Need some EQ help

[robbnj]

Hello all. Looking for some ideas on the best way to tackle this one.
Story: I got a set of Linaeum-tweeter based bookshelf speakers. Refoamed them, checked x-over, did the "port mod" and the "capactior" mod that are highly recommended.
I really like the sound of them, but they seem to have a bit of "megaphone honk". Not sure if it's caused by room (9ft x12 small office), or the speakers, or both.

I did a sweep from my listening area and came up with the results below. For fun, I did an EQ filter and then plugged all 19 points into my DSP. Not shocked that it sounded like butt

Looking at the sweeps (Right, Left, Both, in that order; Var smoothing), anyone have a suggestion on what areas I should tackle?
Maybe just the major peaks and troughs from 100-400, then do a wide reduction on the 500-1K area to reduce the honk?

The DSP I'm using is not easy to go in and just tinker with until it sounds right, so I'm trying to approach it with a plan that will at least get me going in as close to the right direction as I can.
I can do independent or combined channels of parametric EQ with virtually unlimited points.

*Mods - Feel free to correct my thread subject misspelling, lol

 

[ddude003]

Ideally you would want your room SPL charts to look like the chart in figure 5 on page 4 of this paper... https://www.bksv.com/media/doc/17-197.pdf

You can crush down your peaks with EQ and you should not try to boost your nulls/dips by more than +3db... In many cases boosting nulls just causes more problems as they are often caused by too much base and reflected bass in the first place

Your charts seem to vary a lot in peak to trough... You might set your target SPL sweeps to 75db for a small room...
I always suggest some physical bass traps/absorbers as well as some wide band absorption before DSP/EQ...
It helps if you post .mdat files when you can...

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

I’m concerned about the tremendous difference between the two speakers above 400 Hz. Are they defective, or do you have one located against a corner vs. the other out in the middle of the room or something?

Regards,
Wayne

 

[robbnj]

I THINK this is the file you are looking for? I simply saved all measurements with the name Linaeum.

 

[robbnj]

I’m concerned about the tremendous difference between the two speakers above 400 Hz. Are they defective, or do you have one located against a corner vs. the other out in the middle of the room or something?

Regards,
Wayne

The setup is off-centre on a long wall of a rectangular room.
The right speaker is about 22" from the side wall and 6" from the wall behind it. The left speaker is about 42" from the side wall and 6" from the wall behind it.
I ran a test on them in the center of my basement (one at a time) after I redid the surrounds, etc, and they measured very similarly at the time.

That's not to say somethig couldn't have failed in the interim...

 

[ddude003]

From about ~225Hz on down to where your speakers roll off has a lot of distortion above the noise floor... That is where you will really need to focus... I would do frequency sweeps at ~75db... Anything above ~80db would definitely need to be crushed down to ~80dB...

You haven't said what DSP/EQ you are using... Some plugin to JRiver? Have you thought about Convolution with FIR filters?

If you haven't already seen this Master Class in DRC by Mitch Barnett I would suggest taking the time...

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[robbnj]

From about ~225Hz on down to where your speakers roll off has a lot of distortion above the noise floor... That is where you will really need to focus... I would do frequency sweeps at ~75db... Anything above ~80db would definitely need to be crushed down to ~80dB...

You haven't said what DSP/EQ you are using... Some plugin to JRiver? Have you thought about Convolution with FIR filters?

If you haven't already seen this Master Class in DRC by Mitch Barnett I would suggest taking the time...

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Do you think that will help with the "megaphone honk" I hear?

I'm using a DSPB-KE. I'm still learning, but I don't think I can export anyhthing useful from REW to plug in (like I can with my MINDSPs), but I can manually enter a seemingly unlimited number of parametric bands (Freq, Q, boost/cut). So, I'd basically copy the Filters that REW lists.

REW sample created just to show what I'm describing:

DSPB-KE sample created for same reason. Numbers have not been copied over.

I will be wathcing that video.

 

[robbnj]

duplicate

 

[ddude003]

Sorry I did not have much time to respond this morning so I asked google's AI and this sounds pretty reasonable...

"Generally, a honking noise in a speaker is associated with frequencies within the midrange, specifically in the range of roughly 250 Hz to 1 kHz.
Here's why:
Midrange Focus: The term "honky" describes a sound with a nasal or hollow quality, often caused by an overemphasis or resonance in the midrange frequency band. According to SoundGym and FlexRadio, frequencies between 500 Hz and 1 kHz are particularly prone to producing this effect if over-boosted.
Specific Examples: Some users have reported experiencing a honking sound at frequencies around 250-300 Hz. One source notes that boosting the 315-1KHz range in voice can produce a honky, telephone-like quality.
Causes beyond simple frequency: While the frequency range is important, a honking sound is often the result of more complex issues than simply a single problematic frequency. These can include:
Resonances within the speaker enclosure or horn throat: These can lead to peaks in the frequency response, creating a honky sound.
Time-domain anomalies and reflections: Caused by certain horn designs, these can create temporal smearing and contribute to a honky character.
Propagation modes in the horn: Some horn geometries can support unwanted modes that interfere with the main signal, causing frequency and phase anomalies that result in a honky sound.
Diaphragm breakup: Older compression driver diaphragms could exhibit breakup modes at lower frequencies, potentially causing honky coloration.
In summary, if you're hearing a honking noise from your speaker, the problem likely lies within the midrange frequencies, and could be caused by a combination of factors related to the speaker's design, construction, or even the signal being fed to it. " -Google AI-

Was also wondering what other filter types your DSP supports like high and low shelving filter for instance...

 

[JStewart]

Sorry I did not have much time to respond this morning so I asked google's AI and this sounds pretty reasonable...

"Generally, a honking noise in a speaker is associated with frequencies within the midrange, specifically in the range of roughly 250 Hz to 1 kHz.
Here's why:
Midrange Focus: The term "honky" describes a sound with a nasal or hollow quality, often caused by an overemphasis or resonance in the midrange frequency band. According to SoundGym and FlexRadio, frequencies between 500 Hz and 1 kHz are particularly prone to producing this effect if over-boosted.
Specific Examples: Some users have reported experiencing a honking sound at frequencies around 250-300 Hz. One source notes that boosting the 315-1KHz range in voice can produce a honky, telephone-like quality.
Causes beyond simple frequency: While the frequency range is important, a honking sound is often the result of more complex issues than simply a single problematic frequency. These can include:
Resonances within the speaker enclosure or horn throat: These can lead to peaks in the frequency response, creating a honky sound.
Time-domain anomalies and reflections: Caused by certain horn designs, these can create temporal smearing and contribute to a honky character.
Propagation modes in the horn: Some horn geometries can support unwanted modes that interfere with the main signal, causing frequency and phase anomalies that result in a honky sound.
Diaphragm breakup: Older compression driver diaphragms could exhibit breakup modes at lower frequencies, potentially causing honky coloration.
In summary, if you're hearing a honking noise from your speaker, the problem likely lies within the midrange frequencies, and could be caused by a combination of factors related to the speaker's design, construction, or even the signal being fed to it. " -Google AI-

Was also wondering what other filter types your DSP supports like high and low shelving filter for instance...

In my limited experience the large bass boost around 200Hz will cause a boxy hollow sound.
@robbnj , could this be what you heard? And where you able to address @Wayne A. Pflughaupt ‘s concern about the higher frequency level mismatch? That will need resolved to have good stereo imaging.

 

[ddude003]

It appears that your kit, supports a convolution solution... You might consider that over Parametric EQ... Anyway, from 1kHz on down needs a lot of help... And/or you could stack a convolution solution first with a perimetric EQ following ...