Calibrated Mics Now Available
Audyssey is now offering individually calibrated microphones to be used with MultEQ-X. The microphones are available from Amazon.com for USD79.99. They ship intentionally.
This is certainly a step in the right direction as the existing microphones could be out by as much as +/-3dB in the high end which could be audible.
Please note that these individually calibrated microphones – while psychically compatible with Denon and Marantz AVRs – are not suitable to be used without MultEQ-X. Audyssey does offer the standard version for those that have lost their calibration microphones.
New Software Features
- The software is now able to load individual mic calibration files which are downloaded by MultEQ-X automatically.
- When designing a target curve, you are able to import EQ file exports from REW (“Filter Tasks” –> “Export Filter Settings as Text” in REW). This can be done per channel individually which means you are able to correct for any particular issues per channel to ensure it adheres to a target curve.
- Channel levels (called trims in the software) are more accurate.
- Ability to change between metric and imperial units (this was introduced as a point release prior to 1.1)
- Lots of little bug fixes compared to version 1.0 of the software.
Opinion
There aren’t exactly a lot of new features here. However, the individually calibrated microphones should result in a slight improvement in sound dependent on the accuracy of the default mic that came with your unit. If nothing else, they will provide peace of mind!
The ability to import EQ settings from REW should result in a lot smoother workflow for those that like to add either individual corrections to speakers (or speaker pairs). Alternatively, defining a custom target curve should also be easier as it enables users to create these target curves as text files to be imported into the tool and share them between users. This will certainly save a lot of time!
Resources on Simple Home Cinema
Below are some resources that may help you get the best out of Audyssey.
Secrets of Audyssey – provides extended help in getting Audyssey to sound great and goes through everything from treating your room to troubleshooting it. There is also a section on the best use cases for MultEQ-X.
Audyssey Curve Editor Excel Tool – this does enable you to edit the target curve by editing the Audyssey app file export / import (without having to use MultEQ-X).
Getting Started with Manual Calibration and REW – if you are going to introduce individual corrections to the channels using REW, then this might be an important read. Ultimately, getting a ruler flat frequency response can be detrimental to imaging so it’s important to tread softly with this one!
Ultimate Denon AVR Setup Guide – can also be used for Marantz receivers. There may be a Marantz specific one down the line.
Related Articles
MultEQ-X Features and Thoughts – this was the original article for the introduction of MultEQ-X.
Ideas for Using MultEQ-X to Improve Performance – this article goes through some of the features I personally find useful to polish Audyssey performance and enable you to use Audyssey Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume after calibration. This is critical in my opinion as a fully custom curve defeats the idea of Audyssey altogether.
Thanks for the update. To be clear here, so it would not make any sense to buy this mic and to a measurement with the “standard” MultiEQ App? Or if not, could that be an improvement here as well, even without MultEQ-X?
There is no point in buying one of those mics without MultEQ-X. None whatsoever! The calibration file only works with that, not the Mobile App and not the AVR. Audyssey could enable the calibration with the Mobile app but they haven’t done so.
got it, thanks!