[AvFan]

I am never going to have a dedicated listening room so I'm always going to be faced with lower sound quality simply because of the shape of and the furniture in my living room.  This is not to say the Ottavo in my system are a problem.  To the contrary they are the best part of my system but I think they are being shortchanged by the reality of my listening environment.  Recently, I have been reading about minidsp's capabilities plus the thread on the new hybrid 3-way got me to thinking.  Would my system benefit from converting my Ottavo to a minidsp configuration with my current amp handling the tweeter/mid (keeping that portion of the crossover) and a new amp(s) running the two woofers in each Ottavo?  How would that work using REW to create the appropriate filters/room correction?

I found a 2013 thread on minidsp that Rick mentioned it probably wouldn't be worth it to convert the Tempesta but I don't know if his opinion has changed now that he has worked on the 3-way hybrid, he has more experience with the minidsp or that the Ottavo would be converted. 

[Rick Craig]

I am never going to have a dedicated listening room so I'm always going to be faced with lower sound quality simply because of the shape of and the furniture in my living room.  This is not to say the Ottavo in my system are a problem.  To the contrary they are the best part of my system but I think they are being shortchanged by the reality of my listening environment.  Recently, I have been reading about minidsp's capabilities plus the thread on the new hybrid 3-way got me to thinking.  Would my system benefit from converting my Ottavo to a minidsp configuration with my current amp handling the tweeter/mid (keeping that portion of the crossover) and a new amp(s) running the two woofers in each Ottavo?  How would that work using REW to create the appropriate filters/room correction?

I found a 2013 thread on minidsp that Rick mentioned it probably wouldn't be worth it to convert the Tempesta but I don't know if his opinion has changed now that he has worked on the 3-way hybrid, he has more experience with the minidsp or that the Ottavo would be converted.

It's possible to do with the Ottavo but the passive crossover section would also need to be changed. You could use the MiniDSP with your current system for room EQ. I've not used REW but I know how it works. You basically take a measurement and REW uses that to give you the correction settings.

[AvFan]

So after a little more reading, yes, I see that a MiniDSP and REW can work together to improve a speaker's (with a passive crossover) in-room performance.  Much of what I read was about improving/smoothing in-room bass response including how to integrate one or more subwoofers.  Is bass were products like a MiniDSP have the most impact or can they "smooth" the response at higher frequencies to good effect? 

With regards to my Ottavo they are much too nice a speaker to re-engineer.  If the work was simple (e.g. disconnect the woofers from the crossover so they could be hooked up to an amp/dsp) and easily reversible maybe, but I wouldn't make wholesale and permanent changes.  A minidsp hd and a mic are pretty low cost way to try and improve in-room performance.

 

[Rick Craig]

So after a little more reading, yes, I see that a MiniDSP and REW can work together to improve a speaker's (with a passive crossover) in-room performance.  Much of what I read was about improving/smoothing in-room bass response including how to integrate one or more subwoofers.  Is bass were products like a MiniDSP have the most impact or can they "smooth" the response at higher frequencies to good effect? 

With regards to my Ottavo they are much too nice a speaker to re-engineer.  If the work was simple (e.g. disconnect the woofers from the crossover so they could be hooked up to an amp/dsp) and easily reversible maybe, but I wouldn't make wholesale and permanent changes.  A minidsp hd and a mic are pretty low cost way to try and improve in-room performance.

 

The greatest benefit from the EQ is smoothing out the in-room bass response. Above 300 hz is typically not the best place to add equalization because the peaks and dips are often due to diffraction and reflections. You can adjust the voicing though which can help with a more reflective room. This depends on what the software allows - I don't know if REW will adjust to a target curve. With bass EQ you also need to make sure that you're not trying to flatten out an acoustic null. If you attempt that you don't smooth out the dip and end up wasting a great deal of amplifier power.

The bass section of the Ottavo can be rewired for an active crossover; however, it becomes a new design and requires the knowledge and equipment to optimize the response.