[cdgatti]

Contemplating seriously to add a DSP to my system. Currently have an Audiocontrol EQL in the chain before my amps. Although it sounds OK, it doesn't have the nice open transparant sound that I hear in even nice factory oem systems. I am feeding some pretty nice speakers, Morels HO and kicker ssmb8 underseats but the sound at times is a little 'stuffy'. Would one of these processors make the sound a little more open and airy? What has it done for your sound? Thanks.

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by cdgatti

Contemplating seriously to add a DSP to my system. Currently have an Audiocontrol EQL in the chain before my amps. Although it sounds OK, it doesn't have the nice open transparant sound that I hear in even nice factory oem systems. I am feeding some pretty nice speakers, Morels HO and kicker ssmb8 underseats but the sound at times is a little 'stuffy'. Would one of these processors make the sound a little more open and airy? What has it done for your sound? Thanks.

How exactly do yo have everything setup? I have Hybrid Ovation II's unprocessed and I think it sounds great. I do not have a center speaker or rear speakers hooked up, which I think makes a big difference.

[kaigoss69]

Originally Posted by cdgatti

Contemplating seriously to add a DSP to my system. Currently have an Audiocontrol EQL in the chain before my amps. Although it sounds OK, it doesn't have the nice open transparant sound that I hear in even nice factory oem systems. I am feeding some pretty nice speakers, Morels HO and kicker ssmb8 underseats but the sound at times is a little 'stuffy'. Would one of these processors make the sound a little more open and airy? What has it done for your sound? Thanks.

IMO the BIG advantage of processors is time alignment. I can tell right away if a system is not time-aligned properly (or at all) and I HATE it. Proper staging and imaging are ultra important to me, and the only way to achieve that is to have T/A capability. People who don't know what I'm talking about probably have never experienced a properly time-aligned system, and it's one of those things where there is no coming back from, unless you absolutely don't care about hearing music the way it was recorded, and the way it was intended to be enjoyed. There are some exceptions, like dance music and techno, where T/A is generally not so important to the listeners, but even those types of music can sound much better if everything is set up properly.

The other big advantages of processors of course are EQ and electronic crossovers. This is where you can shape the sound to your liking. The capability to tweak all these things can be a blessing, or a curse. If you know what you're doing - I mean really know what you're doing - then a good processor will allow you to achieve some pretty incredible results (assuming the other equipment is up to par). If not, it can be an absolute nightmare because you can end up tweaking things back and forth, up and down, front and back and so on, and not come close to achieving the results you were looking for (trust me, I know...). Also, many people don't have a reference for what it should sound like, so they are pretty much tapping in the dark.

That's why I like auto-EQ processors. They do a lot of the hard work for you, and after 5 minutes you are already at a very high SQ plateau, which you can then use to fine tune a little more if you like, or just leave it the way it is and enjoy.

I have heard a lot of good things about the Alpine, and the "base" tune should sound very nice, certainly much better than what you have now. Not sure about "airiness", this is one characteristic the MS-8 does very nicely through the use of the rear "surround" speakers. On live recordings, for example, you can hear the crowd all around you, and you get more of a feeling that you are in a bigger space, not just a small car. Not sure if that's what you meant with "airy" and "open".

[Technic]

http://f10.5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=941050
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=744658

The PXA-H800 is much harder to tune than the MS-8. However, once you master the large selection of adjustments then it will sound much better than the best MS-8 autotune.

The H800 has a Euphony "autotune", which it is interesting as it is autotune only if you want it to be autotune (you can set a curve pre-tune or not). Otherwise it only serves as kind of a "spatial" effect over whatever adjustments are done after -or before- it. You can overlap crossover points, you can change the Q of the parametric EQ, or not use parametric and use graphical. Inputs and output levels are adjustable. There are compressed music compensating modes. Or not. It can set the TA for you. Or you can set your own TA. Or just don't.

That's where the harder than the MS-8 tuning is.

There are so many ways to tune this system that it can be overwhelming -but then, it does not have to be. If you use only 2ch inputs then the tuning possibilities are increased 10 fold -no joke- because then the full power of all the processing is available -Euphony, Dolby Prologic II, Stereo, PCM- each with different levels of adjustment and effects. If you use 4ch inputs then only a default, non-adjustable Euphony is available.

I like it just because it is literally like a large buffet. Eat only what you want. Or be a pig and eat everything.

Originally Posted by cdgatti

Contemplating seriously to add a DSP to my system. Currently have an Audiocontrol EQL in the chain before my amps. Although it sounds OK, it doesn't have the nice open transparant sound that I hear in even nice factory oem systems. I am feeding some pretty nice speakers, Morels HO and kicker ssmb8 underseats but the sound at times is a little 'stuffy'. Would one of these processors make the sound a little more open and airy? What has it done for your sound? Thanks.

[cdgatti]

Thanks Technic, alot of that is somewhat familiar to me because I have poured over the manual for this thing. BUT, how about the sound quality? Is it a major improvement over a standard, just amplifiers and good speakers, set up?

[cdgatti]

Originally Posted by kaigoss69

IMO the BIG advantage of processors is time alignment. I can tell right away if a system is not time-aligned properly (or at all) and I HATE it. Proper staging and imaging are ultra important to me, and the only way to achieve that is to have T/A capability. People who don't know what I'm talking about probably have never experienced a properly time-aligned system, and it's one of those things where there is no coming back from, unless you absolutely don't care about hearing music the way it was recorded, and the way it was intended to be enjoyed. There are some exceptions, like dance music and techno, where T/A is generally not so important to the listeners, but even those types of music can sound much better if everything is set up properly.

The other big advantages of processors of course are EQ and electronic crossovers. This is where you can shape the sound to your liking. The capability to tweak all these things can be a blessing, or a curse. If you know what you're doing - I mean really know what you're doing - then a good processor will allow you to achieve some pretty incredible results (assuming the other equipment is up to par). If not, it can be an absolute nightmare because you can end up tweaking things back and forth, up and down, front and back and so on, and not come close to achieving the results you were looking for (trust me, I know...). Also, many people don't have a reference for what it should sound like, so they are pretty much tapping in the dark.

That's why I like auto-EQ processors. They do a lot of the hard work for you, and after 5 minutes you are already at a very high SQ plateau, which you can then use to fine tune a little more if you like, or just leave it the way it is and enjoy.

I have heard a lot of good things about the Alpine, and the "base" tune should sound very nice, certainly much better than what you have now. Not sure about "airiness", this is one characteristic the MS-8 does very nicely through the use of the rear "surround" speakers. On live recordings, for example, you can hear the crowd all around you, and you get more of a feeling that you are in a bigger space, not just a small car. Not sure if that's what you meant with "airy" and "open".

Yea - that's what I mean about airy or transparant, trying to get the soundstage sound bigger than the confines of the car.

[cdgatti]

Originally Posted by bmw325i

How exactly do yo have everything setup? I have Hybrid Ovation II's unprocessed and I think it sounds great. I do not have a center speaker or rear speakers hooked up, which I think makes a big difference.

I have the front and center are morels driven by a JL XD. Rears are BSW components but only driven off the HU.

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by cdgatti

I have the front and center are morels driven by a JL XD. Rears are BSW components but only driven off the HU.

Try disconnecting the rears and the center and see how you like it. I have basically the same setup but with Jehnert underseats and an aftermarket headunit.

[cdgatti]

Originally Posted by bmw325i

Try disconnecting the rears and the center and see how you like it. I have basically the same setup but with Jehnert underseats and an aftermarket headunit.

Thanks. I have run it that way, w/o center and faded fully forward. That doesn't effect the SQ issue that I am referring to.

[Technic]

Originally Posted by cdgatti

Thanks Technic, alot of that is somewhat familiar to me because I have poured over the manual for this thing. BUT, how about the sound quality? Is it a major improvement over a standard, just amplifiers and good speakers, set up?

If tuned correctly then it will sound much better than a non-DSP system. The same level of sound improvement and staging going from HiFi to just MS-8, but more complex to achieve.

[bmw325i]

Originally Posted by cdgatti

Thanks. I have run it that way, w/o center and faded fully forward. That doesn't effect the SQ issue that I am referring to.

Im assuming you started with the base system since you said your rear speakers are powered by the head unit. Are you using a cleansweep or something to correct the factory eq?

[cdgatti]

Originally Posted by bmw325i

Im assuming you started with the base system since you said your rear speakers are powered by the head unit. Are you using a cleansweep or something to correct the factory eq?

Started with hifi. I should have been more specific. Rears are powered very weakly by the head unit!