted in hearing an annoying one note boomy bass response. (Unless you leaned forward about 2 feet, then it sounded great)

I eventually tried running Audyssey with the mic positioned exactly where my ears would be while sitting normally, plus a couple more sweeps with the mic just a few inches to the left and right of that position, and sure enough the audio finally sounded just right. The booming bass was gone and a smooth extended response had taken its place. Even all the other available listening locations sounded better after that, and only three tightly grouped microphone positions were needed in total!

You can't argue with results, and since it doesn't cost you anything but time you can try comparing tightly vs. widely space mic positions and decide for yourself which sounds better. In my case the difference was highly noticeable and rewardingly worthwhile.

Go for it!


----------



## Robertsmania (Jan 20, 2013)

Yeah, I think its best to experiment. I think doing a set of readings at ear level in the area right around where I sit will be fine. 

Thanks for pointing out the thread on avs, there is some good reading in there!


----------



## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

Robertsmania said:


> My preamp has Audyssey MultiEQ XT and I am experimenting with it for my studio where I want to focus on just one listening position without compromise.
> 
> Does it really make sense to take all the possible measurements at places around the listening position? Or would it be better to just take a few sets from the same location?
> 
> ...


What I am about to suggest goes against some of the room tuning conventional wisdom you have heard, but here goes anyway. If it does not make any sense to you, or if you are uncomfortable trying something a little different, please ignore it.

I do pretty much what you are suggesting in a near-field monitoring setting with a tightly-defined single listening position. The other advice you have received is sound advice, but remember that any process that widens the sweet spot also compromises its center position at least a little.

To be safe, start out by taking frequency response measurements with Room EQ Wizard to see how much variation you get with position change. If there is little variation, then tune at the center of the sweet spot, knowing that moving your head around will not make much difference. If there is a lot of variation, then _tune at the center of the sweet spot,_ knowing that moving your head around will be a bad idea. If there is a lot of variation, you will ideally want to find a way with room treatment to reduce that variation, or else _nothing_ you do will give _really_ satisfactory results, no matter what tuning approach you use.

If you want to get really nutty about it, like I do, tune the left speaker with the microphone at the left ear position and tune the right speaker with the microphone at the right ear position. Again, this is for near-field monitoring, where each ear is getting the majority of its mid- and high-frequency information from the speaker it is pointing toward. The other assumption here is that there is minimal variation in frequency response between the left and right ear positions, so the difference between the resulting responses of the two speakers will be small.

Here is another way to look at it: tuning both speakers with the microphone at center of head position gives you ideal frequency response at a point in space where neither ear will ever be. Why not tune each speaker with reference to the point in space where it's output is being paid attention to the most?

Very little of this applies to the home theater environment. I have worked with it a lot, and can tell you that the results can be very pleasing, especially if you are giving high priority to tip-top imaging. It is a bit experimental, though. I am not trying to lead you astray, simply suggesting an alternative approach to consider, as it sounds like you are after the same basic goals that I have been.

Best of luck.:T


----------



## Robertsmania (Jan 20, 2013)

Thanks for the replies! I've checked with TrueRTA and REW - my room is pretty consistent and the areas where others could sit dont measure that tremendously differently than my main listening position. But I do want to put the emphasis on that location. 

I'm experimenting with taking all eight measurements at ear level within about a three foot area around where my head is.


----------



## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

Keep us posted, would love to see some measurement plots if you have time.


----------

