kevinmi Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 Here's my situation--I recently upgraded my K-Horns with new mid drivers, Deang crossovers, alk tweeter attenuators. I can attenuate the mids and tweets with this setup, but now I'm getting confused as to what sounds the best. I would like advice on being able to measure the frequency response of the speakers so I can get a grip on what I'm hearing. I would like a stand alone unit if possible, but if I need a separate computer I could steal the wife's laptop. What's everyone using out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel TJ Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 The Umik-1 from MiniDSP works well ($75). It requires a laptop, but I honestly can't imagine how you would measure and analyze a speaker's output without one. Basically, you hook the Umik-1 up to a laptop, then using Room EQ Wizard (free download), you can then run frequency sweeps. I would recommend running multiple sweeps around the room and then averaging the response to get a better picture of what the speaker is doing. I find that using only one sweep at one location is not enough information to be useful. I'll usually do a couple sweeps 3ft out from each speaker, a couple at the listening position, then one seat to the right of the LP, one to the left, one slightly above, one slightly below, etc. The software can combine the responses to a single curve that paints a pretty good picture of what your speakers are doing in-room. This may sound complex, but its pretty easy once you get the hang of it. The REW software will allow you to plot frequency response, phase, group delay, and probably a whole bunch of other stuff that I have not learned about yet. You can then use it to decide how to adjust your crossovers for the best response. It can also tell you things like whether your different drivers are time aligned, and exactly what kind of EQ you need to correct your speaker's response, if you so desire. It is a very powerful tool for what it costs. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 lol. I had it dialed in flat when I shipped them to you. That midrange driver should be -12dB as a starting point (-0 and 12 on the autotransformer). That setting puts it at 104dB - to match the woofer section. You may end up preferring -13 (-2 and 15), or -14 (-1 and 15). What tweeter are you running? If it's the b&c de-120, you should attenuate 2dB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 Measuring your system isn't going to tell you if it sounds good... it may tell you it measures good though 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glens Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 He said he wants to be able to correlate what he's hearing. Sounds like the best use of the equipment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 Yes. People who play with drivers and horns need to be able to do that. I laughed because I've been there. You begin playing with the settings and after a week or two, you have no real idea of what you're listening to. However, he's only changing things a dB or two, and after he measures, he will still have to decide what he prefers - as long as you're close to technically ideal (flat) - no setting is really "wrong" . 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinmi Posted April 13, 2019 Author Share Posted April 13, 2019 22 hours ago, Deang said: lol. I had it dialed in flat when I shipped them to you. That midrange driver should be -12dB as a starting point (-0 and 12 on the autotransformer). That setting puts it at 104dB - to match the woofer section. You may end up preferring -13 (-2 and 15), or -14 (-1 and 15). What tweeter are you running? If it's the b&c de-120, you should attenuate 2dB. Hi Dean, I started out listening to the speakers set at -12 on the mids, and then went -13, all the way up to -15, while trying to blend in the mids with the tweets. I also ran the tweets from 0 to -9. What I finally came up with is the mids at -12 and the tweets at -6. The tweets are Selenium D220ti, and are like 108 db efficiency, Everything sounds great, I'm just curious as to how it actually measures out. This is the best the K-Horns have ever sounded! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinmi Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 22 hours ago, kevinmi said: Hi Dean, I started out listening to the speakers set at -12 on the mids, and then went -13, all the way up to -15, while trying to blend in the mids with the tweets. I also ran the tweets from 0 to -9. What I finally came up with is the mids at -12 and the tweets at -6. The tweets are Selenium D220ti, and are like 108 db efficiency, Everything sounds great, I'm just curious as to how it actually measures out. This is the best the K-Horns have ever sounded! Update, I'm now running mids at -12 and tweets at -3. I'm done tweaking. No, really! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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