Aligning and Correcting Speakers Question

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kendallhadden

Freshman
Mar 26, 2013
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Hello everyone. First time poster but long time lurker.

Is there a cheap software to align and correct loudspeakers and subs. I know SMART is the software of choice but, for a weekend warrior that wants to better his/her sound, is there another way or software/hardware available.

My second choice would be to have someone tune my equipment for me, but I would have to drive at least two hours one way to find a company or person to do it.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Blessings,
kwh
 
Re: Aligning and Correcting Speakers Question

Is there a software to align systems? No, sorry.
Are there tools to assist an individual who understands time/phase and other physics information of how sound works? Yes.

Your best bet is to attend Smaart training (or Systune training), buy Smaart7 DI, and start applying as you learn.
 
Re: Aligning and Correcting Speakers Question

kendallhadden said:
Hello everyone. First time poster but long time lurker.

Is there a cheap software to align and correct loudspeakers and subs. I know SMART is the software of choice but, for a weekend warrior that wants to better his/her sound, is there another way or software/hardware available.

My second choice would be to have someone tune my equipment for me, but I would have to drive at least two hours one way to find a company or person to do it.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Blessings,
kwh
Click to expand...
Having the tool and knowing how to understand what it is telling you are completely different things. You HAVE to have both.

WIth the experience and knowledge- you can use any tool (once you learn the "knobology") to come to the results that you are looking for.

All the tools tell you is the RESULT of what you are doing-NOT how to do it.

An example I use all the time is this. You measure a dip in the response. What the reason? Is it the freq response of the driver/cabinet? It is an interaction between different cabinets?-Is it a reflection?

All will cause the same notch-but you have to use other tools in the program and such to figure out what is causing it.

AND MORE IMPORTANTLY-can actually do anything about it-without screwing up the response at other seats?

THAT is the thing that so many people overlook. They eq to death one mic position-while screwing up the response in other seats trying to fix something that was actually in the TIME domain-NOT the freq domain.

One of the biggest things to understand in an alignment is what you CAN fix and what you should simply leave alone-because it can't be fixed. So just ignore it.
 
Re: Aligning and Correcting Speakers Question

Kendall,

I align and equalize loudspeaker systems, and I have some software that helps. If I let the software make the decisions I would get some very stupid and bad alignments and even worse EQ. Smaart and all other measurement programs are more than $100 because they cost a lot to develop and support, because people like me depend on them to do our jobs quickly and reliably. That said, I could do a half decent alignment with cheaper software - it would just be slow and perhaps frustrating. I require time domain information that most cheap software doesn't make available, and there are subtleties of measured results that might be inaccurate or missing.

Rational Acoustics has recently introduced Smaart DI, a simpler version of the software that's available for less money. It is a bargain for such a smooth and consistent piece of measurement software. That said, I would suggest spending your money on a training course first.
 
Re: Aligning and Correcting Speakers Question

Knowing what to do is definitely the most important step, especially if you are moving your system around. A setting in one room will be different than another room. If you don't know how to make those adjustments when you get there, it wouldn't matter if you had someone align things in the shop beforehand.

In most cases, with a good ear, you can get pretty darned close without any measurement tools. When I set up a system, I generally get things set by ear, and then pull the measurement tools to verify my settings. And of course, what sounds best always trumps what looks best on the graph.
 
Re: Aligning and Correcting Speakers Question

Brian jojade said:
Knowing what to do is definitely the most important step, especially if you are moving your system around. A setting in one room will be different than another room. If you don't know how to make those adjustments when you get there, it wouldn't matter if you had someone align things in the shop beforehand.

In most cases, with a good ear, you can get pretty darned close without any measurement tools. When I set up a system, I generally get things set by ear, and then pull the measurement tools to verify my settings. And of course, what sounds best always trumps what looks best on the graph.
Click to expand...

+1

Franz
 
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