Room EQ Wizard (REW)

Latest AVR model comes with built in speaker level system. You just need to hook up the supplied mic to the AVR and execute the speaker setup and done deal. Of course this is better than using our ears to tune the speakers level (i.e. to get the same sound level in between front, centre, surround & subwoofer). If you want more accurate result, you can do the manual setup using more accurate mic. For me, I'm using Radioshack Digital sound level meter (~US$50). Radioshack SPL meter is very popular amongst HT kaki, fairly accurate (upto 10kHz) and very affordable as compare to few hundred bucks professional mic.





Even with proper speaker level setup, you may find the subwoofer very boomy, the vocal kind of thin etc. etc. etc. Then, it could be your speaker/subwoofer placement not done properly or room acoustic problem. Then, what you going to do???? after spent thousand of bucks and yet did not get the full potential of your gears.

Errrr... you got couple of options. Either pay the professional to solve your problem or DIY.

For me, I would rather spend the professional fees on my gears. Kind of stingy huh... No lah, actually I would prefer DIY so that I can learn more. Hobby ma.

So, what do you need?
a) A computer, either desktop or laptor with line in/out soundcard.
b) REW software (Freeeeeeeeee!!!)
c) Some RCA cables and adapter
d) Tripod
e) SPL meter

This is how I setup the equipments in my tiny HT room :)


Computers with REW software. Cables here and there. Make sure the computers don't block the sound waves from the front speakers and subwoofer. SPL meter on the tripod @ your listening position.


Next, you need to calibrate the soundcard, checking level and calibrate the SPL reading. Sound complicated? Not actually, just follow the steps highlighted in the HELP file.

Example of the measurement done by REW.


Look how the speaker position affect the frequency response. Major dips and peaks should be avoided at all cost. Actually quite happy with the curve (RED color). The major dips after 10kHz is due to the SPL meter efficiency. If money is not a concern to you, get a more accurate mic/pre-amp and you can see how your speaker/room acoustic behave upto 20kHz.


Once I'm happy with the speaker location, I done another measurement on the left speaker. You can see the left and right speakers frequency response if quite similar (below chart).



Next measurement done on my 12" Velodyne CHT-12Q subwoofer. The frequency response curve (20Hz - 200Hz) at below is quite close to the target (cyan color). Also done the waterfall chart below. Quite good with minor ringing around 50Hz and 65Hz.




Below FR is the interaction of main front LR speakers and subwoofer. The Green FR only with main LR speakers whereas the Orange FR with both main LR speakers and subwoofer.


Waterfall chart for both main speakers and subwoofer.


So, with all the speakers/subwoofer & acoustic panels placements here and there, what is the outcome???? Well, I am very satisfy with the end result. You should try it yourself.

New toys coming, yahoooooo

Pre-ordered my Xtreamer mid of July 09 but only received on early Sept 09 instead the promised date of early Aug 09. The worst online purchase experience. Cost me Euro 119.00, inclusive DHL door-to-door shipment. I also got the free USB Wireless N adapter (costs Euro 20.00).

A quick glance on the specification,
Connectivity
o WIFI
o UPnP SSDP
o UPnP AV
o NTFS

Web services
o Video : YouTube, Picasa, Yahoo Video, CNN, NBC Today, CBS Face the Nation and more
o Audio : Live365 Radio, iPodcast, Radiobox, ABC News, BBC Podcast, CNN News , Indiefeed, Jamendo
o Photo : Picasaweb
o RSS feed : Yahoo! Weather, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Xchange, MSNBC News and more

Media files supported
* Video containers:
o MPEG1/2/4 Elementary (M1V, M2V, M4V)
o MPEG1/2 PS (M2P, MPG)
o MPEG2 Transport Stream (TS, TP, TRP, M2T, M2TS, MTS)
o VOB
o AVI, ASF, WMV
o Matroska (MKV)
o AVC HD
o MOV (H.264), MP4, RMP4
o FLV - Flash Video
* Video codecs:
o XVID SD/HD
o MPEG-1
o MPEG-2
+ MP@HL
o MPEG-4.2
+ ASP@L5, 720p, 1-point GMC
o WMV9
+ MP@HL
o H.264
+ BP@L3
+ MP@L4.0
+ HP@L4.0
+ HP@L4.1
o VC-1
+ MP@HL
+ AP@L3
* Audio containers:
o AAC, M4A
o MPEG audio (MP1, MP2, MP3, MPA)
o WAV
o WMA
o FLAC
o OGG
* Audio codecs:
o Dolby Digital
o DTS (DTS DownMix Supported)
o WMA, WMA Pro
o AAC
o MP1, MP2, MP3
o LPCM
o FLAC
o Vorbis
* Audio pass through : DTS, Dolby Digital, DTS-HD MA, DTS-HD HR, Dolby True HD, Dolby Digital Plus
* Photo formats : JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF, HD JPEG
* Other formats: ISO, IFO, FLV, RM, RA, RAM
* Subtitle formats : SRT, SMI, SUB, SSA, IDX
* Streaming formats : RTSP, FLV

Chipset
* Realtek 128X (Special Edition)

Memory
* 256MB DDR SDRAM, 32MB Flash

Audio/Video outputs
* HDMI v1.3a (up to 1080p)
* Composite Video
* Stereo Analog Audio
* S/PDIF Optical Digital Audio

Interface
* 1x USB 2.0 slave
* 2x USB 2.0 host
* Internal SATA

Network
* Ethernet 10/100
* WIFI USB Antenna 802.11n (optional)

Power
* 12V DC, 3A

Dimension
* Width 10.5"(180mm) x Depth 1.25" (32mm) x Height 2.25" (82mm)
* Weight 2.2 lbs (1Kg)


Unboxing Xtreamer's package.


















With more and more HD movies, it is time to upgrade my Dlink DNS-323 NAS 500Gb hard disk and to protect my precious data, I installed two 1TB hard disks with RAID-1 setup.






I've no regret with the purchase, Xtreamer meets my expectation (except the long waiting period). I'm able to stream my collections from NAS at ground floor direct to the Xtreamer at 1st floor via Aztech 200mbps Homeplug. At first try, I got the stuttering effect on the 1080P movie playback. After done some research, I enabled the NFS on my Xtreamer and NAS and wahlah, problem solved. Now, my kids can enjoy those HD cartoon/animations movies like Bolt, Monster Inc., Ratatouille, Car, Kungfu Panda and Wall E.

Even more, the next firmware update scheduled in Oct 09 will allow the Xtreamer to pass thru the HD sounds, i.e. DTS-HD MA, DTS-HD HR, Dolby True HD, Dolby Digital Plus. Can't wait to see the HD logo appears on my Marantz SR6003 receiver.