Dirac Live Calibrations 2019
CUSTOMER CALIBRATIONS AND FEEDBACK
December 2019 Dirac Live Calibrated for Customer in Chesterfield
I calibrated this system and its probably my favourite calibration of the year. The system comprised of Arcam AVR550 Dali Epicon 6 Speakers and Opticon Centre and Surround Speakers with Dali Alecto speakers placed on top of the Epicon 6 for ceiling bouncing Atmos speakers and Dali Subwoofer. The system is a 5.1.2 system with Panasonic UHD Blu Ray player and Apple TV.
When I arrived I spent a good hour chatting to the customer about his system and how he felt about it. He had only just added the Epicon 6 speakers and wasn't very happy with them, but I know how good they are as speakers and was confident I could make a big improvement to how they sound.
Initially I moved the subwoofer to a much better measuring spot in the room and then spent about 7 hours working on the system using Dirac to dial in the sound concentrating initially on music playback and then movie playback. The end result was a sound quality and quality of calibration I am extremely proud of, I was able to integrate the system to sound huge in the bass but tight controlled and pretty damn punchy for a single subwoofer setup. Its my favourite calibration of the year because I think the customer went from regretting buying his new speakers to I am guessing now loving them. I look forward to his feedback when once he has had some time to enjoy his system.
Initially I moved the subwoofer to a much better measuring spot in the room and then spent about 7 hours working on the system using Dirac to dial in the sound concentrating initially on music playback and then movie playback. The end result was a sound quality and quality of calibration I am extremely proud of, I was able to integrate the system to sound huge in the bass but tight controlled and pretty damn punchy for a single subwoofer setup. Its my favourite calibration of the year because I think the customer went from regretting buying his new speakers to I am guessing now loving them. I look forward to his feedback when once he has had some time to enjoy his system.
Customer Feedback
Whilst considering how to improve my recently upgraded midrange, surround sound system to particularly improve the music/stereo sound I started to get that old HiFi bug of what latest equipment to lust after next!
I originally owned a Denon AVRX3500 with Dali Opticon 6 front and centre speakers, smaller Dali rears and subwoofer. They were placed and setup by the technician from Richer Sounds and sounded reasonably good. I am lucky enough to have a cinema room separate from the living area, so can be more indulgent than most people. After a couple of years, on a bit of a whim and encouragement from a friend, I decided to add Dolby Atmos effects and bought a pair of Dali Alteco speakers and upgraded the receiver to an Arcam AVR550. Then I had to deal with Dirac!
There almost too much information on the web and AV forums for the average person with enthusiasm but not vast product knowledge to know where to start. I came across Terry by accident whilst watching a youtube review and discovered Terry’s services via his website www.pursuitperfectsystem.com. I contacted him to come and set up my
system properly which he was happy to do so and in my opinion for a very reasonable fee.
The first thing I would like to say is Terry is professional, good company and an absolute pleasure to invite to my home. He is very knowledgeable but charmingly reticent to advise upgrades or changes to equipment without good reason. He spent many hours evaluation the room dynamics minimally moving speaker positions then calibrating Dirac to create an incredible soundstage.
He focussed on my request to improve stereo music listening then set up the rest of the surround system through Dirac
with that in mind. The outcome still leaves me almost speechless. Streamed Music from Tidal displays an openness with tight solid bass and glorious vocals. Dolby Blockbuster movies sound better than the real cinema and ordinary TV a quantum better.
I cannot recommend terry or his skills highly enough and would encourage anyone with a system that can be tunes to get it done and enjoy the pleasure of your system rather than being slightly disappointed with the results of your purchases.
I originally owned a Denon AVRX3500 with Dali Opticon 6 front and centre speakers, smaller Dali rears and subwoofer. They were placed and setup by the technician from Richer Sounds and sounded reasonably good. I am lucky enough to have a cinema room separate from the living area, so can be more indulgent than most people. After a couple of years, on a bit of a whim and encouragement from a friend, I decided to add Dolby Atmos effects and bought a pair of Dali Alteco speakers and upgraded the receiver to an Arcam AVR550. Then I had to deal with Dirac!
There almost too much information on the web and AV forums for the average person with enthusiasm but not vast product knowledge to know where to start. I came across Terry by accident whilst watching a youtube review and discovered Terry’s services via his website www.pursuitperfectsystem.com. I contacted him to come and set up my
system properly which he was happy to do so and in my opinion for a very reasonable fee.
The first thing I would like to say is Terry is professional, good company and an absolute pleasure to invite to my home. He is very knowledgeable but charmingly reticent to advise upgrades or changes to equipment without good reason. He spent many hours evaluation the room dynamics minimally moving speaker positions then calibrating Dirac to create an incredible soundstage.
He focussed on my request to improve stereo music listening then set up the rest of the surround system through Dirac
with that in mind. The outcome still leaves me almost speechless. Streamed Music from Tidal displays an openness with tight solid bass and glorious vocals. Dolby Blockbuster movies sound better than the real cinema and ordinary TV a quantum better.
I cannot recommend terry or his skills highly enough and would encourage anyone with a system that can be tunes to get it done and enjoy the pleasure of your system rather than being slightly disappointed with the results of your purchases.
December 2019 Dirac Live Calibrated for Customer in Buckinghamshire
I calibrated a very nice system in an amazing house comprising of Bowers and Wilkins M1 Speakers with a PV1D subwoofer, stunning Panasonic GZ950 OLED, Apple TV.
I initially run the measurements for Dirac Live and then started to make adjustments to how the system is balanced using the speaker channel trims within the Arcam AVR 850. It was here I noticed the customers Blu Ray Player was sadly not working properly and I couldn't use it how I intended. Instead I spent a good number of hours listening to content using the clients main source Apple TV and setting the system balance up by ear. The PV1D is a very clean subwoofer and I was able to integrate the subwoofer with the front 3 speakers to create a very cohesive sound field.
November 2019 Dirac Live Calibrated for Customer in London
I calibrated the Dirac within an Arcam AVR550 as part of a very nice system for a London based customer. The full system comprised of KEF Q series speakers with a REL Strata 5 subwoofer. The rest of the system comprised of PS4, Apple TV and a Roksan streaming DAC for music.
I started the calibration spending some time listening to the system and to how the customer had set it up and why. Once I felt I knew the system and rooms signature I spent a good period of time taking high quality measurements making sure Dirac had the correct data to work with.
I then spent about 5 hours working with Dirac to dial in the subwoofer, integrate the whole system together for movies, but I also spent a good period of time working on the music performance of the system to massively improve that as well. I took extra time to show the customer what I was doing to try and help them better understand what Dirac is capable of so he can have a play around with it in the future.
Customer Feedback
I’d already had a pretty good go with Dirac, experimenting with a few different target curves, when looking for further guidance online I stumbled upon Terry’s YouTube channel. I was enjoying the sound I’d achieved so far, but had a nagging feeling that I still wasn’t quite making the most of my system, so I booked Terry. Very glad I did.
He was diligent and methodical throughout, getting to know the system before measuring and optimising it to its full capabilities, ultimately looking at the speakers’ individual characteristics within the room to perfectly integrate them. He knows Arcam receivers inside out, adjusting settings I didn’t even know existed. Bass response was the most remarkable improvement for me, Terry fine-tuning my sub and speakers until we arrived at a bass that ‘steps on you’ as he succinctly put it - deep, tight, punchy but still musical.
Not only does my system sound better than ever, but I also understand how to make my own adjustments in future if needed, as Terry took the time to explain what he was doing at every step. A really enjoyable day and a great result that works wonderfully for music and movies.
He was diligent and methodical throughout, getting to know the system before measuring and optimising it to its full capabilities, ultimately looking at the speakers’ individual characteristics within the room to perfectly integrate them. He knows Arcam receivers inside out, adjusting settings I didn’t even know existed. Bass response was the most remarkable improvement for me, Terry fine-tuning my sub and speakers until we arrived at a bass that ‘steps on you’ as he succinctly put it - deep, tight, punchy but still musical.
Not only does my system sound better than ever, but I also understand how to make my own adjustments in future if needed, as Terry took the time to explain what he was doing at every step. A really enjoyable day and a great result that works wonderfully for music and movies.
November 2019 Dirac Live 2.2 Calibrated for Customer in London
I calibrated a very nice 7.4.4 system for a customer based on London, his system comprised of an Arcam AVR 550 with an Arcam P429 for the 4 Dolby Atmos Speakers and a Cambridge Audio CXUHD 4K Blu Ray Player. The speakers were all PMC Tb2i and there was 2 PMC subwoofers at the front of the room and 2 MK Subwoofers at the rear of the room. There was a lot of Audioquest cabling and other video sources like Sky Q and an Amazon Fire Cube with a 65" Sony UHD TV.
I started the calibration looking at the subwoofers and making sure all their phases were correct and they wasnt so this needed fixing. I used Dirac to measure the subwoofers to ensure the 2 subwoofers at the rear were not causing cancellation with the fronts.
I then spent approximately 5 hours taking full measurements and then dialling in the system using Dirac and my other methods and tricks to fully integrate the speakers with the subwoofers for a very detailed and immersive sound experience for both music and movies.
Customer Feedback
Last month I bought an Arcam AVR 550 from an official dealer. I was told to get in touch with my local Arcam dealer and they will happily do the calibration of the Arcam avr550 for me, great. I had two official dealers do the calibration and they failed to make Dirac live sound better on than off.
I was very unhappy and decided to do it myself. I went to YouTube and got confused. I stumbled across Pursuit Perfect System who offered a service to calibrate your Dirac Live system to Your liking. My eyes lit up and ears opened.
Terry came to my home, listen to me about what I wanted. He spent over six hours listening and calibrating every inch of my very difficult room. When I listened to the final calibration the speakers disappeared, I no longer had walls around me but ambience. Unbelievable, it sounded fantastic, he knows his stuff. For what he charged I would happily pay double. Terry is a hi fi enthusiast and an audiophile who always want to do a good job. I’m really happy with my system and I must get some sleep. Thank you very much Terry.
I was very unhappy and decided to do it myself. I went to YouTube and got confused. I stumbled across Pursuit Perfect System who offered a service to calibrate your Dirac Live system to Your liking. My eyes lit up and ears opened.
Terry came to my home, listen to me about what I wanted. He spent over six hours listening and calibrating every inch of my very difficult room. When I listened to the final calibration the speakers disappeared, I no longer had walls around me but ambience. Unbelievable, it sounded fantastic, he knows his stuff. For what he charged I would happily pay double. Terry is a hi fi enthusiast and an audiophile who always want to do a good job. I’m really happy with my system and I must get some sleep. Thank you very much Terry.
August 2019 Dirac Live 2.2 Calibrated for Customer in London
I calibrated a really nice system for a customer comprising of an Arcam AVR850 integrated with a Chord Electronics Dave and Hugo M Scaler for music, with Monitor Audio Platinum PL200 mk2 and the matching centre speaker for the front array, Monitor Audio Dipole speakers for rear channels with front height speakers for atmos duties. This system was supported with an SVS SB13 Ultra Subwoofer, high quality Audioquest and other cabling. The customer uses a mixture of online streaming services for his main sources of music and movie / tv box set content.
I calibrated a really nice system for a customer comprising of an Arcam AVR850 integrated with a Chord Electronics Dave and Hugo M Scaler for music, with Monitor Audio Platinum PL200 mk2 and the matching centre speaker for the front array, Monitor Audio Dipole speakers for rear channels with front height speakers for atmos duties. This system was supported with an SVS SB13 Ultra Subwoofer, high quality Audioquest and other cabling. The customer uses a mixture of online streaming services for his main sources of music and movie / tv box set content.
I started the calibration with a listening session to get a feel for how the system sounded, I could tell by the quality of sound and how many files my customer had created that he had been busy and active with Dirac tweaking the sound of the system. He had done a very good job but as always there is big room for improvement from a skilled hand.
I started with taking a full set of measurements, hot work on 30c+ day and worked from these measurements to dial in the system to sound more refined, more enveloping, much more impactful, dynamic and explosive in the bass and most importantly totally integrated. This was all helped with my special bass tweak that only my customers get the benefit of which improves bass quality by at least double in every instance I have experienced so far.
Lastly I spent time tweaking the Dirac Curve for music, which also improved the sound of the system for home cinema. The customer went from preferring the speakers set as Large and using the SVS subwoofer for music to just using his excellent front Monitor Audio Platinum L&R main speakers for music after my calibration. The calibration was a very big improvement for the system in 2 channel as well.
I started with taking a full set of measurements, hot work on 30c+ day and worked from these measurements to dial in the system to sound more refined, more enveloping, much more impactful, dynamic and explosive in the bass and most importantly totally integrated. This was all helped with my special bass tweak that only my customers get the benefit of which improves bass quality by at least double in every instance I have experienced so far.
Lastly I spent time tweaking the Dirac Curve for music, which also improved the sound of the system for home cinema. The customer went from preferring the speakers set as Large and using the SVS subwoofer for music to just using his excellent front Monitor Audio Platinum L&R main speakers for music after my calibration. The calibration was a very big improvement for the system in 2 channel as well.
Customer Feedback
Hi Terry
Thank you so much for giving us a great service, and a fabulous sound system renewal it’s sounds amazing with both music & movies
Hi Terry
Thank you so much for giving us a great service, and a fabulous sound system renewal it’s sounds amazing with both music & movies
August 2019 INTERNATIONAL Dirac Live 2.2 Calibrated for Customer in New York
I completed my second International calibration for a customer in New York and this has set a new precedent for me to be able to calibrate systems for audiophiles all over the World.
Using a remote desktop link I was able to take control of Dirac Live on the customers computer and from his feedback of how the system sounded following detailed instructions I gave him with taking good quality measurements I was able to calibrate the system as if I was there in person. This is a major step forward
I completed my second International calibration for a customer in New York and this has set a new precedent for me to be able to calibrate systems for audiophiles all over the World.
Using a remote desktop link I was able to take control of Dirac Live on the customers computer and from his feedback of how the system sounded following detailed instructions I gave him with taking good quality measurements I was able to calibrate the system as if I was there in person. This is a major step forward
The system comprised of Klipsch RP-280F Towers Klipsch RP-450C Center Klipsch RP-240S Surrounds and Klipsch RP-140SA Atmos channels mounted on the wall above the TV facing down towards the MLP. supported by an SVS PC-2000. subwoofer. The AV Receiver featuring Dirac was a fully updated NAD V758-V3
This was a long calibration largely because of my learning curve with NAD implementation of Dirac Live and working out how best to advise the customer on setting their sub woofer levels. The fact I am not there to hear meant I would focus on one area of the systems performance at a time, bass quality and integration for movies, overall clarity followed by mid range and treble balance. Lastly I created a custom curve specific for 2 channel listening.
My only regret is that I was not there to hear this superb system singing in all its glory.
My only regret is that I was not there to hear this superb system singing in all its glory.
Customer Feedback and REVIEW of my work
Let me start by saying that I think I have a pretty good grasp of audio quality and Dirac implementation. I regularly search the web for any additional knowledge that I can gain, especially about Dirac. I came across Terry's website actually a few years ago and watched his videos about setting up Dirac, so I think it's kind of funny it came full circle. Upon revisiting Terry's site to see if anything was new since I last visited I noticed he did in home calibrations. Sadly he does these in the UK. Until I read he can help over email. I reached out immediately.
I knew my system had way more to give, even though I thought I knew what I was doing. Once we got to talking we set out on a mission to make my system give every ounce of it's potential. Once I had a good set of measurements I had Terry share my screen so he could manipulate the Dirac graphs as if he were there. Might as well leave it to the expert. The fact that Terry could interpret what I was hearing through my words and make those changes with out hearing anything himself is a true testament to this gentleman's skill.
He was extremely patient and very quick to reply during the entire process. I know I kept him up late a few times with our 5 hour time difference so he could accommodate my schedule. He didn't even complain a little. The end result was better than I could have imagined. I thought I had bass. What I actually had was rumbles on the floor.
I honestly didn't know I was missing all that good impactful bass. The feel it in your chest, take your breath away type. Sonically the entire room is balanced as if I were in a bubble. It has such presence. The audio friends I have demoed it for have said "It's better than a movie theater" and "The audio is so good that the 4k picture is actually what takes away from the realism of being there". Let me say this if you're even slightly hesitant to have someone adjust your system without being there DON'T! Terry is a treasure and whenever I need anything in the future will be where I turn first to get things done right.
Let me start by saying that I think I have a pretty good grasp of audio quality and Dirac implementation. I regularly search the web for any additional knowledge that I can gain, especially about Dirac. I came across Terry's website actually a few years ago and watched his videos about setting up Dirac, so I think it's kind of funny it came full circle. Upon revisiting Terry's site to see if anything was new since I last visited I noticed he did in home calibrations. Sadly he does these in the UK. Until I read he can help over email. I reached out immediately.
I knew my system had way more to give, even though I thought I knew what I was doing. Once we got to talking we set out on a mission to make my system give every ounce of it's potential. Once I had a good set of measurements I had Terry share my screen so he could manipulate the Dirac graphs as if he were there. Might as well leave it to the expert. The fact that Terry could interpret what I was hearing through my words and make those changes with out hearing anything himself is a true testament to this gentleman's skill.
He was extremely patient and very quick to reply during the entire process. I know I kept him up late a few times with our 5 hour time difference so he could accommodate my schedule. He didn't even complain a little. The end result was better than I could have imagined. I thought I had bass. What I actually had was rumbles on the floor.
I honestly didn't know I was missing all that good impactful bass. The feel it in your chest, take your breath away type. Sonically the entire room is balanced as if I were in a bubble. It has such presence. The audio friends I have demoed it for have said "It's better than a movie theater" and "The audio is so good that the 4k picture is actually what takes away from the realism of being there". Let me say this if you're even slightly hesitant to have someone adjust your system without being there DON'T! Terry is a treasure and whenever I need anything in the future will be where I turn first to get things done right.
July 2019 Dirac Live 2.2 Calibrated for Customer in Bolton
I calibrated a really nice system for a customer comprising of Arcam AVR 850 and Arcam P777 7 channel power amplifier driving Revel Concerta Speakers for front 3 and side surrounds with SVS speakers for rear surrounds and 4 Q Acoustics for Dolby Atmos Speakers, cleverly mounted at height using speaker brackets. The customer has 2 SVS SB2000 subwoofers, a home media PC which integrated with his 65" LG B7 OLED creating a hub for all his music and some movie streaming. This is backed up by a Sony UHD Blu Ray Player and there was also some custom acoustic treatments in the room.
I calibrated a really nice system for a customer comprising of Arcam AVR 850 and Arcam P777 7 channel power amplifier driving Revel Concerta Speakers for front 3 and side surrounds with SVS speakers for rear surrounds and 4 Q Acoustics for Dolby Atmos Speakers, cleverly mounted at height using speaker brackets. The customer has 2 SVS SB2000 subwoofers, a home media PC which integrated with his 65" LG B7 OLED creating a hub for all his music and some movie streaming. This is backed up by a Sony UHD Blu Ray Player and there was also some custom acoustic treatments in the room.
This was an interesting calibration because the customer has had his Arcam AVR 850 for some time and has been playing with Dirac since its first iteration. He had a good understanding of Dirac and had used it set the system up to a high performance level as was demonstrated to me on arrival.
I felt there was still a fair amount of room for improvement and as always started from the beginning by taking a good set of measurements to give me the platform I need to work from. I spent about 3 hours integrating the 2 SVS subwoofers, to squeeze as much performance from them as possible despite them not measuring that great at the MLP. From here I worked on creating the right balance of audio to blend all the differing speaker together but to maximise their individual strengths and rule out their weaknesses.
The end result was a very impactful, dynamic sound that is totally cohesive as a sound field despite the differing speakers, with a fantastic amount of high frequency clarity and detail, really very exceptional in that regard.
Then the last check was with music, previously the customer had to reduce the musical bass a lot to avoid muddying the sound, after the calibration he could have a really nice amount of bass which helped add a natural character to the music, especially vocal while remaining completely crisp and clear throughout.
I felt there was still a fair amount of room for improvement and as always started from the beginning by taking a good set of measurements to give me the platform I need to work from. I spent about 3 hours integrating the 2 SVS subwoofers, to squeeze as much performance from them as possible despite them not measuring that great at the MLP. From here I worked on creating the right balance of audio to blend all the differing speaker together but to maximise their individual strengths and rule out their weaknesses.
The end result was a very impactful, dynamic sound that is totally cohesive as a sound field despite the differing speakers, with a fantastic amount of high frequency clarity and detail, really very exceptional in that regard.
Then the last check was with music, previously the customer had to reduce the musical bass a lot to avoid muddying the sound, after the calibration he could have a really nice amount of bass which helped add a natural character to the music, especially vocal while remaining completely crisp and clear throughout.
Customer Feedback
All I can say is that you are a genius mate . You have what I would call Golden Ears !!!!!!! ☺👍☺👍
To be honest I did think that I may be disappointed because I did quite like the bog standard Dirac result but that was because I didn't appreciate what a skilled calibrator could achieve.
You have taken my system to the next level, a level that I only dreamed of. I could have invested significantly more money in different hardware and not achieved the results that you have delivered for a far less cost and so I thank you greatly.....
Fantastic return on investment and something that I may never have achieved even given many years,
All I can say is that you are a genius mate . You have what I would call Golden Ears !!!!!!! ☺👍☺👍
To be honest I did think that I may be disappointed because I did quite like the bog standard Dirac result but that was because I didn't appreciate what a skilled calibrator could achieve.
You have taken my system to the next level, a level that I only dreamed of. I could have invested significantly more money in different hardware and not achieved the results that you have delivered for a far less cost and so I thank you greatly.....
Fantastic return on investment and something that I may never have achieved even given many years,
July 2019 Dirac Live 2.2 Calibrated for Customer in Leicester
I calibrated a very impressive 5.1.2 home cinema system comprising of the new KEF R7 speakers for front channels with the matching R2C Centre speaker, this was accompanied by 4 SVS Prime Elevation speakers for surrounds and height speakers for Dolby Atmos all powered from an Arcam AVR850. The customer is using an SVS SB3000 subwoofer and wow what a beast of a sub that is with very small dimensions. His sources were varied Sony UHD Blu Ray Player, Sky Q and a BlueSound Node for music streaming duties. For display the customer is using a 65" LG C8 OLED and due to room having very small dimensions the customer is sitting up close and personal to a display of this quality was a very pleasing experience showing just how good OLED really is. The customer had installed several acoustic panels from GIK acoustics to improve reduce the natural echo in the room.
I calibrated a very impressive 5.1.2 home cinema system comprising of the new KEF R7 speakers for front channels with the matching R2C Centre speaker, this was accompanied by 4 SVS Prime Elevation speakers for surrounds and height speakers for Dolby Atmos all powered from an Arcam AVR850. The customer is using an SVS SB3000 subwoofer and wow what a beast of a sub that is with very small dimensions. His sources were varied Sony UHD Blu Ray Player, Sky Q and a BlueSound Node for music streaming duties. For display the customer is using a 65" LG C8 OLED and due to room having very small dimensions the customer is sitting up close and personal to a display of this quality was a very pleasing experience showing just how good OLED really is. The customer had installed several acoustic panels from GIK acoustics to improve reduce the natural echo in the room.
For the calibration the customer wanted the system to be equally good for music as movies, he also likes a lot of bass which is no bad thing :)
I started the calibration taking quality measurements to give me a platform to work from, from there I started the calibration focusing on the 2 channel performance of the system to dial in a balance the customer was happy with. I introduced the subwoofer for music to increase the bass impact at the customers request and used Dirac to set a sonic balance and integration between the sub and KEF main speakers to the customers preference which created a sonic target for me to use the calibrate the sound for home cinema.
I then calibrated the system for home cinema performance keeping this sonic balance but building on it achieving a totally cohesive and detailed sound field, with ferocious, very impactful, tight and articulate bass with fantastic overhead Dolby Atmos presence and vocal clarity from the centre speaker. The end result was really something with the system and room sounding much bigger than their physical size and I really made something of this system - movies on this system are now sounding epic like they should be, all in a very small room.
I started the calibration taking quality measurements to give me a platform to work from, from there I started the calibration focusing on the 2 channel performance of the system to dial in a balance the customer was happy with. I introduced the subwoofer for music to increase the bass impact at the customers request and used Dirac to set a sonic balance and integration between the sub and KEF main speakers to the customers preference which created a sonic target for me to use the calibrate the sound for home cinema.
I then calibrated the system for home cinema performance keeping this sonic balance but building on it achieving a totally cohesive and detailed sound field, with ferocious, very impactful, tight and articulate bass with fantastic overhead Dolby Atmos presence and vocal clarity from the centre speaker. The end result was really something with the system and room sounding much bigger than their physical size and I really made something of this system - movies on this system are now sounding epic like they should be, all in a very small room.
July 2019 Dirac Live 2.2 Calibrated for Customer in Essex
I calibrated a really nice 5.1.2 system comprising of an Arcam AVR550 with Monitor Audio Apex Surround package of 5 speakers and the Apex Subwoofer with 2 Monitor Audio in ceiling speakers just in front of the listening position. This was in a multi purpose room but a very large focus on home cinema and multi channel music listening. The sources were a Panasonic UB9000, Sky and a Media streaming solution with a 65inch LG OLED TV.
I calibrated a really nice 5.1.2 system comprising of an Arcam AVR550 with Monitor Audio Apex Surround package of 5 speakers and the Apex Subwoofer with 2 Monitor Audio in ceiling speakers just in front of the listening position. This was in a multi purpose room but a very large focus on home cinema and multi channel music listening. The sources were a Panasonic UB9000, Sky and a Media streaming solution with a 65inch LG OLED TV.
The customer has been into sound quality since his teenage years and prefers quality over quantity as he really likes a natural sound. The home cinema system is watched by all his family so the setup had to be tailored to be family friendly so I sought to achieve a nice balance of everything. The customer has already set up the system using Dirac to the best of his ability and using the included microphone and had already done a pretty good job using the Dirac and Harman target curves, however he wanted to know the system was performing at its best hence why he hired me to come in.
I spent a couple of hours taking measurements, because there was a a few things to work out along the way at the end I have a great set of measurements to work with. I then set a custom target curve to fully integrate his 1 Apex subwoofer with the main speakers (this took a fair bit of work) to achieve a full range, dynamic and punchy sound with superb clarity and surround stage imaging and staging. It was a great reminder for me at just how good the Monitor Audio Apex speakers are. The last task was to alleviate the bit of sibilance that was present on some vocals which I achieved without robbing the front sound stage of any presence or sparkle. The end result was a very tight and cohesive sounding system, with fantastic overhead clarity and really good balance and I left the system punching well above its weight.
I spent a couple of hours taking measurements, because there was a a few things to work out along the way at the end I have a great set of measurements to work with. I then set a custom target curve to fully integrate his 1 Apex subwoofer with the main speakers (this took a fair bit of work) to achieve a full range, dynamic and punchy sound with superb clarity and surround stage imaging and staging. It was a great reminder for me at just how good the Monitor Audio Apex speakers are. The last task was to alleviate the bit of sibilance that was present on some vocals which I achieved without robbing the front sound stage of any presence or sparkle. The end result was a very tight and cohesive sounding system, with fantastic overhead clarity and really good balance and I left the system punching well above its weight.
July 2019 Dirac Live 2.2 Calibrated for Customer in London
I calibrated a very nice 5.1.4 System comprising of an Arcam AVR 550 with Dali Fazon 5 speakers and subwoofer package with 4 in ceiling Dolby Atmos Height Speakers and Pioneer LX500 UHD Blu Ray Player. The Customer was using a Naim stereo power amplifier to power the second pair of height speakers. The setting was a very modern apartment living room where huge attention to details had been paid to the lovely decoration and styling of the room, it was a lovely room to spend time in
I calibrated a very nice 5.1.4 System comprising of an Arcam AVR 550 with Dali Fazon 5 speakers and subwoofer package with 4 in ceiling Dolby Atmos Height Speakers and Pioneer LX500 UHD Blu Ray Player. The Customer was using a Naim stereo power amplifier to power the second pair of height speakers. The setting was a very modern apartment living room where huge attention to details had been paid to the lovely decoration and styling of the room, it was a lovely room to spend time in
The challenge of this calibration was the lovely setting, the owner is very mindful of sound leakage especially bass leakage disturbing their neighbours, even the general overall volume has to be carefully managed. The goal was to setup the system to be full range sounding, knitted together and dynamic without crossing a very tight line of too much overall volume, bass output and surround sound presence.
This is a much more difficult challenge than it sounds due to the massive dynamic range within modern 4K UHD and Blu Rays and often quiet vocal by comparison. That was the customers complaint about the system setup in general he has to turn the system up to hear the vocal but back down again during the big set pieces where the sound is often at its most dynamic. A situation I am sure a lot of people can relate to.
To achieve this goal I had to spend many hours tweaking Dirac Live and working closely with the customer in terms of listening tests so they could decide on the correct level and amount of bass and surround presence we could have. Too little bass extension and surround sound presence was not acceptable, too much bass punch and surround sound presence was not acceptable - there really was a very fine line between the two that I had to use Dirac Live's very fine custom adjustment to achieve the best balance possible.
Customer Feedback
"Terry was both professional and friendly, working tirelessly to Dirac the system and explain what he was doing and why."
"Terry was both professional and friendly, working tirelessly to Dirac the system and explain what he was doing and why."
March 2019 Dirac Live 2.1 Calibrated for a Customer in the West Midlands
I calibrated a very nice 5.2.2 system comprising of an Arcam AVR 850 with Bowers and Wilkins 700 series front speakers and a clever use of other Bowers and Wilkins speakers for rears and Atmos heights. The front speakers were bi-amped and a second Emotiva amplifier was used to drive the Atmos speakers.. This was accompanied by 2 brutal SVS PB3000 subwoofers and a nice Sony projector and screen.
I calibrated a very nice 5.2.2 system comprising of an Arcam AVR 850 with Bowers and Wilkins 700 series front speakers and a clever use of other Bowers and Wilkins speakers for rears and Atmos heights. The front speakers were bi-amped and a second Emotiva amplifier was used to drive the Atmos speakers.. This was accompanied by 2 brutal SVS PB3000 subwoofers and a nice Sony projector and screen.
When I first arrived I spent some time listening and then changed the toe in and placement of the speakers for a wider and clearer sound stage for 2 channel playback. I then set about the full Dirac Live Calibration using the latest 2.1 version of the software. The calibration turned into a bit of a marathon session taking over 10 years before we settled on a close to a perfect result as is realistically achievable. The challenge was two fold - taming the ferocious bass from the 2 SVS ported subwoofers - achieving a fine balance between punch attack and a visceral low end experience without overhang, thickening or muddying of the bass notes and sound stage clarity. The second challenge was keeping as much high frequency and upper mid range detail without moving into harshness or exaggerating vocal sibilance.
I kept at it because I knew the performance quality was there I just has to unlock it. the final section of the calibration was focused on music and I was able to achieve a very pleasing result for the customer. A long day, but a very enjoyable one and the end result really speaks for itself.
Customer Feedback
I had Terry to come and set up the ‘Dirac Live’ on my Arcam AVR850 and really delighted I did as it’s never sounded so good! He’s an all-round great guy and very conscientious about the quality of the work he does and only leaves when you are completely satisfied with the outcome, in my case going above and beyond with the time spent getting it right. He’s an absolute enthusiast on all things AV and a fountain of knowledge, but above all an absolute pleasure to work with. If you need Dirac setting up this is your chap!
I had Terry to come and set up the ‘Dirac Live’ on my Arcam AVR850 and really delighted I did as it’s never sounded so good! He’s an all-round great guy and very conscientious about the quality of the work he does and only leaves when you are completely satisfied with the outcome, in my case going above and beyond with the time spent getting it right. He’s an absolute enthusiast on all things AV and a fountain of knowledge, but above all an absolute pleasure to work with. If you need Dirac setting up this is your chap!
January 2019 Dirac Live 2.0 Calibrated for a Customer in North London
I calibrated Dirac Live 2.0 for a customer in North London consisting of an Arcam AVR390, Oppo 203, 65inch LGC7 OLED TV, Monitor Audio Silver Speakers and REL 7i subwoofer.
The customer had already run Dirac himself but wanted to see if I could improve on what he had done.
After taking the initial measurements the customer was very lucky to have a really nice bass response to work with, this would have been all boom ("one note bass") before Dirac but it was a great starting point for me to use my target curve for a full range, punchy and tactile bass, that's alive in the room with you, but underpins the whole sonic experience with clarity.
The results after some tweaking were pretty spectacular with astonishing bass being achieved at the MLP from the small only 200w REL 7i subwoofer. Even I couldn't believe the bass it was producing. The Monitor Audio Silver speakers now sounded really balanced with great detail but smoothness. I left with the system sounding fantastic, a real sonic movie experience and a hugely improved musical presentation. The Arcam AVR390 really is a great overall all round AV Receiver at its price point and thanks to Dirac Live it can produce amazing results, even in challenging small domestic rooms.
I calibrated Dirac Live 2.0 for a customer in North London consisting of an Arcam AVR390, Oppo 203, 65inch LGC7 OLED TV, Monitor Audio Silver Speakers and REL 7i subwoofer.
The customer had already run Dirac himself but wanted to see if I could improve on what he had done.
After taking the initial measurements the customer was very lucky to have a really nice bass response to work with, this would have been all boom ("one note bass") before Dirac but it was a great starting point for me to use my target curve for a full range, punchy and tactile bass, that's alive in the room with you, but underpins the whole sonic experience with clarity.
The results after some tweaking were pretty spectacular with astonishing bass being achieved at the MLP from the small only 200w REL 7i subwoofer. Even I couldn't believe the bass it was producing. The Monitor Audio Silver speakers now sounded really balanced with great detail but smoothness. I left with the system sounding fantastic, a real sonic movie experience and a hugely improved musical presentation. The Arcam AVR390 really is a great overall all round AV Receiver at its price point and thanks to Dirac Live it can produce amazing results, even in challenging small domestic rooms.
Customer Feedback
Hi Terry
After seeing you on you tube with all the great videos you do on especially Dirac Live and Arcam’s AV receivers it was great to see you yesterday at my house.
It was very interesting watching you in action I could see clearly you love what you are doing, your attention to detail and patience added into the mix.
Wow what a difference Dirac live made to my Arcam AV390 AV receiver once you worked your magic with the recommended calibration target lines.
I will be playing all my Blu-rays films again now I have sub woofer a small REL 7i 😂that rocks with better timing.
My floor speakers have better cohesion, separation and a centre speaker where I can now here speech more clearly.
Thanks for all your efforts on my behalf it was greatly appreciated
Best Wishes
Hi Terry
After seeing you on you tube with all the great videos you do on especially Dirac Live and Arcam’s AV receivers it was great to see you yesterday at my house.
It was very interesting watching you in action I could see clearly you love what you are doing, your attention to detail and patience added into the mix.
Wow what a difference Dirac live made to my Arcam AV390 AV receiver once you worked your magic with the recommended calibration target lines.
I will be playing all my Blu-rays films again now I have sub woofer a small REL 7i 😂that rocks with better timing.
My floor speakers have better cohesion, separation and a centre speaker where I can now here speech more clearly.
Thanks for all your efforts on my behalf it was greatly appreciated
Best Wishes
