Erin's 2006 Civic Sedan

[Glenn]

Did I read the box correctly that this processor has 30 bands of PEQ per channel? Man, that's some power and would allow you to use 1/6 or 1/12 octave to tune. BTW I took your advice in taking 3 RTA readings and there were differences in the curve that I could easily identify by listening. Now I am thinking I need a second mic to allow me to actively monitor the two "ear" positions while tuning. Guess it's time to ask Chad if Smaart is capable of that.

[BigAl205]

I know that TrueRTA will handle 2 mics

[captainobvious]

Did I read the box correctly that this processor has 30 bands of PEQ per channel? Man, that's some power and would allow you to use 1/6 or 1/12 octave to tune. BTW I took your advice in taking 3 RTA readings and there were differences in the curve that I could easily identify by listening. Now I am thinking I need a second mic to allow me to actively monitor the two "ear" positions while tuning. Guess it's time to ask Chad if Smaart is capable of that.

http://www.helixhifi.com/products/pr...204&p_tab_id=1

" Graphical 30-band EQ per channel with "fine adjustment" of individual bands in 1/24 octave steps"

[captainobvious]

In addition, here's the owners manual. Unfortunately it doesn't show operation or instructions for the EQ, but there is a pic of the GUI which seems to indicate that you can adjust the specific frequency of each band, the gain and the Q.

http://www.helixhifi.com/products/do..._HELIX_DSP.pdf

It also looks like the phase adjustment for each channel has a sliding bar. Not sure if this is infinitely adjustable, has multiple settings or is simply a 0/180 flip. Perhaps Erin can give us a quick rundown/update?


EDIT: Looks like 30 band graphic EQ plus one parametric Band (selectable) per channel. In addition, the phase control looks like 1 or 180 only on all outputs except the sub which is adjustable in 22.5 degree increments from 0-360.

[erinh]

The easiest thing to do is to download the DSP software:
http://www.helixhifi.com/downloads/downloads.asp

^ You can run this in demo mode. There are a few versions you can choose between so you can see the differences. The DSP I have is called just "Helix DSP".

But to answer the questions:

• 30 band Paragraphic* per channel on all but Sub. The sub has 13 active, but if you tab over with the keypad you can alter 400hz as well. May just be a glitch.
• Q is adjustable from 0.5 to 15.
• The sub channel(s) are the only ones with adjustable phase which is done in 22.5 degree increments. You may be able to put your midbasses on the "subwoofer" channels and adjust the phase of those but I'm assuming the phase adjustment is for the LPF and you probably won't want to do this for your midbass-to-midrange transition. IF the phase applies to the HPF, then that would be awesome. I'll have to run this through some software to check and I don't know when I'll do that. I would be interested to know as well, though.

*Paragraphic; starts as fixed graphic bands but can be adjusted in 1/24 steps (you can't just type them in but you still have flexibility in the frequency/band you want to set).

There are some things I wish it did better (like having more resolution on the levels of EQ/crossover higher than 1dB). But it'll suffice. My goal in using this piece was to take advantage of parametric: modes for sub/midbass and overall shaping for the system as a whole (ie; sub at 40hz with a wide Q to blend, or wide Q at midrange to shape). I'm using the p99 for graphic but I've found that when a parametric is implement well, the system performs MUCH better than when dumping bands on a graphic to fix problems. So, I am using the pairing to allow me to use parametric & graphic to get the best of both worlds. I've been through (4) P99's now in lieu of an external DSP that makes me happy. Not happened. That's why I went back to the P99 and bit the bullet on an external as well. This piece was in a good price range (not miniDSP cheap but not terrible). In the end, paying more up front to have the features I want makes more sense than continually swapping gear looking for the all-in-one solution I want that this combo will net me. And truthfully, I hope to not even use 1/3 of the capability of these units. That may seem like a terrible waste but no one is making a DSP that does what I want.

BTW I took your advice in taking 3 RTA readings and there were differences in the curve that I could easily identify by listening. Now I am thinking I need a second mic to allow me to actively monitor the two "ear" positions while tuning. Guess it's time to ask Chad if Smaart is capable of that.

You really don't need two mics. Just use one mic and average the results together. That will suffice. If you want to use two mics, Al is right: TrueRTA allows for this (it's how I measure when I used the binaural mics). I don't know about Smaart. Not sure about other software either, though I wouldn't be surprised if Smaart allowed this and maybe even REW as well.

[captainobvious]

The easiest thing to do is to download the DSP software:
http://www.helixhifi.com/downloads/downloads.asp

^ You can run this in demo mode. There are a few versions you can choose between so you can see the differences. The DSP I have is called just "Helix DSP".

...
And truthfully, I hope to not even use 1/3 of the capability of these units. That may seem like a terrible waste but no one is making a DSP that does what I want.

Thanks, I just took it for a spin.

You mean lots of bands of parametric EQ per channel, plus extended phase adjustment per channel (beyond 0,180), plus user settable crossover frequency and slope, plus fine adjustments for gain on EQ? If they could get the phase adjustment of the Zapco DSP8 combined with the Mosconi, it would make for an awesome DSP unit.

[Glenn]

Makes me wonder what is stopping them from adding more features. I wonder if they have a component that would cost too much to move up a notch.

Thanks, I just took it for a spin.

You mean lots of bands of parametric EQ per channel, plus extended phase adjustment per channel (beyond 0,180), plus user settable crossover frequency and slope, plus fine adjustments for gain on EQ? If they could get the phase adjustment of the Zapco DSP8 combined with the Mosconi, it would make for an awesome DSP unit.

[captainobvious]

Might require the addition of another dsp chip. I have the Mosconi and it's pretty loaded. I'd love to have more phase control and a beefier output section (more than 4v max) though as well as a few other things.

[erinh]

Minor updates...

AE IB15HT's installed. The pair has a Qts of about 0.78 and a vas indicating a lot of airspace needed. I didn't think they'd work in the car so I swept them both outside the car (free air) and then inside. Results below show free air and in car response. As you can see its negligible. The in car qtc measures almost exactly 0.70. Pretty nice.


I also redid the grill covers for my mids. The glue was starting to let go so I had to fix them up.

You can see I am using a DD unit as well. Decided to not go the p99 route after I installed the helix. It works well and frankly, I could use the cash. I really am happy with the alpine deck. I do plan to mold it to the dash before finals if time permits.

[claydo]

Wow, I forget how stock your pillars look with the grills......awesome.

Oh, and are these a different version of the subs than you ran last time?
Just curious....