# Affordable multichannel DSP-based equalizer?



## selden

Are there any affordable multi-channel DSP-based equalization units?

Since Audyssey equalization is available in receivers costing less than $1000, I had hoped that it would be available in a standalone format for less than that. Unfortunately, the least expensive version that I've found on the Audyssey Web site seems to be about $2500 plus whatever is charged for labor by a certified installer. 

I've found comparable proprietary units by other companies, but they all seem to cost even more ($5000-$7000).

I'm currently using an AudioControl Bijou THX graphic equalizer, which is entirely manual.


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## tonyvdb

Audyssey in receivers is a scaled down version to what you would get in the real dedicated unit like the Audyssey EQ or the Neptune EQ however the reason they can sell for so little pared with a receiver is mass market sales compared to a stand alone unit selling maybe 300 units a year, the more you sell the cheaper they get.


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt

> I've found comparable proprietary units by other companies, but they all seem to cost even more ($5000-$7000).


Neptune's EQ I believe is quite a bit less than that.

If you want cheaper than that, your best bet will be to find a used AudioControl Diva. It originally sold for $9000 when it first came out, but you should be able to find them in the $1-2000 range now.

Regards,
Wayne


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## selden

Wayne,

Thanks for the suggestion of a used Diva. I'll investigate that.
I suspect a $500 dsp based EQ would be welcomed by many.


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## Chester

Get a Crown Audio USM-810 (I got mine for ~300 on ebay), I have 3, it is an 8x10 matrix mixer takes up 2U of rackspace. Enough dsp resources for 128 parametric eq's (16 per channel)...


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## selden

Matt,

If I'm reading the specs right, the Crown unit does have to be 'manually' configured to set all of the filters. What software do you use with it?

[edit]
I overlooked one of the feature items: free "IQ for Windows" for setup and monitoring.
[/edit]


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## Chester

I use a program that is available on the crown site, called IQ for Windows. You do need to use a serial cable to connect in and program things however once it is configured it runs as a standalone system. You can make 32 presets that can be selected from the front panel (however I always "lock" the front panel so my family does not mess things up )

Addition: I also use REW (I figure that would be assumed but you never know...) to generate the responses and figure out what filters to apply... It is important to remember (also) that the parametric eq filters generated by REW use a different method for determining the Q, so you will need to use a conversion I figured out here: http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/rew-forum/22185-parametric-peaking-eq-variations.html#post199725... use Excel or something like that to figure out all the filters at once  

Here are the measured and predicted graphs of the 8 channels I EQ with one my USM-810's, there are also 7 other parametric eq's per channel that represent the equal loudness curve at 80 phons (basically a really accurate "Loudness" button), each channel has anywhere from 5 to 8 parametric eq's that are fixing that channel too. There are also two subwoofers being crossed over by the USM-810...


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Chester said:


> Get a Crown Audio USM-810 (I got mine for ~300 on ebay), I have 3, it is an 8x10 matrix mixer takes up 2U of rackspace. Enough dsp resources for 128 parametric eq's (16 per channel)...


Wow, that's a pretty impressive looking unit...

Regards,
Wayne


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## Chester

Thanks  I don't mess around ;p I am a firm believer in EQing things... All the music I listen to on my Sansa (sorta like an ipod) has been processed/pre-eq'd by foobar2000 

Here is the front end to the In Home stereo I posted the graphs for, the thing on the top is a Numark HDCD1 (top thing is control unit, the top thing on the right side is the actual storage/cd player part)... NEVER buy one of those, they are usb 1.0 and take forever to transfer music to and the interface is quite slow... 4U rackspace unit is a Shure Auxpander, 8x8 matrix mixer, so I can route any source to any speaker in any amount  (the grey knobs are the ones that you do the routing with, the black ones are panning). Below that is the USM-810, and below that is a CTS-8200 amp









Everything is balanced audio (signal) after the Auxpander, the thing under the HDCD1 (player) is a Radio receiver... there is also an 1/8" jack (what the computer is plugged into) for an ipod or whatever else

I will post my own thread about the In-Home stereo shortly and stop hijacking your thread


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## Chester

Here are some screenshots from the IQ for Windows program so you can get an idea how it works...


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## kiwisail

HI, I'm new here and new to DSP devices, I have picked up a Crown IQ-USM 810 and am researching it's uses, I'm looking at the pic's of your rig and asuming you are only using the IQ-USM 810 for EQ etc.., I apreciate the use of the Shure Auxpander for distribution as I have found geeky stuff drive the family nuts when they want to "play with the system" and there is no "button to push" to get what they want out of the system.. a button with results is good for them..

I am assessing the IQ-USM 810 to "de-button" and route to other places in the house, kitchen, decks etc.., my plan is to hide as much hardware as possible and gate everything.. The idea being if they wanted TV sound all they have to do is pull up the volume with the decoder remote, if they want to play a CD all they have to do is put on a CD and push play, the system will gate everything else and let the wanted device play on..

I'd like to learn situ's that people have with the IQ-USM 810 as it's a very smart and interesting device..

Regards Stephen


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## Chester

I had considered doing what you described when I setup the system actually, however I ran in to the following problems: how do I know what mix I will want where? and also how loud will I want the mixes in the various locations that they are being routed to (some sources such as CD players don't necessarily have volume controls)? That is why I chose to use the auxpander 

You COULD do the gating thing that you described; it depends on where in the signal chain you have the gains (attenuators) and other things, perhaps you could make presets with various configurations... ex: the cd routed to the porch, the tv to the living room would be one preset, everything to everywhere another preset, tv to porch and cd to living room another preset... 

You also could have presets set that change the volume of the system too ex: 1-10 would be 10 different 'routing configurations' to get various sources where you want them, 11-20 could be 10 of the 'same' routing configurations, but with the levels cut by 5 db, 21-30 would be levels cut by 10 db... this would allow you to control everything by changing presets... 

If you can get a 'logic' going with the presets, it should be pretty easy for your family to figure out I would think (the two preset numbers represent two different things, the tens represent volume, the ones place value represents routing configurations).

Let me know what you think! Good luck 

edit/addition: I also have things setup so that the gains on the amplifier are set at a level that never changes (unless I need to for some reason, but basically never), there are 'wall mounted' volume controls, however they are the 'power eating' variety (they add impedance/resistance to the speaker wire, can't remember which it is): anyways, when I activate them (turn down the volume) it ends up killing the highs in the music, so in an attempt to avoid the wall volume controls as much as possible I chose the auxpander (I also gave a different reason earlier, however this is a second reason why the auxpander works so well: I do wish the auxpander had a stereo (matched) volume control though, it kind of sucks trying to set both potentiometers at the same level... while the differences arent usually audible, I am a perfectionist when it comes to sound


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## kiwisail

HI
When you look past the fantastic Digi audio features of the 810, there is a world of extras that can be used, these devices are used in theme parks and such like so have interesting features.
The system as I understand it has 0-10volt channels, I can use this as an "on wall" volume controller, also there are relay out controls (at 5 volt) so I'm thinking of turning off/on the power amps with SSR's I intend to station the amp's some distance away (in the shed) to avoid fan noise and bulk, when a zone isn't being used it times out and switches off.
Going back to the TV decoder, when the volume is unmuted or raised the system wakes up opens the channels, the relay turns on the amp and out the sound comes turning on the VP on the way.. this will cost maybe 2 or 3 seconds of startup time but the sound will be pumping by the time the video is on the screen.

My family know how to turn lights on but none of them have figured how to turn them off, I have installed IR sensors that automatically turn the lights on & off, this sensing system can also be used for other things, i.e if there's no-one in a zone it times out and shuts down.

I love the idea of a DJ desk in the party room someone always takes the lead and is the DJ for a while, at least till the mood changes, I always say "everyone else does content",,, "I just do tech.." it gets me off the hook of being the techie controller and gets others involved.
I do a lot of corporate work, so serve up dross time and time again,, it's irrelevant to me if it's good or bad pic's or sound...
Just the quality has to be high

I'll keep you posted as this develops, Regards Stephen


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## peterselby7

Chester said:


> I use a program that is available on the crown site, called IQ for Windows. You do need to use a serial cable to connect in and program things however once it is configured it runs as a standalone system. You can make 32 presets that can be selected from the front panel (however I always "lock" the front panel so my family does not mess things up )
> 
> Addition: I also use REW (I figure that would be assumed but you never know...) to generate the responses and figure out what filters to apply... It is important to remember (also) that the parametric eq filters generated by REW use a different method for determining the Q, so you will need to use a conversion I figured out here: http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/rew-forum/22185-parametric-peaking-eq-variations.html#post199725... use Excel or something like that to figure out all the filters at once
> 
> Here are the measured and predicted graphs of the 8 channels I EQ with one my USM-810's, there are also 7 other parametric eq's per channel that represent the equal loudness curve at 80 phons (basically a really accurate "Loudness" button), each channel has anywhere from 5 to 8 parametric eq's that are fixing that channel too. There are also two subwoofers being crossed over by the USM-810...


Interesting, so how much does it cost? Sorry if I may have missed you quoting the price earlier.


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## Chester

depends, they can be found used on CL and ebay sometimes, i got mine for ~$300


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