[keith]

I just thought I'd share a review I made for a forum in Manila.  Just fyi, my listening room does not use any room treatments due to an ultimatum made with my wife.  Associated equipment used:  Von Schweikert DB-99SE, Townshend MAX Super Tweeter, Verbatim signature speaker cables, Verbatim interconnects, Consonance Power cables, Lamm LL2, Lamm ML2.1 and Accuphase DP-78. 

During the 2008 HiFi show, not many people noticed the Lyngdorf RP-1 Digital Room Correction unit, a rather unassuming black box stashed inconspicuously in the PureSound room at the Mandarin. (Yup, that's the Lyngdorf there on the lowest level of the CMS rack)



Lyngdorf, the audio company, isn’t widely known as a brand.  But make no mistake, its principal Peter Lyngdorf is one of the most respected audio manufacturers in the world.  To quote the Lyngdorf website, “Peter has founded or co-founded several world famous audio companies, for instance Dali Loudspeakers along with full or part ownership of many other highly esteemed audio brands such as NAD Electronics, Gryphon Audio and Snell Acoustics.” Enough said. Well, there was one who recognized the Lyngdorf RP-1 from the get go. It was early Saturday morning when big-horn-daddy Mr. X visited the PureSound room during the show. His first comment, “Ferdi’s Lyngdorf!  You cheaters!”  Well, in all fairness Mr. X, the synergy of components in the PureSound room was just really at a high.  But to also be fair to that unassuming black box, the Lyngdorf RP-1, it played its part to the hilt, taming that room’s awful boom.




Flashback

It all started with a phone call from Ferdi from sunny Cebu.  Yes, the same Ferdi who “Accuphased” me months later.  Since I brought home my system to the now not-so Secret Lair, Ferdi was one of the few who called my attention to fixing my room’s acoustics. Honestly, if I had my way, and if I had the spare cash, I would have the room treated by Mike P. during its construction stage.  Unfortunately (or is it fortunately) for me, the wife gave me an ultimatum that I was not allowed to wreck our living room décor.  And I must say that I have so far kept my word.  In truth, despite what I have to work with, my untreated room isn’t really an anomaly.  I’m getting very good sound from my system.  Luckily, my DB-99s have adjustable bass modules, hence I can control how much bass I want.  And from the very beginning, I never had bass boom problems.  So what am I exactly complaining about if I am already happy?  The usual. The knowledge that things can still get better.

[keith]

That Sinking Feeling

Even before the 2008 HiFi Show, I had a feeling that I was going to be smitten by this new product of Ferdi’s. We had talked about the usual stuff, audio and what we each had to do to achieve that golden sound each of us was after.  Me, I complained about not having a dedicated treated room.  So Ferdi mentions I should try the Lyngdorf RP-1.  As usual, I consulted my sultan of sulsul.  And what did the sultan say?  It won’t hurt to try it.  The audition was eventually pushed back as I was honestly scared the RP-1 would never leave my system.  Come on!  The world is in an economic crisis and all countries are in recession.  And I do believe that things will continue to unravel in the coming months.  So I shouldn’t be too impulsive and save that hard earned dough (if there is anything left to save). So postpone we did, but we did decide to debut Ferdi’s Lyngdorf RP-1 in the 2008 HiFi Show together with the Accuphase DP-78. And boy did the Lyngy impress.  Well, the plan was that after the HiFi Show, I get to try out the Lyngdorf in my system. 

Days after the show the anticipation was killing me.  But then all that music during the HiFi Show put me on voluntary audio abstinence for a few days. Or was it forced abstinence since my Verbatim IC cables and my Lamm preamp was still crated in the lair. Nevertheless, on that fateful Friday the 14th after the HiFi Show, Jack came over and helped me set up the Lyngy. But before anything else, what exactly is the Lyngdorf RP-1 and what does it do?




As per the Lyngdorf site, “The RP-1 is a standalone room correction processor that can be inserted in any conventional pre-/power amplifier set up.  This is the simplest way of removing room-generated anomalies and the fastest way to improve the sonic performance of analogue system.” How I understand it? It has it’s own A/D processor (AK 5394 – same used in Lyngdorf’s flagship Millennium ADC) that converts the signal to digital.  It then does it’s “magic” of taming (or adding) anomalous frequency nodes in your room, then uses a D/A processor (Wolfson WM8740 – also used in its flagship Millenium ADC) that basically converts it back to an analogue signal.  It is important to note though, that all through these processes, the sonic signature of your system is not altered.

There are several ways of setting up the Lyngy RP-1.  It can be placed in between the source and the preamp; it can be connected to the Tape Loop of your preamp; or it can be placed in between the preamp and amp.  Both times we used the RP-1, we set it up in between preamp and amp.

But how does it figure out what to do?  Processors nowadays come with calibration mics.  Harman Kardon receivers, for instance, have this option, where you place the mic in the listening position and the receiver’s processor automatically computes for the proper volume levels per channel, and likewise computes for the proper delay times for the rear speakers. The Lyngdorf RP-1 takes it a step further.  It doesn’t merely take one measurement like most processors.  It takes several sonic “snap shots” of one’s rooms to get a better understanding of the room’s acoustics, mapping the entire listening space in 3 dimensions, unlike the 2 dimensions used by the Harman Kardon.

To date, I’ve seen the RP-1 setup 3 times: the first in Ferdi’s room in Cebu (I was taught how to do it in advance in preparation for the show), the second was in the PureSound room during the HiFi Show, and the third was in my system.  All three times, it was pretty easy to set up.  First, you basically finalize the gain or signal volume.  Second, you use the supplied mic to take aural snap shots of the room from various locations in the room.  Third, the unit computes then saves.  It takes roughly 30 minutes to complete the setup. Well, okay.  It took more than that during the HiFi Show. At one point, we weren’t sure if the RP-1 was on the blink as it was taking forever to calibrate.  It turned out, the built in computer took 3-4 times the usual time needed per room position. That’s how bad the Mandarin room was. 

The RP-1 also has various option modes. You can switch it to global, which basically means you forego with a focused sound you normally get when in the sweet spot.  The global setting is great for parties, as it takes away the sweet spot, having an even sound wherever you are in the room.  Focused mode is obviously for listening in the sweet spot.  And then there is a bypass mode which is how you would hear the music without the RP-1’s processors kicking in.  The RP-1 also has 7 built in voicing curves to cater to your preference as seen below.  Me I’ve so far preferred Neutral which keeps a flat curve.  During the HiFi Show, Jack and I settled for Music 1.




Listening Impressions

I’ll forego with my listening impressions on the PureSound room during the 2008 HiFi Show.  Suffice it to say, those that heard the before and after when switching the RP-1 to “bypass” and back to “focus,” did hear a considerable difference.  It clearly tamed the bass boom in the room and squeezing out better bass detail.

As to my room, I said earlier that there really were no major anomalies in it.  I never had bass boom.  Well, I’ve had one grievance with the DB-99s in that it was lacking some weight in the lower midrange region. Jack and I did notice this some time back. I always thought that there was a suckout between the lower midrange and upper bass frequencies that I always believed to be the shortcoming of my 2A3 amp.  But when the Lamm ML2.1 did duty and it was still there, I attributed it to the lair’s small room.  But again, when I moved my system home, the suckout was still there.  I figured it had to be the DB-99. Despite that slight hole I could hear in that particular frequency range, I’ve still been very satisfied with the music playing of my system.  In other words, I was really nitpicking. 

Fast forward to that fateful Friday the 14th.  We set it up, then we listened.  At first I was elated.  My untreated room wasn’t that bad after all.   The change seemed very subtle.  I immediately sms-ed Ferdi saying the difference wasn’t that big, but I did like the RP-1.  Well, the more we listened, the less subtle it appeared. That lower midrange suckout I complained about suddenly disappeared. One of my favorite artists that I find so relaxing to listen to is Stacey Kent.  I remember Jack saying once that he was disappointed in her recordings and only liked the vinyl version of her album. Not so much the interpretation, but more on how her voice sounds on the cd medium vs the vinyl. I must admit, the vinyl version has that midrange weight that seems to get missed when he plays the cd in the lair’s big room. Me, I always attributed it to her voice just being that way.  But when I played the red book cd in my system with the RP-1 doing its magic, her voice took on new meaning.  It just had so much more body, so much more weight.  As they say curiosity killed the cat. I ended up getting my spectrum analyzer and was doing an AB moving from the RP-1’s Bypass mode to Focus mode. Clearly there was a better fill in the 100-300hz level with the RP-1 on. That said it all.  The hole I’ve nitpicked at was filled. I knew then and there that the Lyngy wasn’t going anywhere. Later on I started playing classical pieces. Again, the system just sounded richer and even more organic.  By the time my wife came home from work, she raised an eyebrow and asked what that black box was.  All I said in my excitement was “listen to this … without the Lyngy (on bypass) … with the Lyngy (on focus).”  She had a surprised smile then said, “wow, big difference.”  I took that to mean that the Lyngy could stay. 






Denoument

Mr. X said it right, I cheated.    But come on, I don’t or can't use room treatments. All things being equal, using room treatments should be considered cheating too.    I can hear the two channel purists now, sacre bleu!!! I’ve somewhat thought of myself as a purist.  Keep the chain as simple as possible.  And never use those tone controls (well not that my 2 channel system has them). But after hearing the Lyngy, I’m a believer.  In two different rooms I heard it, and the Lyngy delivered both times.  In the first, taming a boom.  In the other, filling a void.  Yet both times, never changing or altering the sonic signature of the system.  At $3,800, for me it’s worth every penny.  I've heard systems whose room treatments cost way more.  It’s no surprise, it’s staying in my system, global crisis or not.  But the real winner seems to be my wife.  I will no longer be bugging her about room treatments, or about getting rid of that counter top where all my equipment rests.

I guess cheaters sometimes do win ...     

[kenreau]

Keith,

I'm very interested in this product as I am in the same situation with a less than ideal room used for audiophile/HT and also a prominent room in the house with a view, windows and WAF issues.

If possible, I would like to see some additional room photos to see what issues you are overcoming with this device.  In my situation I have 3 large view windows along one of the side listening walls, wood floors and too many hard surfaces.  I use an Integra HT processor with Audyssey room correction eq and a JL Audio with it's own dsp correction that both make significant improvements. 

My concerns are addressing issues related to the many hard surfaces, slap echo, reverb times and similar.

Thanks,
Kenreau

[saisunil]

Excellent review indeed. My wife would love to see my large bass traps dissappear ...

[keith]

Hi Kenreau.  Below are some pictures.  Hope they help.  The room is actually my living and dining room.  What you see below is the living room portion.  In other words, behind the couch (listening position) is already the dining table with a buffet table further back (with two lamps on it).  The rear wall is floor to ceiling mirrors. Dining table base is made of metal, and the table top a solid slab of glass. (sorry I don’t have pictures to post of the dining room)



Left side of the room are glass windows and cement, covered by sheer curtains.  Speakers are about a foot away from the back wall.  The left speaker is about 3 feet away from the left side wall.  The right speaker is about 3 meters away from the right side wall.  If you notice the foreground, there’s a red throw pillow.  This is basically the couch and the actual listening position.



Notice there is another couch pretty much maybe two to three feet away from the left speaker’s bass woofer.  Not seen, the right speaker has the same problem, with a chair pretty much blocking the right woofer two to three feet away as well. 

Flooring is ceramic tiles.  But I have a large rug.  I likewise have four lamps total around the place. 

I’m not familiar with the Audyssey room correction system so I can’t really comment on this. As to the Lyngdorf working in a HT system, I am uncertain whether it can do that.  My personal experience comes from using it in a 2 channel system.  I think in a two channel system, there’s a good chance that it can help your room tremendously. My recommendation, try reaching a dealer near you and asking if you can do a home demo.

By the way, is there a lot of slap echo in your room?  If there is a lot of echo, the traditional room treatments may be a safer bet.  ASC has some new products that are WAF friendly.  I think you can even use your personal pictures in their ASC picture panels. 

Hope I was able to help some.

[keith]

Excellent review indeed. My wife would love to see my large bass traps dissappear ...

Any wife would, saisunil. 

Many thanks for your kind words.   

[jhm731]

If you like the Lyngdorf RP-1, you should try the TacT RCS 2.2XP.

It doesn't limit you to 7 voicing curves, and has many other user programmable features, like Para EQ, DRC & XTC.

[miklorsmith]

Good for you keith!  It's always nice when a system addition really, unquestionably adds.  I have your same preamplifier, the LL2 is just plain awesome.  I wish I could hear those amps, I have a feeling my Zus would cozy up to them nicely.     Your room is truly beautiful as well, I can see why your wife doesn't want to muck it up.  Of course, some treatment companies are making nice furniture which also provides strong bass trapping - just something to chew on.

Peter Lyngdorf also has history with TacT, I think he helped found the company.

I had a run of TacT preamplifiers, the 2.0s, the 2.2X, and the 2.2XP.  Functionally, the XP is light-years beyond the other two.  It's a true marvel of audio engineering.  However, I never liked its DACs and ultimately went to the outstanding, outboard Lessloss DAC which can decode from the TacT's native 24/96 processors.  The TacTs can downsample to whatever your DAC can take but part of my goal was to reduce processing steps.

This was way better, enough that I could truly relax and soak into listening again.  But, I became convinced I could hear artifacts from the processing itself, manifesting as truncations of quiet stage cues.  It's hard to explain but I came to "know it" and I got restless again, and moved to the Lamm which has been my baby for about two years now.

I wouldn't doubt that Lyngdorf is processing differently, with different results.  The biggest question I have about it relates to its measurement protocol:  How does mapping the room help as opposed to correcting for one listening position?  I can see how "averaging" could help in a party-type setting, but for focused listening I don't see the benefit.  The speaker's relationship to the room isn't changed, relative peaks and nulls won't be changed in the processor, so if bass energy is decreased to tame a corner it also will be decreased at the main listening position.

Maybe this is the point of the different settings, maybe it weights corners less in a "one listener" setting.  It would be interesting to walk around the room in different settings to see if bass distribution is affected at all.

Anyway, thanks for the excellent report.  This is the kind of report that makes AC great.

Oh yeah, your avatar is spellbinding.  Look into the light . . . 

[Kevin Haskins]

These are cool devices and hopefully we will see more of them in the future.   The Lyngdorf equipment looks really well done. 

They don't remove the benefits of room treatment but they should help with some of the really ugly stuff. 

 

[keith]

I have your same preamplifier, the LL2 is just plain awesome.  I wish I could hear those amps, I have a feeling my Zus would cozy up to them nicely.     Your room is truly beautiful as well, I can see why your wife doesn't want to muck it up.  Of course, some treatment companies are making nice furniture which also provides strong bass trapping - just something to chew on.

Thank you miklorsmith.  yes the LL2 is awesome.  I was looking for a pre that would replace my ARC LS16 for a long time.  What  I nearly got was the ModWright pre which is another great pre for the money.  But then I heard the LL2.  The ML2.1s are phenomenal.  I'm sure the Zus would match well with them.  I have a 300B, a 45 and a 2A3, the Sun 2A3 being my old favorite.  But the ML2.1s just are in a league of their own.  They are hard to describe really.  Same sonic signature as the hybrid models, but with the extra delicacy you'd expect from tubes. (sorry OT on my own thread    )

Peter Lyngdorf also has history with TacT, I think he helped found the company.

Thanks for the trivia.  I didn't know this, but somehow, I'm not surprised anymore.  A lot of designers get hired by third parties all the time. Good to know though. 

I wouldn't doubt that Lyngdorf is processing differently, with different results.  The biggest question I have about it relates to its measurement protocol:  How does mapping the room help as opposed to correcting for one listening position?  I can see how "averaging" could help in a party-type setting, but for focused listening I don't see the benefit.  The speaker's relationship to the room isn't changed, relative peaks and nulls won't be changed in the processor, so if bass energy is decreased to tame a corner it also will be decreased at the main listening position.

Maybe this is the point of the different settings, maybe it weights corners less in a "one listener" setting.  It would be interesting to walk around the room in different settings to see if bass distribution is affected at all.

Anyway, thanks for the excellent report.  This is the kind of report that makes AC great.

Although I am no tech guy, I get what you're asking.  Stumps me as well.  I was thinking of the "averaging," while I was writing the review and I did walk around the room, even going to the corners and the possible problem areas, but the sound was even, as if I were in the sweet spot.  It's amazing, really.  It could be my room is just not THAT bad, meaning the "averaging" is not as pronounced in known bad areas.  I don't really have an answer for that.  I should send out a query to Lyngdorf.

Oh yeah, your avatar is spellbinding.  Look into the light . . . 

Thanks for that.  It's a really old one I came across from a SonyEricsson forum.  Funny but my partner and I have referred to the Lamm sound as being yin and yang (taken from a fellow Lamm owner of more than 10 years).  Yin and yang because they have opposite qualities in that they have the punch of solid state, and yet the delicacy and liquidity of tubes.  Cheers.   

[keith]

These are cool devices and hopefully we will see more of them in the future.   The Lyngdorf equipment looks really well done. 

They don't remove the benefits of room treatment but they should help with some of the really ugly stuff. 

 

Hello Kevin.  I agree.  I still do feel that most rooms would require room treatments more than a room correction unit.  Specially rooms filled with hard surfaces (ie floor to ceiling glass, marble/granite floors, etc).  In my place though, I'm glad the Lyngdorf was more than enough that I feel I don't need treatments. Warmest regards.