anwaypasible
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mathaudio room EQ question
anwaypasible
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Last seen: 8 years 5 months ago
Joined: Oct 26 2015 - 5:43pm

i think i've found the answer myself.

when setting the time alignment, the soundwaves are indeed aligned.. though the reason why it sounds off to the side a bit is rather simple (just took me some time to figure it out).

see my television next to my computer monitored is angled.. it's like a triangle if you consider the front of the soundstage flat and the shape of whatever is on the desk as the other two lines for the triangle.

because of the two lines having a corner, reflections build up.
my guess is there might be a .5dB difference there at that spot, but that isn't the important part.
what is important is, because of those reflections, there is a longer decay time.
that longer decay time mixed with any small boosts in amplitude from soundwaves coming into contact with eachother, causing the boost, makes that specific area perceptually louder.

i had a pillow tucked between the sides of the two screens to keep the reflections out of there.
well i pulled that pillow out towards the front to block the soundwaves from interacting with eachother between the side of the computer monitor and the front of the television.
the soundwaves broke up.
there is still some soundwaves splashing off the side of the pillow that mix with the reflections coming off the front of the television causing a splash to be heard.. but the point is, there isn't any soundwaves directly on the pillow (the part that faces the listening position).
what that tells me is, the soundwaves aren't really coming to rest at that specific spot.. because if they were, the pillow wouldn't stop the sound - they would be on top of it from the left and right pressures holding it there.

thus my conclusion is yes, i need time alignment on top of using room EQ.

i posted this on another forum and a person replied with questions and other advice, though hearing it from somebody else got me thinking i could use the time alignment from the realtek control panel by setting the speakers to 5.1 even though i'm using only stereo.
but the way i've got it setup (virtual audio cable to liveprofessor to asio4all) the features of the control panel don't work (except for the volume slider and mute button).
thought i almost had an opportunity to re-calibrate with time alignment to check for a difference.
(my receiver ties the two front speakers together for the distance delay)

looks like i'm going to have to get rid of these two monitors and invest in a flat panel for both computer use and television.
it's a hard venture though, because my computer monitor has been calibrated with digital video essentials and unlike most monitors or televisions.. this one scores almost perfect for red, green, and blue (the green doesn't match exactly, but it is uber close compared to the other televisions or monitors i've calibrated).

i dunnno if i want to use my HD crt as my main monitor.
i've done it before because i had to, but it lacks the color accuracy the computer monitor has and i can see the aperture grill somewhat.

eh.. i guess if i love audio and can't afford a new television, might as well make the change for the better.
besides, i'll then be able to move my chair's position to something more center.. and i could pull the table over some more to allow the speaker cone even more room to radiate.

yeah, i think i've got a project for the day.
though i'm gonna miss not being able to selectively watch television while being on the computer.
maybe i'll see about using the crt's picture in picture feature.

thanks for your time, happy listening.

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