Go big or go BIG with DIRAC on DSP?
- Thread starter Sguirrelfeather
- Live activity
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This is the reason WHY I MYSELF DO NOT LIKE A DSP. Its a PITA to tune all the time. Going in and out of the HU and trying to tune every song and spend so much time and still end in disappointed results, and difficult tuning while driving.
Ive opted. out for a Perimetric -EQ/Pre-amp EQ. Cost so much less than majority of DSP units, unless you get a expensive unit like an A.Control or? But for less than $100 bucks, the Clarion 755 unit. Ive been looking at the Stetsom EQX764 to try out. I run my old Kicker KQ9s in all my systems if I dont use my Clarion or others. You get 9-16v of boost cleaner signal from the majority of the units. Best of all.. Tuning ON THE FLY. Knobs are best to me while driving. Youll master it in a week! So much easier to use and tune any song IMHO. Worth every penny from my experiencing. Most do not like the looks of an EQ, but I sure enjoy the results and the accessibility it provides and a whole lot less frustration incorporated.
Stetsom EQX764 - 7 Band EQ Equalizer + Same Day Shipping from USA! | eBay
TheEQX764 is a graphic equalizer with 7 equalization bands, 4 input channels and 6 output channels. Its modern, robust design makes installing and adjusting the equalizer easy.
I have one of these but finicky if amps grounds are not done correctly/solid. But when grounds are solid and securely done properly it works very well for as cheap as it is. Maybe try this unit out to see if a Preamp EQ will meet your needs for as cheap as it is to try out? Later maybe buy a better unit?
CT-7EQ // 7 Band 1/2 Din Parametric Car Audio Equalizer with AUX Input
The CT Sounds CT-7EQ is a 7 band 1/2 din parametric car audio equalizer designed to divide and enhance the segment of frequency for your car audio application. The car audio equalizer features 7 bands that divide 20Hz - 20kHz into 7 segments.
www.ctsounds.com
You can wedge them in between the drivers seat or use Extreme Vekcro(75lbs hold) and place it temporally before hard mounting it/ECT.,
But ..I myself Prefer a Preamp EQ rather than a DSP. Thats me. Its a waste of time for me to go in and out of the HU to tune. By that time Ive already reached my boiling point as I didnt succeed @ my tuning of my music once I reached my destination. All music is recorded differently and same tuning doesnt meet the criteria for my listening.
winkychevelle
10+ year member
CarAudio.com Veteran
Dirac can get 90% of the way there to a good professional tune. And there are several guides over on diymobileaudio on how to manipulate directly for better results.
Unfortunately all of the available autotune dsps are going to be slightly behind a good professional tune.
You can get good remote tunes with dsps from helix mosconi, and I believe Addison and jl from tuners like Jeffery halde
Unfortunately all of the available autotune dsps are going to be slightly behind a good professional tune.
You can get good remote tunes with dsps from helix mosconi, and I believe Addison and jl from tuners like Jeffery halde
OP
Sguirrelfeather
Senior VIP Member
- Thread Starter
- #4
I always thought about pre-EQs being used for OEM HUs which have built in EQ settings to drop bass below a certain point, or set certain freqs for the cabin so the DSP gets a flat response. Didn't think of doing the way you're talking about. Might be worth taking a gander.
Perhaps a dumb question, but I didn't see anything on the CT website. If it's a parametric EQ how do you adjust the width for each freq adjustment?
I'll google this in a moment but in case I don't find what you're talking about, what exactly are remote tunes? Is this like I use REW, get a reading, send it to someone and then they tell me what to change on the DSP to correct? Or something else?
EDIT: Read up on it......damn that's expensive! Probably worth it if you can't tune for crap like me. lol
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OP
Sguirrelfeather
Senior VIP Member
- Thread Starter
- #6
Yes. I have an active 3-way front stage with sub. On the A pillars are Massive CT2 tweeters (will be upgrading those to Stevens' SA1s once I get the pods for the pillars built) running off a budget CT sounds AT-125.4. In door pods are PRV 5MR450-NDY and Stevens' MB8s running off a Wolfram AW-250.4. In the back are a pair of 18" Fi BTL-3s fed from a Wolfram AW-9000. HU is a Pioneer DMH-1500NEX. Currently have the passive crossover on the amp splitting the freqs for the mids and mid-bass, but the HU is doing the work for tweets and subs.
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OP
Sguirrelfeather
Senior VIP Member
- Thread Starter
- #11
Appreciate it. I've gotten a lot of advice from some good people on here....and I've avoided some bad advice from some not so smart people on here. lol
I think I'll try a few variations. Maybe the EQ first, see how it sounds, then maybe incorporate a DSP with as good a tune I can get and then use the EQ to tweak on the fly....see what I like best? Still not 100% decided, but that doesn't sound like a bad thought process.
Ya man. Its so much easier to tune on the fly with an EQ for me rather than spending so much time going in and out of the HU or on a phone or laptop ect. Takes too much time and I get frustrated. Easy enough to reach down and turn things up ir down and fine tune. It also adds a little more clarity and is a bit louder with one addedKnobsmost dsp setups I've seen (granted they been cheap dsp) don't run the control knob from the amps so they can't adjust levels on the fly
winkychevelle
10+ year member
CarAudio.com Veteran
The average tune is $500 and yea thats a big ticket expense but you are paying for that tuner to spend his time fine tuning your system either remotely or in person. In person they provide the measurement gear remote either you rent it or provide your own.
So your paying for the tuners time and most importantly his knowledge. I can tune decently but I would never put myself in the same realm as some of those guys
I have been fairly lucky that my hearing is still really pretty decent compared to most around me that I still usually tune by ear. Ive been doing it that way for years. Its never perfect or precise, but to my liking, and generally sound fine for me
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Wow, kinda baffled here.
Once you get the tune right.
You don’t need to mess with it. However,
A bad tune you will.
You may have different type tunes for different reasons, based on location, driver, passenger, different curves or tastes to tune to, and so on.
A dsp is only part of the whole.
An rta and a calibrated mic is what tells you is happening in the car. You may well already know all this.
The dsp tunes it, as best as possible.
Rinse and repeat, it’s not rocket science, but it’s not a cakewalk, acoustics is a complex subject, car acoustics an order of magnitude more so.
Some issues cannot be fixed, some issues definitely don’t get fixed with the EQ. Knowing the differences only comes with study , time, and understanding.
If you don’t have time to learn, pay someone to do this, ask them what dsp they recommend. And take that advice.
I tune fairly well, but if I know a guy is better than me, and many are, I will pay him to tune, and can A B the tunes and learn from the experience, and I have been In acoustics work over 40 years now. Still learning.
It will never be perfect, but a modern dsp will give you the best shot at getting the tune right.
If you constantly have to adjust things, something is wrong, and an rta will tell what is wrong, if you know how to interpret the data.
Yes a lessor complicated system is way more easy. But only for the short term, you will forever be adjusting things.
Again a good tune you will not, get the tune right one time, and it’s done. May take many tunes to get to that place, but once you do, it’s over. Doesn’t matter if it’s classical, metal, country, gothic whatever, it all works.
The more you spend on the dsp the more tools you have to work with.
Some now include all pass filters , to deal with phase issues, and built in rta’s.
Ways to correct the input signals. And other cool stuff. Even amps with dsp and rtas . Cool “ all in ones”
that make installs Very clean.
But even basic dsp, filters, eq, gain, phase, will do a lot more than just a basic eq will, and do so much more quietly.
For dsp to work properly, you really need an all active system. A passive crossover in the mix will only drag the whole system down. And really limit ability to tune.
Or I could be completely wrong here….and just made all this up? And am trolling you.
Once you get the tune right.
You don’t need to mess with it. However,
A bad tune you will.
You may have different type tunes for different reasons, based on location, driver, passenger, different curves or tastes to tune to, and so on.
A dsp is only part of the whole.
An rta and a calibrated mic is what tells you is happening in the car. You may well already know all this.
The dsp tunes it, as best as possible.
Rinse and repeat, it’s not rocket science, but it’s not a cakewalk, acoustics is a complex subject, car acoustics an order of magnitude more so.
Some issues cannot be fixed, some issues definitely don’t get fixed with the EQ. Knowing the differences only comes with study , time, and understanding.
If you don’t have time to learn, pay someone to do this, ask them what dsp they recommend. And take that advice.
I tune fairly well, but if I know a guy is better than me, and many are, I will pay him to tune, and can A B the tunes and learn from the experience, and I have been In acoustics work over 40 years now. Still learning.
It will never be perfect, but a modern dsp will give you the best shot at getting the tune right.
If you constantly have to adjust things, something is wrong, and an rta will tell what is wrong, if you know how to interpret the data.
Yes a lessor complicated system is way more easy. But only for the short term, you will forever be adjusting things.
Again a good tune you will not, get the tune right one time, and it’s done. May take many tunes to get to that place, but once you do, it’s over. Doesn’t matter if it’s classical, metal, country, gothic whatever, it all works.
The more you spend on the dsp the more tools you have to work with.
Some now include all pass filters , to deal with phase issues, and built in rta’s.
Ways to correct the input signals. And other cool stuff. Even amps with dsp and rtas . Cool “ all in ones”
that make installs Very clean.
But even basic dsp, filters, eq, gain, phase, will do a lot more than just a basic eq will, and do so much more quietly.
For dsp to work properly, you really need an all active system. A passive crossover in the mix will only drag the whole system down. And really limit ability to tune.
Or I could be completely wrong here….and just made all this up? And am trolling you.
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OP I went from a Dayton 408 to a Helix and now have the mini DSP with Dirac and it’s been amazing. I actually liked the GUI on the Helix more but the tunes I’m getting from Dirac are outstanding. I think it would take me a year of trial and error to even get close. The best part is if I change gear, which I do often, I can knock out a pretty good tune in 20 minutes. I think one of the bigger drawbacks to the Mini 8x12 is it’s a pretty basic interface and doesn’t have the OEM integration some of the others have. There is a really good guide to get you off the ground. The guy I bought mine from previously had a remote tune on his helix by one of the best tuners in the industry and said his Dirac tune rivaled it. I’m sure in person tunes get you that last 10-15% and are better but I’m not competing so don’t care.
Changing the DSP isn't the solution- you need to correct the wiring. Vehicles change over time, look for the cause. Your battery could be on its way out and that acts as a filter, when it's in good condition. Did you upgrade the ground wire from the body to the battery when the system was installed? If not, that's the first thing I would address.
Dual JL Twk 88s here. $750 total for two "refurbished" units, they're brand new never used only returned. JL will fix or replace for $100 fee if dsp ever goes out.
With your system you only need one. Go spend $375 on a refurbished and call it a day. I would also redo your power and ground wiring and grab a decent AGM.
As for tuning just ear tune it already. In the future one can always grab a mic and use REW(FREE) software to properly tune. I never use "professionals" for car audio installs or tunes. If someone needs a "professional" tune because they can't do it themselves, they should find another hobby or be happy with a factory system.
With your system you only need one. Go spend $375 on a refurbished and call it a day. I would also redo your power and ground wiring and grab a decent AGM.
As for tuning just ear tune it already. In the future one can always grab a mic and use REW(FREE) software to properly tune. I never use "professionals" for car audio installs or tunes. If someone needs a "professional" tune because they can't do it themselves, they should find another hobby or be happy with a factory system.
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