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Room correction, DSP for dummies.

I have not paid a lot of attention to audio for some time, almost 15 years and as a result I am trying to catch up on some of the innovation and tech developments that have been popping up in that time. 

One of the more interesting to me is the advent of electronically guided digital signal manipulation to help quell small system issues and room reflections. It seems wildly promising but  the few systems that I have read about that seem to work well look to be  painfully expensive. 

Reports have seemed to indicate that this technology was making its way into other, more affordable formats but I guess I just don't understand or grasp where the field is going well enough to know where the bulk of the technology is and how its manifesting in our hobby. 

Who can help shed some light on where this tech is, how  its being applied and how can I make use of it without selling a kidney? Maybe that last part is not possible yet? 

Thanks in advance! 
128x128dsycks

Showing 1 response by mlsstl

mlsstl
1,379 posts
 
@recluse -- if you want to experiment on a relatively low cost basis, here's an option for you.

Buy a Raspberry Pi 3B+ or 4 ($30 or $40) along with a HiFiBerry DAC+DSP Hat (under $100 and fits on the RPI). A case for the boards, a power supply and an SD card might be another $25.  The needed HiFiBerry OS system is a free download.  Finally, you'll need a measurement microphone with a USB connection; there are a number of options for $100, give or take. 

Set up the RPi/DAC card and use it as a player into a line-level input on your stereo. The HiFiBerry OS has an option where, using the measurement microphone, it will measure the frequency response of your speakers in your room.  Once done that'll show you a graph of the response and give you options to make corrections -- bass only or several broader choices. 

The OS also has the option to do custom equalizations if you have others ideas in mind. 

Obviously this is something that requires a LOT of experimentation, but it gives an effective way to investigate your DSP options without throwing down big bucks. 
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