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Dayton Omnimic System


derrickdj1

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Well, I finally got a measurement tool to better see the response of the 4 subs in the room.  The System comes with the OmniMic, a large tripod, small tripod, and some software specific to the Omnimic.  You can't use REW or anything else but the Dayton software.  The setup and operation is really quick.  It takes about 2-3 min. to get an average FR.

 

That is the all that I can say about it at this time since I have not had time to play with it in detail.  These are the major features:

 

Measurements:

• SPL meter with A, B, C, or no weighting
• Spectrum analyzer, FFT, or RTA
• Frequency response with phase and impulse response
• Oscilloscope function to view complex waveforms
• Harmonic distortion: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th harmonics plus THD
• RT60 reverberation: measures sound reflection
• Bass decay function identifies room modes and helps determine proper subwoofer placement
• Polar Plotting, in flat or 3D radar format
• Wavelet Spectrogram (color) to the Waterfall group
• Curve Math for live or added curves
• Auto-naming of repeated FRD measurements; updated
• Snapshots to PNG, BMP, JPG or WMF formats
• Measurement down to 5 Hz
• Energy-Time Curves, with configurable band limiting
• Supports new file-based microphone calibration
• Expanded Help Files
• Printer selection

 

Initial room graph playing mains and 4 subs:

Red line- Avg. reading response

Blue line- Instant response

System XO in avr 50 Hz

Edited by derrickdj1
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Don't take this as gospel but, I think the instant read is like when you use an analog spl and the needle will fluctuate more with the sub compared to the other speakers.  I guess it is the sub and room interaction.  With this system what took considerable time is reduced to a few min. and new adjustment can be done on the fly with the different presets in the I Nuke amp.

 

One thing that does happen, as spl is raise with the subs, the graph line stops moving.  This indicates the room is pressurized at that point.  This weekend I will dive into and checkout the distortion, decay and some of the other functions.  It is much easier than REW and the only drawback is you can't do max output sweeps.  The mic capsule will clip.  You can always get out the old trusty spl meter and use the RealTraps testones for that application. 

 

The initial graph look pretty much the same with 1/6 or 1/12 smoothing.  This shows that the 4 subs give a pretty good response as far as room peaks and dips. It looks like I can lower the upper bass and then selectively elevate the lower end so that it is the highest part of the graph for a good house curve for movies.  This is where the multiple I Nuke amp presets will make things easier.

Edited by derrickdj1
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The instant is exactly what the mic is hearing. So when you play track two Derrick, you need to click the response about 10 times at least to he a good average. Obviously with the mic reading a "sweep" there is gonna be a part if the sweep with little to no bass. The more you click the smoother it will become and be more of your actual response. I love omnimic. Makes setup a breeze when I calibrate my upstairs where I have dual subs but can only calibrate single one with audyssey.

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Did some more playing this evening and switch the vented subs to wide open (removed port plug).  Took 5 averages.  The only thing about the Omnimic system is the spl is not accurate by a long shot with Windows 8.  I will investigate this issue in more depth.

post-50685-0-94020000-1418286962_thumb.j

Edited by derrickdj1
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The SPL is off due to something with Windows 8.  Here is a cool pic of the PEQ for the last graph, I think, lol.  This stick with my rule of no more that 1 or 2 cuts and boost.  Excessive PEQ is not needed.  The tradeoff of running the vented subs is a little less deep stuff vs more slam and increase 15 Hz and higher output.  Both are very tactile and feel good. :P

Edited by derrickdj1
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I saw this on the Parts Express site. Have you tried it?

 

Note: Windows 8 Users

Windows 8 has a USB recording bug. To get around this issue and use the OmniMic on a machine using Windows 8, please perform the following:

Find the OmniMic icon, Start Menu entries, etc., that you use to start the OmniMic software. Instead of left-clicking the icon, right-click and then left-click on the "Properties" menu item. A "Properties" window should open. Select the compatibility tab and find a checkbox labeled "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" There is a drop-down box just below the checkbox, set that to "Windows XP (Service Pack 3)". Then put a check in the checkbox and click "Ok" to close the properties windows.

Now when you start OmniMic using that icon (or menu item), it will run in the XP mode that avoids the Windows 8 USB recording bug.

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Most of the graphs are with the mains and sub only.  The graph changed because of tweaking the system.  MCACC will take care of the above 50 or 80 Hz.  So far, I been working with 50 Hz.  I will try 80 Hz later.  The first few graphs had to port plugs in.  There really not much difference with ports in or out.  Once the room is pressurize the graph does not fluctuate. 

 

The house curve delivers a little more oomps than the non-house curve.  The large negative gain (-15) at 500 Hz place a shelf filter to cut the upper subwoofer bandwidth even though the system is XO at 50 Hz.  It seem counter intuitive but it works.  I have been doing all this by hand for almost 2 years so , once I look at the graph in kinda know what to target.  I am so use to the I Nuke amps and MCACC, I won't change to another DSP and have to go thur another learning curve.  The nice things is MCACC does nothing with the subs so auto EQ is out of the way.  I don't know if Omnimic has a way of simulating what different PEQ filters will do to the graph.

 

I watched part of Olympus Has Fallen and I thought the subs were going to tear the back of the couch off.  Since I have the shakers, I am not really interested in output under 14-15 Hz.  The nice thing with the house curve is the movies are not as loud so it is easier to watch movies closer to reference.  Most sub will really pickup in output 35-40 Hz and up.  All of this extra output is not taken care of by the avr or preamp XO of 50-80 which is why a lot of people watch movies 10 or 15 db's above reference.

Edited by derrickdj1
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Well I just don't get your whole house curve thing. And you saying people watching movies 10-15 above reference is just crazy. I have been to a demo one time at +18 above reference and it was stupid. I will demo for people at reference but watch anywhere from -15 to -5. On the main volume. And that is crazy loud.

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Well I just don't get your whole house curve thing

 

I don't have the curve yet but, working on it.  A house curve varies depending on room size. The ideal is a descending slop from around 30-35 HZ to 100 Hz for HT.  Most subs natural response is an ascending slop.  This makes movies appear excessively loud.  At the same volume with the house curve the movies does not  quite seems as loud and easier to listen near reference.  The other thing I have noticed is decrease power use to get the same tactile feel.  If done right music can sound much cleaner also.  I don't need a steep slope of 6-9 db. due to room size. A  2-3 db slope will be ok by me.  I use the system mainly for music so I don't want bass heavy on the low end.  Smaller rooms need a steeper slop.

 

I am hearing the midrange better than ever before with the flat sub/main combo with music.   That is why I posted the PEQ pic because you would think cutting 15 db at 500 Hz and that wide coverage would kill some of the output but, it does just the opposite.  I can recall this topic being discussed in the last few years on the forum.

Edited by derrickdj1
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Here is my first and second try at a house curve with the Behringer I Nuke DSP amp.  Really easy to do.  The second curve is steeper than curve one and would work in a smaller room.  PEQ settings for house curve 2

 

:

Fliter 1  :Gain +6, 20 Hz, Q  0.6

Fliter 2  :Gain+8 40Hz LS6(low shelf)

 

post-50685-0-81940000-1418407801_thumb.j

post-50685-0-46180000-1418407810_thumb.j

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Yes, I am.  This is a get tool for the system and really helps in gettig the bass right in the system.  This would be a great tool for people that  build speakers and subs.   The manual is 66 page so, I am just getting started.  I will most likely try as many functions as possible and read the entire manual 2-3 times.  I don't like owning things and not knowing how they work and limit myself to only a few basic functions.

Edited by derrickdj1
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Yes, I am.  This is a get tool for the system and really helps in gettig the bass right in the system.  This would be a great tool for people that  build speakers and subs.   The manual is 66 page so, I am just getting started.  I will most likely try as many functions as possible and read the entire manual 2-3 times.  I don't like owning things and not knowing how they work and limit myself to only a few basic functions.

That's a good philosophy in practice!

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