AS I WRITE this, I am listening to a digital file, streamed from my NAS, via the Roon music management platform, into a DAC and from there to an amplifier driving a pair of speakers. There are any number of EQ and DSP options open to me in Roon but every single one of them is bypassed or switched off. I know that my speakers' response in my room at my listening position is not ruler flat. And do you know what? I don't care.
The sound I'm hearing is one I've honed and tweaked over time. It's close enough to 'neutral' to make testing equipment a practical proposition, but it's one that also reflects the listening experiences of your common or garden UK lounge. Importantly, it also allows for the slight but noticeable character of the electronics and speakers themselves to be perceived as part of the performance.
The very idea of this is anathema to some. The target is a 20Hz-20kHz frequency response as flat as a relief map of a snooker table, reproducing the feed from the mastering desk. And EQ and correction are means of getting closer to this ideal.
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Denne historien er fra February 2023-utgaven av Home Cinema Choice.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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AV Avenger
You should think twice before accepting an invitation to play Resident Evil 4 with spatial audio in a haunted prison, warns Steve May
Catalogue classic Star Wars: Ep. VI - Return of the Jedi → Ultra HD Blu-ray, Disney
Forty years on from the movie's cinema release, Anton van Beek ponders what might have been if things had gone a little diff erently during the making of Return of the Jedi…
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Got an axe to grind? Need to comment on current tech? Want to share your knowledge with our readers? Team HCC is here to help
M&K Sound V12
TIME ON TEST: Three years REVIEWER: Steve Withers
Sony 'bar demands to be upgraded
This well-specified Dolby Atmos soundbar may have a mid-range price tag, but you'll soon want to spend more, cautions Steve May
Short and sweet
Marantz's compact AV receiver returns with a new look and boosted features – Jamie Biesemans slips it into his AV rig
Discreet delivery
A slim, stylish Scandinavian on-wall system impresses Mark Craven with its handling of the sweet stuff
One project, two rooms
Dan Sait reports on a custom install where a JVC PJ/ Atmos system is joined by a stylish media den
THE KING OF B RDA HOLLYWOOD
Three of his movies have taken over $2billon at the global box office, he's pioneered SFX and 3D technologies, and he's been to the very bottom of the Pacific Ocean. That's James Cameron by the way, not Anton van Beek
System selector!
Given three similar budgets, Mark Craven, Steve May and John Archer assemble three different AV setups focused on movies, streaming and gaming
