Installer’s Manual DEQX-‐Cal™ Version 2.
Table of Contents Copyright ......................................................................................................................................... 4 License ............................................................................................................................................ 4 Welcome to DEQX Calibration ........................................................................................................ 6 Features: ....................
Viewer Wizard ............................................................................................................ 91 Speaker Measurement Setup ................................................................................... 94 Physical Setup ....................................................................................................... 94 Other Setup ............................................................................................................
Copyright Copyright © 2012 DEQX Pty Ltd, Sydney, NSW, Australia (‘DEQX’). DEQX-Cal™ is a trademark of DEQX Pty Ltd. All other product or brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability DEQX Pty Ltd assumes no responsibility for loss or damage resulting from the use of the PDC2.6/PDC-2.6P, HDP-Express, HDP-3, HDP-Express II, HDP-4 or DEQX Mate (DEQX unit). Please refer the license supplied with the DEQX Calibration software.
GRANT OF LICENSE. DEQX grants the ‘Recipient’ a limited, nonexclusive, non-transferrable, royalty-free license to make and use the software accompanying this agreement (‘Product’) to be installed on approved Windows platforms for Recipient's use with DEQX Acoustic Digital Correction Hardware only. All other rights are reserved to DEQX.
Welcome to DEQX Calibration Compared to all other components in the audio recording, production, media and playback chain, the mechanical nature of loudspeakers makes them extraordinarily prone to errors and distortion that detract from realism. These include timing (phase errors) where numerous ‘groups’ of frequencies lag behind others to varying degrees. Related to these are amplitude (volume) errors that cause an inaccurate tonal balance that sound less ‘real’.
Features: Correcting full range ‘passive’ (traditional Hi-Fi) speakers plus room correction: Anechoic Frequency-response calibration Anechoic Phase-response/Timing-coherence calibration Integrate subwoofer/s with time-domain and/or Parametric EQ room correction Multiband Parametric EQ for real-time preference and room EQ adjustment Improved imaging and sound-staging Improved frequency-response accuracy Improved timing coherence Three band ‘tone’ control including a fully parametric-EQ ban
How to use this manual This manual is separated into three main sections: Using DEQX Calibrated™ - Step by step: A good starting point walks you through common procedures. Using DEQX Calibrated™ - Reference: Provides a more detailed description of parameters and processes. Finally, the Appendices provide additional information, such as a Glossary of Terms, and a comprehensive list of all Warnings and Error Messages.
Introduction DEQX units process the audio signal prior to power amplification so that the frequency and phase-response is corrected, while optionally incorporating linear-phase ‘active’ crossovers into the correction filters. This process involves three steps: • Measurement • Correction • Configuration The DEQX unit is linked via USB to a PC or Windows based Mac running the DEQX-Cal™ application.
Quick Start After connecting the DEQX unit to your systems in accordance with the User Manual on the CD provided with your unit you are ready to get started! Connect your calibrated microphone to the DEQX unit and set it up to measure a speaker (see: speaker measurement set up on page 94. Launch DEQX Calibration, click the ‘Measure Speakers’ icon. The measurement wizard guides you through the process of measurement.
Installing DEQX Calibration Software DEQX Calibration is installed with a standard Windows installation package. Insert the DEQX Calibration CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive. If you have auto run enabled the software installs automatically. Alternatively you can run the file: setup.exe to start the installation. You will be prompted to supply the user details and installation directory.
Selecting a serial port Verifying Your System Setup Immediately after connecting up your sound system, you should perform a preliminary configuration to verify your sound system wiring. DEQX units capable of 3-way active (PDC-2.6/P, HDP3, HDP4, Express and Express-II): The DEQX-Cal™ software automatically detects if your DEQX unit is capable of ‘active’ 3-way set up, or is limited to ‘single amplifier - for full range, usually passive, speakers - with optional subwoofer/s’ (e.g. DEQX ‘MATE’) .
Configuration Crossover Between Main Speakers and Subwoofer(s) Crossovers in Main Speakers Single Amp with Mono Subwoofer 24 dB/octave at 100 Hz None Single Amp with Stereo Subwoofers 24 dB/octave at 100 Hz None Bi-amp None 96 dB/octave at 2000 Hz Bi-amp with Mono Subwoofer 24 dB/octave at 100 Hz 96 dB/octave at 2000 Hz Bi-amp with Stereo Subwoofers 24 dB/octave at 100 Hz 96 dB/octave at 2000 Hz Tri-Amp None 48 dB/octave at 500 Hz, 96 dB/octave at 2000 Hz Open Default Project1.
The default crossovers should be suitable for verifying your system setup. Of course the crossover frequencies and slopes can be adjusted to best suit the characteristics of your speaker drivers. Refer to DEQX Configuration Parameters in the reference section for details on how to adjust the crossovers. Click on the DEQX, in Profile 1. Save All to DEQX button to load the configuration into the Now you can listen to your speakers to ensure that they are correctly connected.
Measuring a Loudspeaker To perform this step you need a Measurement microphone, correctly configured and set up in the appropriate position relative to the speaker. A DEQX ‘speaker’ measurement provides the speaker’s native (anechoic) output before room acoustics add too (corrupt) the native instrument’s output. This enables detailed timing correction to be applied, especially thru critical midrange frequencies, which isn’t possible to achieve from ‘room’ measurements.
The second window gives you the option creating a new speaker measurement or loading an existing one. Select the 'Create a new speaker measurement' radio button (if it is not already selected) and click Next.
Establish / re-establish the connection to the DEQX. Check that the symbol appears above the volume slider, and then click Next. Choose the Speaker Manufacturer, Model and Configuration for which you are performing the measurement. You can also specify a name for the measurement, or accept the default. In the Distance, Angle and Height fields enter details of the way in which you have set up the microphone relative to the speaker. Once you have entered the appropriate data, click Next to continue.
When using an ‘active’ configuration, the tweeter is driven directly by a power amplifier, so care must be taken not to damage it with inadvertent amplified ‘clicks’ – because it does not have a traditional passive crossover filter to protect it. The safest solution is to use a high quality film capacitor to block low frequencies and DC from damaging the tweeter. However, unless there is any DC voltage (e.g.
Specify a unique identifier for the speaker, then click Next to continue. The speaker's serial number is an appropriate choice as a unique identifier.
click Next to continue. (This applies whether you are measuring a speaker for the first time or Verifying a Speaker Correction.) The measurement wizard then downloads to the DEQX the test signals determined by your selection (see the figure above) and plays them (see the figure below). The IO Manager will be automatically displayed when the test signal starts playing. (This applies whether you are measuring a speaker for the first time or Verifying a Speaker Correction.
Use the IO Manager to select a microphone calibration file (if none is selected) and to adjust the Master Volume for optimum measurement. If you have the microphone around 3 feet (1 metre) or less from the speaker, we suggest a measured input level of between 80 and 90 dB SPL. This may have to be adjusted depending on the gain of your amplifier and the efficiency of your speaker drivers.
Once the volume has been set to an appropriate level and the correct microphone has been selected, click Run to start the measurement process. Note - you will need to ensure that ambient noise is minimized before clicking Run.
The screen picture shows a completed Measurement Wizard dialog for the Run phase of a BiAmp speaker measurement. The confidence levels for individual drivers are given as each driver is measured, so if the confidence (see Confidence in the Glossary of Terms) for the first driver is too low (less than 20 dB) you can halt the measurement, adjust the Master Volume, reduce ambient noise and/or increase the number of sweeps, then repeat the measurement. When measurement is complete without error, click Next.
The next Wizard dialog gives you the option of accepting the measurement or retrying. (This applies whether you are measuring a speaker for the first time, verifying a Speaker Correction or Measuring a Room.) Once you accept the measurement, and you do not wish to run more measurements immediately, the final Measurement wizard dialog gives you the following options when you click Finish: Close the wizard normally - this closes the Measurement Wizard.
The Calibration Wizard covers both analysis and correction phases. You can analyze speakers and correct them individually or analyze a group of speakers and correct them as a whole. The Calibration Wizard guides you through this process. For more information refer to Correcting a Loudspeaker below. The speaker correction can be verified after it has been generated. See Verifying a Speaker Correction on page 36.
Correcting a Loudspeaker Once a speaker measurement has been carried out, using the Measurement Wizard, a correction filter can be generated for the speaker, using the Calibration Wizard.
The second window gives you the option creating a new speaker calibration or loading an existing one. Select the 'Create a new speaker calibration' radio button (if it is not already selected) and click Next.
Select the configuration of the measured speakers. Select the speaker configuration that corresponds to the speaker configuration that you used when measuring the speakers. For example, if you measured a speaker with a bi-amp configuration, then select bi-amp configuration in this dialog. Select the speaker measurements to be used for the speaker calibration. Note – non- matching speakers should not be corrected together.
Select Next to continue Provide a name for the calibration template or accept the default name. Click Next to continue.
Calibration Wizard Clicking Next opens a window initially showing the impulse-response of the speaker(s) as measured. This impulse-response is shown on the anechoic tab of the window. Unless you measured the speaker in an anechoic chamber, the impulse-response as measured will include room reflections. In order to remove these room reflections and thus provide a correction of the speaker by itself, it is necessary to ‘window’ or ‘truncate’ the impulse-response.
In the figure above are the smoothed measurements corresponding to the windowed measurement. The truncation of the anechoic impulse-response necessarily causes smoothing of the windowed response. This smoothing increases at lower frequencies. The shorter the duration of the truncated signal, the greater the smoothing generated. This smoothing causes the correction at lower frequencies to be less accurate than if there were no truncation.
In the Limits tab the ‘Full Range’ line and the ‘Desired Response’ line are shown. The Full Range is the measured response of the whole speaker, incorporating digital crossovers if you have included these. The Desired Response is the theoretical calibrated response of the speaker, having regard to the effective frequency range of the correction and the boost and cut limits. The effective frequency range and the boost and cut limits can be adjusted.
Of course if both the closer baffle-to-microphone distance AND absorbing floor reflections can be achieved, then a 12ms delay would be possible before the first reflection needs to be truncated, providing accurate bass phase information down to around 100Hz. Why not measure very close to the speaker’s baffle? As noted above, the closer the microphone is to the speaker driver/s baffle, the less will be the corruption from room reflections.
results. You can use the four different profiles on the DEQX for comparisons. The best starting point is to use the manufacturer's crossover frequencies. As a rule of thumb, do not cross-over to a tweeter at frequency lower than 2Khz in the case of a 1” tweeter, and 3.5kHz in the case of a ¾” tweeter. 3. Try varying the anechoic window cursor and the smoothing level to see how the frequencyresponse is affected. If there are anomalies in the response this is a good place to experiment.
The above window displays the calibration information. Click Finish to create a calibration and Next to exit the Calibration wizard.
Once the calibration process is complete the results of the correction filter are displayed in a new tab at the bottom of the calibration wizard. Verifying a Speaker Correction Once a pair of speakers has been corrected (See Correcting a Loudspeaker), one or both of the measurements can be verified. To verify a speaker measurement, click on the Verify Results button.
We recommend that the last speaker to be measured be verified, so it will not be necessary to move the speaker or the microphone. The Verification Measurement Wizard will start. The Verification Measurement Wizard defaults to the settings that were used when the measurement was originally carried out. The first screen is an introduction to the verification wizard. Click Next to continue.
The first dialog lists the correction sets and, within those, the correction filters, that have been generated with the current calibration template.
Select the speaker that you wish to verify, then click Next.
Set the volume to an appropriate level to achieve a similar volume as measured by the microphone as was achieved when the speaker was originally measured, using the Master Volume control on the IO Manager. You may find that the Master Volume has to be set to a different level than was used when the speaker was originally measured because of cut or boost applied by the correction filter. Click Run to start the verification measurement.
Once the measurement is completed click Next.
The next Wizard dialog gives you the option of Accepting the measurement or Retrying. If the confidence (see Confidence in the Glossary of Terms) is too low (less than 20 dB) you can adjust the Master Volume, reduce ambient noise and / or increase the number of sweeps, then repeat the measurement.
If you clicked Accept in the previous dialog, this final dialog will appear, with the verification measurement displayed behind it on the Data Viewer. Click Finish to close the dialog and the Verification Wizard.
A verification measurement displayed in the Data Viewer. Note that verification measurements are not stored. If you would like to print the graph for later use select print from the file menu. Click Sum to see the summed measurement. Configuring the DEQX unit Once a correction set has been created for a speaker (or pair of speakers), the DEQX must be configured. To carry out a configuration, click on the Configure icon in the software. This will start the DEQX Configuration Wizard.
The first window of the Configuration Wizard provides a brief introduction to the use of the wizard. Click Next to continue.
The second window gives you the option of creating a new configuration or loading an existing one. Select the 'Create a new DEQX configuration' button (if it is not already selected) and click Next. In the third dialog window of the wizard, enter a name for the configuration, and choose the type of configuration (or mode) that best matches your speaker set up and the method you used to measure the speakers.
This will take you to the last dialog window and open the Configuration Window behind the Configuration Wizard. The last dialog window of the wizard provides tips on how to complete the configuration. Click Finish to leave the Configuration Wizard. Click Finish to Create the configuration. Each configuration has 4 profiles, with default names as follows: Profile 0 Profile 1 Profile 2 Profile 3 The profiles can be renamed and each profile can be different.
you wish to configure Profile 3 to have that correction set. Method, 1. Double-click on the box for the left speaker – this brings up the Left: Filter Properties box. 2. On the Main Filter tab, select Use a correction filter for this loudspeaker. 3. Select Calibration Templates, then the speaker name, the Correction Set you generated, then the speaker that you have set up in the left position. (Refer to the figure below) 4. Click OK. 5.
Each filter can be further adjusted by using low pass and / or high pass filters and time alignment. This can be useful when using a full range speaker in conjunction with a subwoofer. For further details see DEQX Configuration Parameters. Once the profiles have been configured they can be loaded into the DEQX by clicking on the Save All To DEQX button. Note - when the Save All to DEQX button is clicked, all four profiles from the open configuration are saved to the DEQX.
Equalizer tab at the bottom of the DEQX Control Panel. Changes made to the Parametric Equalizer take effect in real-time. To add an EQ band to the equalizer, click on the Add Point button on the tool bar at the top of the screen, then click on the EQ curve at the desired frequency of the EQ band. The cursor changes to cross hairs, where the center frequency and bandwidth may be adjusted by clicking and dragging the relevant point.
Close-up of an EQ band, showing the center-point and the left and right end points The three values of an EQ band (i.e. frequency, gain and width) can also be set numerically by clicking on the EQ band in question then right-clicking (or by double-clicking on the band), clicking on Properties then entering the appropriate values.
Alternatively, if you have more than one project loaded (Refer to Projects in the Reference section), the first window will prompt you to supply the name of the project in which the measurement will be stored.
You can accept the default project or select another project from the drop-down box, then click Next to continue.
The second window gives you the option creating a new room measurement or loading an existing one. Select the 'Create a new room measurement' radio button (if it is not already selected) and click Next. Enter the required measurement parameters. All drivers in a speaker may be measured concurrently. Measuring drivers separately may help to isolate response or room characteristics associated with a particular driver. Click Next to continue.
Select the speakers you wish to measure. Each speaker will be measured in turn. Click Next to continue. Each room may be measured in several locations. Click Run to continue.
The PDC will be initialised. This will take a few seconds. Then test signal will be played. The IO Manager will be opened automatically, so that you can set the Master Volume to an appropriate level. We suggest that it be set so that input level (as measured by the microphone) peaks at about 90 dB. Some experimentation may be required for best results. Select the microphone as required, using the lower of the two drop down boxes for Input Selection. Click Run to continue.
Note - during a room measurement, not only is the Master Volume level taken into account, but so is; * The filter in the current profile, including the speaker correction filter(s) and any crossover between a speaker filter and a subwoofer filter * All settings in the IO Manager, including individual channel gain and any channel soloing, muting, or polarity settings. The parametric EQ and the EQ applied from the remote control are NOT taken into account during a room measurement.
If the measurement was successful click the Next button. Otherwise click Retry, repeating the measurement with more sweeps, lower ambient noise or adjusted volume level.
If you have finished taking measurements, click the Finish button. By default the Parametric Equalizer will be opened, with the room measurements loaded so the results can be seen. A room measurement loaded in the Parametric Equalizer window Using Parametric EQ to Equalize a Room By default, the room measurement is smoothed by 100% as the high resolution room effects are often very position dependant. The smoothing level can be changed by using the Smoothing slider at the top of the equalizer.
Manual Room Equalization To add an EQ Band to counteract a peak or trough in a room measurement, first click on the ‘Add Point’ button on the tool bar at the top of the screen. For instructions on how to move and shape an EQ band, refer to Using the Parametric EQ.
Part of the room measurements for left and right speakers, prior to the addition of any parametric EQ 61
One band of parametric EQ applied to the room measurements, duplicating the line of the room measurements.
Several bands of Parametric EQ applied to the room measurements The Parametric EQ bands inverted using the Invert Button, in order to cancel out the peaks and troughs of the room measurements You can of course also apply the EQ bands without using the Invert EQ button, by adding EQ bands that have gain which is the opposite of that of the room effects.
A single EQ Band applied to correct a trough in a room measurement Notes: • The Invert EQ button will invert the whole of the EQ line, irrespective of whether the EQ bands were generated manually (by you) or automatically (by Autoset EQ as described below). Thus, if you plan to do some manual room equalization, making use of the Invert EQ feature, as well as using the Autoset EQ button for the lower frequencies, make sure to do the manual room equalization before using the Autoset EQ button.
• Sharp spikes in a room measurement are generally less audible than broad peaks and thus as a rule do not require correction as much. If you need to choose between correcting a broad peak and a sharp spike, the priority would normally be to correct the broader peak. Automated Room Equalization Using Autoset EQ To apply an automated equalization of the room measurement, first make sure that the room measurements are smoothed to 100%.
A room measurement with automated EQ set, using the default settings Notes: • The Autoset EQ defaults to ‘minimal disturbance’ by introducing only narrow bandwidth filters at the frequencies with relatively subtle amplitude correction where maximum deviation occurs. It is recommended to make manual manipulations of ‘Autoset’ levels and bandwidths as music is playing in order to achieve personal preferences. If extra profiles available, they can be used to store several versions of EQ.
Incorporating a Subwoofer There are a number of different ways to incorporate a subwoofer. However, one method is as follows: 1. Measure and Correct your speakers (see Measuring a Loudspeaker and Correcting a Loudspeaker). When correcting the speakers, window in order to eliminate the first reflection.
For example, in the figure above the right speaker has been moved up from 31.2 dB to 31.7 dB, in order to get the overall level of the measurement curves for the left and right speaker to be visually as close as possible. Note that in this step, you are not adjusting the actual level that you will hear.
13. In the IO Manager, use the gain adjustment for the individual channels to input the gain or cut that you determined in steps 7 to 12 above. For example, for the example given in step 8, increase the right speaker channel by 0.5 dB (if it's bi-amped, increase both the right woofer (R2) and the right tweeter (R3) by 1.5 dB). And for the example in step 10, increase the subwoofer(s) (L1 and R1) by 6 dB. 14. Repeat steps 5 to 7 to check the adjustments made in step 13. If necessary, repeat steps 8 to 13.
At the first window of the Speaker Measurement Wizard, just click Next, or, if you have more than one project loaded (as per the figure above), select the project that contains the existing measurement, then click Next.
At the second window of the Speaker Measurement Wizard, select the 'Load an existing speaker measurement' radio button. This displays existing speakers, sorted by manufacturer, model, serial number and measurement format (ie single amp, bi amp, tri amp or subwoofer). Click on the + sign for the desired speaker and measurement format. This will show the existing measurements for that speaker and measurement format combination. Select the desired measurement then click the Next button.
An existing measurement displayed in the Viewer window Alternatively, you can view an existing speaker measurement by going through the Viewer icon. Click the Viewer icon . This opens the Viewer Wizard.
At the first window of the Viewer Wizard, just click Next, or, if you have more than one project loaded (as per the figure above), select the project that contains the existing measurement, then click Next.
At the second window of the Viewer Wizard, select the 'Load old measurement or filters into a new viewer' radio button. Click on the + sign next to the Speakers folder, then click on the + sign next to the desired speaker / measurement format combination. This will show measurements and correction filters (if any) for that speaker / measurement format combination. Check the box next to the desired measurement, then click the Next button.
Similar to the third window of the Speaker Measurement Wizard, the measurement can be displayed in either: 1. The Viewer (the New Viewer option in the drop-down box shown in the figure above) 2. The Equalizer tab of the PDC Control Panel 3. An existing Viewer window (the Viewer (1) option shown in the figure above) - ie one containing another measurement that you loaded into the Viewer previously. Select the window you wish to display the measurement and click the Finish button.
At the first window of the Calibration Wizard, just click Next, or, if you have more than one project loaded (as per the figure above), select the project that contains the existing calibration template, then click Next.
The second window gives you the option of creating a new speaker calibration template or loading an existing one. Select 'Load an existing speaker calibration' and click Next. This displays a list of the speaker calibration formats (ie single amp, bi amp, tri amp and subwoofer) used by existing speaker calibration templates. Click on the + sign next to the desired speaker calibration format. This will display a list of all speaker calibration templates with that format.
How to View an Existing Room Measurement This is similar to viewing an existing speaker measurement. Click on the Room Measurement Icon .
At the first window of the Room Measurement Wizard, just click Next, or, if you have more than one project loaded (as per the figure above), select the project that contains the existing measurement, then click Next.
At the second window of the Room Measurement Wizard, select the 'Load an existing room measurement' radio button. This displays a list of rooms that have been measured and, within each room, a list of the existing room measurements. At this point you can either: 1. Select the desired room measurement by checking the box next to it, then clicking Next. This will select the room measurements of both / all the speakers in that room measurement. 2.
An existing room measurement displayed in the PDC Control Panel Equalizer window Alternatively, and similar to speaker measurements, you can also view an existing room measurement by going through the Viewer icon. Upgrading the Firmware To upgrade the firmware on the PDC, choose Tools-Upgrade PDC firmware from file. Click on the Upgrade button. When the upgrade is complete, click on the Finish button.
Project Concepts & Project Hierarchy In the course of performing calibrations with DEQX Calibration you work primarily with one type of file, the Project file. You cannot perform a calibration without a project file. A project file contains all the data for calibration of your sound system, i.e. speaker and room measurements, analysis design parameters, speaker and room correction filters.
Within the Speakers folder can be one or more ‘Speakers’. Each one of these Speakers corresponds to a physical speaker plus the speaker configuration type, as per the example in the figure above. The fifth ‘Speaker’ in the list above is a C&X brand speaker, model 916, serial number 034193, in a single amp configuration. It can be seen from the figure above that a physical speaker can have more than one type of speaker configuration.
The Calibration Templates Folder The Calibration Templates folder has sub-folders as shown below. Directly within the Calibration Templates folder are the templates. A template contains one or more speakers (of the same configuration). The template contains the current correction parameters you have chosen (for an explanation of correction parameters, refer to Speaker Calibration Parameters).
Calibrate / Analyze Measurement (refer to Correcting a Loudspeaker). Within each template are two folders, one for the Measurements that have been used and one for the Correction Sets created. Within the Measurements folder are shortcuts to the speaker measurement(s) that have been used. Within the Correction Sets folder are the Correction Sets that have been generated using the Calibration Wizard.
Within the Room Measurements folder can be any number of room measurement folders. Each room measurement folder represents a room / audio system combination. Within each room measurements folder is a Measurement Positions folder. Within that folder are one or more measurement position folders, nominally representing different locations of the microphone.
Within each configuration folder is a PDC Profiles folder. Within that folder are the four profiles for that configuration – Bypass, Profile 1, Profile 2 and Profile 3. These profiles can be renamed by right-clicking on the filter name and choosing Rename. This has been done in the figure above. Note: most items which appear in the Project Explorer can be renamed with this method. Renaming items is useful for finding them more easily in the future.
Room Measurements are named: Speaker if the drivers are measured concurrently. example: ‘Left’ Driver if the drivers are not measured concurrently. example: ‘L2 (Left Woofer)’ File Types DEQX Cal has two data file types: 1. Project files, with a mzd file extension. A Project file contains the calibration data and settings for a specific sound system. 2. Microphone calibration files, with a mic file extension. A microphone calibration file contains calibration data specific to that microphone.
The Project Explorer showing a new project called Project 1 To open a closed folder, double click the folder icon or single-click the + button at its left. To close an open folder, double click the folder or single-click the - button at its left. Right click objects and folders to view a pop-up menu offering options specific to the object or folder. At the top of the Project Explorer is the Manufacturers and Microphones folder. Open the folder to view the MANUFACTURERS and MICROPHONES folders.
• • • • • • • • • Open the Project Explorer in the ‘View’ menu. Open the project you wish to insert data into (here on in called the destination). Go to the File menu, and select the ‘Insert Project’ option and select the project you wish to import the data from (here on in called the source). Before trying to copy any other data, copy a 'PDC Configuration' from your source project into the destination via 'drag and drop' in the 'Project Explorer'. This will copy over your PDC profiles AND measurements.
At the second window of the Viewer Wizard, select the 'Load old measurement or filters into a new viewer' radio button. (Alternatively, if you are used to using the Project Explorer, you can also create a blank viewer, then drag and drop measurements from the Project Explorer into the viewer. Refer to Using the Project Explorer in Working with Projects.
Click on the + sign next to the desired type of measurement / filter, then drill down to select the particular measurement(s) or filter(s). For example, click on the + sign next to the Speakers folder, then click on the + sign next to the desired speaker / measurement format combination. This will show measurements and correction filters (if any) for that speaker / measurement format combination. Check the box next to the desired measurement, then click the Next button.
Speaker Measurement Setup Physical Setup In order to measure a speaker’s frequency-response, the speaker should be placed in a location that provides the best measurement results. The speaker and microphone should be located as far as possible from reflecting surfaces, in order to maximize the duration of the signal that is received prior to the first reflection.
The microphone should be mounted about 2 ft to 3 ft (or 60 cm to 1 metre) from the speaker and lined up with the tweeter axis. Best results will be obtained if you use a microphone stand with a boom to support the microphone. If larger speakers are used it may be necessary to mount the microphone further from the speaker, in order to reduce the angle between the drivers and the microphone (and any associated off-axis effects).
The speaker to be measured should be connected to the user’s power amplifier. The inputs of the power amplifier should be connected to the appropriate outputs of the PDC. Refer to Speaker Wiring and Amplifier Connection in the PDC-2.6 and PDC-2.6P User’s Manual. Before carrying out a speaker measurement, you should ensure that all forms of extraneous noise have been eliminated or at least reduced as much as possible.
The number of sweeps can be set between 1 and 36. Fewer sweeps allows faster speaker measurement, but more sweeps can yield better measurement results, including higher confidence. The sweeps are added together and averaged to reduce the effect of discontinuous noises during the measurement. The tweeter (and midrange driver) minimum measurement frequency are set in order to protect the tweeter and midrange driver from low frequencies that may damage such drivers.
Select the speaker that you wish to verify, then click Next.
Set the volume to an appropriate level to achieve a similar volume as measured by the microphone as was achieved when the speaker was originally measured, using the Master Volume control on the IO Manager. You may find that the Master Volume has to be set to a different level than was used when the speaker was originally measured. This is because of the cut or boost applied by the correction filter. Click Run to start the verification measurement.
Once the measurement is completed click Next. The next Wizard dialog gives you the option of Accepting the measurement or Retrying. If the confidence (see Confidence in the Glossary of Terms) is too low (less than 20 dB) you can adjust the Master Volume, reduce ambient noise and / or increase the number of sweeps, then repeat the measurement.
if you clicked Accept in the previous dialog, this final dialog will appear, with the verification measurement displayed behind it on the Data Viewer. Click Finish to close the dialog and the Verification Wizard.
A verification measurement displayed in the Data Viewer DEQX Viewer and Response Charts The Viewer Wizard Data Viewer and Parametric EQ Chart Controls The Data Viewer is used for viewing and manipulating impulse, frequency, phase and group delay response data.
The following functions are available as buttons or controls within the Data Viewer or on the tool bar. • Zooming: or Zoom Out Zoom In The Zoom In control can be used to zoom in on a particular frequency band and / or gain/phase band. The Zoom Out control reverses this process. When Zoom In is selected, the right-mouse button can also be used to zoom out. To zoom in on a specific region, select the Zoom In control, then click and drag over the region of interest.
Smoothing can also be applied to an individual plot by entering a value in the Smooth column for the relevant plot.
• Gain adjust (scale): o Normalise to 0dB - the selected plots will be shifted in the vertical axis so that they are centered around 0 dB, whilst maintaining their relative levels. The scale for an individual plot can also be adjusted by entering a value in the Scale column for the relevant plot. o Reset - this reverses the shift applied by the Normalise to 0dB button. Again, it is applied only to the selected plots.
• Remove - this removes (instead of just hiding) the selected plot • Selection: o All o None o Invert These controls are for easy selection and de-selection of plots. All selects / shows all plots that are listed in the rows underneath the chart. None de-selects / hides all the plots. Invert selects / shows the plots that were previously de-selected / hidden and de- selects / hides the plots that were previously selected / shown.
• • View - this selects between Impulse-response, Frequency-response, Phase-response and Group Delay Response. Markers - this adds horizontal, vertical or both markers to the chart. These markers can be moved in order to determine the difference in frequency / phase / gain between two points on the chart. With Both chosen, vertical dashed lines are added to the chart, with a marker on each to indicate horizontal position.
One of the primary functions of the IO Manager is to provide access to the Parametric Equaliser for EQ to be applied in real-time. Click on the Equalizer tab to display the EQ window. See Using the Parametric EQ for more details. Click on the Configuration tab to display the current PDC configuration. Click on the Filters tab and click on the Download button to display the current filters in the PDC. The IO Manager in Detail Master Volume - this adjusts the output volume.
appearance from to . Click it again to unmute the output signal. When the user mutes the output signal, the light on the volume control of the PDC will flash to indicate that the volume has been muted. The volume level can be adjusted with the Master Volume and with the volume button on the PDC when the output signal is muted. The adjusted volume will take effect when the output signal is unmuted by the user by pressing the Unmute button.
change to digital-out only you will also have to disable the Analog Volume. By default preamp PDC models with digital output have Analog Volume disabled. Input Level Meter This shows the instantaneous input level for the left and right channels. As the volume changes, the peak volume (held for 3 seconds) is shown as a line above the solid level bar. The peak volume is also reported at the top of the meter, whilst the instantaneous level is reported at the bottom of the meter.
signal (this applies only if the PDC has the digital out option) Serial #: The PDC's unique internal serial number Firmware Ver: The version number of the firmware currently installed on the PDC Status Reg, DSP Cyc/sec, Mode Reg, Free mem words: information that may be used by DEQX for tracing faults. The PDC Control Panel vs the PDC Configuration Window Some of the tabs of the PDC Control Panel and the PDC Configuration Window look similar.
Output Single Amp Bi-‐Amp Tri-‐Amp Subwoofer L1 no connection no connection Woofer 1 Sub 1 L2 Speaker 1 (left) Woofer 1 Mid-‐range 1 no connection L3 no connection Tweeter 1 Tweeter 1 no connection R1 no connection no connection Woofer 2 Sub 2 R2 Speaker 2 (right) Woofer 2 Mid-‐range 2 no conn
Bi Amp with Mono Sub Tri Amp L3 – Left Tweeter R3 – Right Tweeter L2 – Left Woofer R2 – Right Woofer L1 – Mono Subwoofer R1 – Same as L1 L3 – Left Tweeter R3 – Right Tweeter L2 – Left Mid range R2 – Left Mid range L1 – Left Woofer R1 – Right Woofer PDC Configuration Parameters Each speaker in a conf
and mid-range drivers and mid-range drivers and tweeters in a tri-amp configuration, without using a correction filter. Limit filters can also be used with this option. 3. Bypass correction or crossover for this loudspeaker, but still use limit filters - this is for using external limit filters or crossovers (see Limit Filters below) without speaker correction or internal crossovers (say between woofers and tweeters). 4.
slope of 300 dB per octave and a frequency of 2500 Hz will create a delay of 3.85 milliseconds. Linkwitz-Riley and Butterworth filters are a bit more complicated. They do create delay - however it is not universal across the frequency spectrum. For example, a 200Hz/48dB Linkwitz-Riley crossover has a delay around 4 milliseconds around 20Hz, around 6 milliseconds around 200Hz, with the delay dropping down to zero as the stop band is approached.
measurement and record details about the measurement. These are 1. Room Name 2. Room Measurement Position A number of parameters, set in the Room Measurement Wizard, affect the room measurement. These are 1. Measurement signal sweep duration 2. Number of sweeps 3. Whether drivers (of a speaker) are measured concurrently or not 4. PDC Profile to be used during the measurement The measurement signal is a log sweep.
An anechoic measurement of a speaker, with 75% smoothing The same anechoic measurement, with 100% smoothing 118
An in-room measurement of the same speaker, with the first reflection included, with 75% smoothing The same in-room measurement, with 100% smoothing For example, in certain circumstances you may find that it is difficult to perform a speaker measurement without getting reflections early in the measurement, so that it is not reasonable to truncate the measurement before the first reflection.
However, the higher the slope of a linear phase crossover, the greater the delay required to implement it. Thus if minimising delay is a priority for you, you may choose to use a lower slope crossover, such as 48 dB per octave. Woofer and Tweeter correction filters, with a 48dB per octave crossover Woofer and Tweeter correction filters, with a 300dB per octave crossover The Crossover Frequency (or crossover frequencies for tri-amp templates) can be set by the user.
measurement - for example, if the tweeter was high-pass limited to 2000 Hz during the speaker measurement then the crossover frequency is set by the user to 1500 Hz. The optimum crossover frequency for a combination of drivers is best determined by experimentation and listening - it cannot be reliably determined from inspection of the frequencyresponse alone of the drivers.
optimisation will design a filter that typically exceeds both the error tolerances that are specified, but uses all of the delay specified in Maximum Delay. If delay in the filter is not critical, this option is advisable because it produces the best filters (least error) for that particular delay value. In fact, the most phase and time correction can be achieved by specifying the largest amount of Maximum Delay, while optimising for Minimum Error.
configuration of the loudspeaker measurements that you wish to import, then click Next. At the third window, enter the path and file name(s) of the data file(s) containing the data you wish to import. You can browse for the file(s) by selecting the ... button. Once the file has been selected, it's full path and name, title, sampling frequency and duration in milliseconds will be displayed. Click Next to continue.
The import wizard allows optimization of the measurements being imported. The optimisation features available depend on the file type being imported. Once you are happy, click Next. The fifth window of the wizard will ask for speaker details, a measurement name and measurement details. Enter these details then click Next. The data will be imported to a speaker measurement with the details you have entered. Click Finish to close the import wizard.
Setup Options DEQX Cal can be configured in a number of ways. To change the set up options choose ToolsOptions. Configuration Tab The Configuration tab is shown below. Hardware - the PDC can be connected to the PC using either a USB cable or an RS232 cable (note - not both simultaneously). If an RS232 cable is used, the appropriate port (ie COM1, COM2, COM3 etc) must be selected. Units - The DEQX Cal software can use either metric or imperial units for distances.
The following items all do as their names suggest, when the tick box next to them is ticked: 126 • • Disable Front Panel Controls Reload last project at startup • • • Save project file after each measurement Automatically highlight new items in project Show hint texts in charts The Reset ‘Do No Show Again’ Warnings button does as the name suggests when clicked. Chart Tab The Chart tab is shown below.
• • • • • X Title X Labels Y Title Y Labels (and if the Y labels Inside tickbox is ticked, the Y Labels will be inside the chart area.
If the Sync with system colors tickbox is ticked, all the colors and fonts of the chart elements will match the Windows color scheme. PDC Tab The PDC tab is shown below. The PDC tab allows the appearance of the PDC Configuration template to be changed.
Element Properties Which Can be Changed Background Color Wiring Color Borders Color Filters Color Empty Filters Color Selected Filter Color Unknown Config Color Labels Font and Color Titles Font and Color Filter Properties Font and Color If the Sync with system colors tickbox is ticked, all the colors and fonts of the above elements will match the Windows color scheme.
Then drag the Options command to between the New and Open buttons. Whilst being dragged over areas other than the toolbars and menus (i.e. over areas that a command cannot be placed in), the mouse pointer changes in appearance to a small button, with a mouse pointer, next to which is a X to indicate that the command cannot be placed there. When a valid location on a toolbar is reached, a vertical bar appears to show where the command would be inserted, as shown below.
Moving a command to a menu is similar to the example given above for moving a command to a toolbar. When the Command tab is displayed, a command can be removed from a toolbar by clicking on it and dragging it off the toolbar. Similarly a command can be removed from a menu by clicking on it and dragging it off the menu. Toolbars Tab The Toolbars tab is shown below. The Toolbars tab can be used to show or hide toolbars (by clicking on the tickbox to the left of the toolbar name).
Individual toolbars or all the toolbars can be reset, restoring the set(s) of buttons in the toolbar(s) to the original set(s). Use the Reset and Reset All buttons. New toolbars can be created (by clicking on the New button). New Toolbars can be renamed, using the Rename button. Toolbars can be deleted, using the Delete button. The text labels for individual toolbars can be displayed or hidden (by clicking on the tickbox next to Show text labels when the toolbar is selected).
2. In the Commands box, select PDC Control Panel. 3. Click on the Press New Shortcut Key text entry box. 4. Press the Alt key and I key simultaneously. 'Alt+I' appears in the text box and under the text box the message 'Assigned to: [Unassigned]' appears, indicating that Alt+I is not assigned to any other command.
5. Click on the Assign button to assign Alt+I to the PDC Control Panel. Alt+I is moved into the Current Keys box, as shown below. 6. Click Close. Options Tab The Options tab is shown below.
When the Show Screen Tips on toolbars tickbox is ticked, leaving the mouse pointer above a toolbar button for more than about 0.5 seconds will display a very brief explanation of the button. If the Show shortcut keys in Screen Tips tickbox is also ticked, the explanation will also show a keyboard shortcut (if one has been assigned) for the button. When the Large Icons tickbox is ticked, the toolbar icons are larger than standard. Appendices Contacting DEQX To contact DEQX: Email: support@deqx.
Reporting an Error If an error occurs whilst using the PDC or the DEQX Cal software, in the first instance refer to the sections on Error Messages and Troubleshooting in the Appendices. If the error is not covered in those sections, please write down the error, describing the error and the circumstances leading up to the error in as much detail as reasonably possible. The following details can be helpful when reporting the error: - The serial number of the DEQX unit.
Error Messages Listed below are error or warning messages and the steps to resolve the error. Error Message Solution A project with that name already exists at the specified location. Do you want to overwrite the file? You have attempted to create a project with a name that matches an existing project in the same directory.
An exception occurred during processing. Unknown. Contact DEQX. An invalid link type was found. Please ensure that it is set to either USB or RS232. Defaulting to USB... If using RS232, set the COM port to the correct port. If using USB, set the link to USB. Refer to Setting up PDC/PC Communications for further details. Directory does not exist You attempted to save a file to a directory that does not exist.
The PDC is having trouble re-entering filtering mode. This can be resolved by turning the PDC off then on again. Turn the unit off then on again and try again. If the error message recurs, turn the unit off using the power switch on rear, then, whilst holding down the P3 button on the front panel, turn the unit back on again. The project file cannot be overwritten. This may be due a sharing violation. Another application is using the project file. Close the other application and try again.
Glossary Channel A single audio entity where one or more outputs are related to a single input. An amplification channel is used to indicate all the processing (including the PDC hardware) up to an amplifier output. A processing channel indicates all processing on the PDC from a single input to one or more outputs. Confidence An indicator of the quality of the measurement. It is not the same as signal to noise ratio (SNR), but it is related.
The group delay term comes from the concept that groups of frequencies, which form an energy band, will be delayed by the average group delay of that band, provided the frequency-response is slowly varying in that band. Group delay is defined as the rate of change of the total phase shift with respect to frequency.
Trouble Shooting What to do if the Project Icon Appears Gray in the Explorer Projects may be disabled if the corresponding project file is read-only. This may occur if the project file is on a read-only medium, such as a CD-ROM, or if the file property is set to read- only. Copy the project file to a writable medium and ensure the file properties do not include read- only. Now you should be able to open the project and use it normally.
you are comparing corrected and uncorrected signals in an A-B comparison, it may be necessary to adjust the overall volume level of the corrected signal. You can use the Gain Adjust controls of the IO Manager to do this. Resetting the EEPROM Sometimes it may be necessary to reset the EEPROM (also known as the E2) in order to restore normal function of the PDC. The EEPROM is a memory chip.
