OpenTube

Do You Have a Room or Speaker Problem? Use This REW Button To Know For Sure

Acoustics Insider

21,450 views

Fix muddy bass & unclear mixes using REW's psychoacoustic smoothing to diagnose positioning problems.

📖 Free Speaker Placement Workshop: https://www.acousticsinsider.com/phan...

In this video, I reveal why swapping speakers won't fix your sound issues and show you exactly how to identify whether it's your room, your speakers, or (most likely) your positioning that's causing problems. Using Room EQ Wizard's hidden psychoacoustic smoothing function, you'll learn to diagnose acoustic issues like a pro and achieve a balanced frequency response in ANY room, even asymmetrical ones. No expensive gear required, just proper positioning based on science, not rules of thumb.

🕐 CHAPTERS:
0:00 The Real Problem (It's Not Your Speakers)
0:33 Why Positioning Beats Everything
0:51 The REW Function Nobody Knows About
0:59 Introduction
1:28 Case Study: Client's Failed Speaker Swap
2:42 Following Rules vs Getting Results
3:27 Psychoacoustic Smoothing Revealed
4:24 The Impossible Mix Problem
5:03 Asymmetrical Room Success Story
6:00 Reading Balanced Response
7:03 How to Find Your Sweet Spot
7:49 The Phantom Speaker Test Method
9:42 Confirming Results with REW
10:53 Final Truth About Monitoring

🎯 Whenever you're ready, there are 5 ways I can help you:

→ Speaker Placement Workshop (FREE)
Perfect first step for new studios or fixing low-end issues Free Speaker Placement Guide | Home Studio Acoustics Course

→ Build A Better Bass Trap
Get professional low-end control without the "dead" room sound DIY Bass Trap Guide | Pro Studio Sound on a Budget Course

→ Pro Studio Consulting
Personalized guidance for your complete studio transformation Pro Studio Consulting

→ Treatment Essentials Bundle
Complete system for speaker placement, bass traps & panel placement Complete Studio Acoustics Bundle | Pro Treatment Course

→ My Thomann Gear Picks
Studio monitors, interfaces, and acoustics products I actually use and recommend https://www.thomann.de/de/thlpg_pwro8...

💬 ABOUT ACOUSTICS INSIDER:
I'm Jesco, an aerospace engineer turned sound nerd and professional mixing engineer with 15+ years of experience. Through Acoustics Insider, I teach home studio acoustic treatment techniques that actually work without all the voodoo. My goal is simple: help you get professional-sounding results from your home studio without breaking the bank or falling for expensive myths.

18 Comments

@AcousticsInsider Creator 1 year ago Pinned

🎯 Build a pro bass trap (40Hz+) & keep your highs crisp! Step-by-step guide 👉 https://www.acousticsinsider.com/build-a-better-bass-trap-2024

@PJFost 1 year ago

Seeing from the comments that people aren't getting it. You measure separately because it is critical that the left and right channels response are as close to each other as possible. The shape of the response affects tone, but the similarity between channels affects the soundstage and imaging. It creates the magic. Enact a double smooth convolution filter and your ears will be opened like never before. The magic isn't because the responses are flat, it's because both channels are +/- 1db from each other. People who say not to use DSP because it causes time smearing or whatever the heck, clearly haven't used it properly, and don't know. Getting phase and frequency aligned far outweighs any negatives. I promise.

@mmares056 1 year ago

Great educational video on speaker placement and room acoustics. Love your videos.

@ChristopherHaines-mr4cl 1 year ago

Always another great video

@mackemacchiato3238 1 year ago

Very interesting video and info! Since I just started measuring my speakers and built a almost “dead” studio :)

@TechnoAssassinOriginal 1 year ago

we've always got room and/or speaker problems Jesco 😬🙈😂

@JAY___M 11 months ago

My perfect square room begs to differ 😂

@RobertoRNS 10 months ago

O meu nem precisou estar em 75 db para gerar os peqs. Foi em 61 db. O mais importante é o eq. apo estar em 0 db.

Está muito melhor o som para músicas e filmes.

usei o microfone embutido da webcam sem calibração. Ficou perfeito.

Os picos com o rew estavam + ou - em 72 e na hora de gerar os peqs, tive que reduzir para 61 db.

😀👍👍

@kolgrillarn 1 year ago

Distance,hmm🤔. I have this small problem when there is about 50cm to the wall from right speaker and 300 cm from the left😂😂 and a sloping ceiling .

@hdde8888 8 months ago (edited)

Do you have a particular reason for not using the latest version of REW, currently REW V5.40 Beta 113, which is a beta version but works very well and has many new features? The button "Actions" is missing there, but you can get the relevant functions by right-clicking on the graph!

@kyleo2113 1 year ago

For multi sub - I try to leverage one subs dip with another subs peak under 100hz (non-positional bass) and dial in the combined - this of course if I can’t address the dips in another way - is this a reasonable practice?

@landco11 1 year ago

3:15 You said you need to measure the speakers separately, the left and right channels. But aren't we listening to speakers in a stereo pair? Perhaps it's more accurate to measure them the way we actually listen, not separately?

@luk4s81 1 year ago

Hey Jesco, I really love your channel and the whole easy approach to get better sound. But there is on thing which scratches my head regarding the bass hunter technique. Why do you have to put just one speaker in the corner on the ground ? I get the explanation, that every room problem gets emphasized, but in reality the speaker of course isn’t lying on the ground and also gets pulled more into the room. So when you change the location of the speaker, you do change the phase of the bass in the room, don’t you ? So the modes and nulls will shift its location ? Or do i get something wrong here ?

@Androxylo 8 days ago

The speaker clearly has a problem below 90 Hz

@1234Conrad1234 1 year ago

More likely my ears.

@HalcyonGuitars 1 year ago

I don’t understand the concept of measuring the speakers individually, when in practice they are used in tandem…

@roadfordays 1 year ago

The idea of only testing one speaker at a time flies in the face of your very point - that placement matters, especially for low end. If you aren't hearing the interaction of the two speakers at the listening position, you aren't hearing what they actually sound like - together, in mono - in the room. Any given node or null may very well be balanced or exacerbated by the second speaker, but you will never know this unless you test both together.