Audyssey One

Current Version: A1 Evo Nexus

Unlock the ultimate potential of your home theater audio with A1 Evo Nexus, the next evolution in audio optimization for the discerning audiophile. This advanced tool goes beyond traditional Audyssey calibrations, allowing you to use REW measurements for unparalleled precision and higher resolution. With the ability to fine-tune your sound to an extraordinary level of detail, A1 Evo Nexus offers a significant leap in audio performance, catering to those who are in constant pursuit of better sound.

Effortlessly integrate the power of REW into your home audio setup, gaining a competitive edge over standard calibration methods. This next-gen script fully automates the process, providing even greater flexibility and superior results. Elevate your listening experience and redefine your home entertainment with A1 Evo Nexus.

Content

• Requirements
• Video Description
• Tutorial
  • Prepare VLC Player
  • Setting up your hardware for measurements
  • Setting up REW
    • Connecting calibration microphone
      • MiniDSP Umik-1/2
      • Audyssey ACM1HB
    • Preferences
    • Measurement settings
    • Target curve
  • Centering the microphone
  • Playing Atmos sweeps
  • Measuring
  • Averaging Atmos sweeps
  • Matching measurements with A1 Evo Nexus
  • Nexus Warnings explained
• Tools
  • >> A1 Evo Calibration Tool
• Disclaimer

Requirements

• Compatible Audyssey-enabled AV receiver with Speaker/Amp Assignment already done.
• Microphone (just one)
  • Audyssey ACM1HB (calibration file (right-click -> save as))
  • MiniDSP Umik-1 (sold separately)
• MultEQ Editor App (iOS/Android) (sold separately)
• Room EQ Wizard (v5.40 Beta)
• VLC Player
• Audio files
  • Timing reference file
  • Atmos sweep files

Video Description

(Click on Images to go to YouTube-Video)

A1 Evo Nexus home cinema optimization tool

Part I - The Basics	Part II - REW

Tutorial

Prepare VLC Player

1. Open VLC

2. Go to Tools->Preferences->Audio

   Settings	Value
   Output	Windows Multimedia Device output
   HDMI/SPDIF audio passthrough	Enabled
   Device	[YOUR HDMI RECEIVER NAME]

3. Load the sweeps files or the m3u.

Setting up your hardware for measurements

1. Get IP-address of your AV-Receiver.

   1. Open your Windows Explorer.
   2. Go to Network on the left side.
   3. Right-click on your receiver and click on Properties.
   4. Write down the IP-Address.

2. Open your webbrowser and type in

   • http://[IP-Address]/ or
   • https://[IP-Address]:10443

   1. Turn on your receiver in web interface.

   2. Set Network->Network Control

      Settings	Value
      Network Control	Always On

   3. Set Network->Settings

      Settings	Value
      DHCP	On

   4. Set Audio->Audyssey

      Settings	Value
      MultEQ	Reference
      DynamicEQ	On
      Reference Level Offset	0dB
      Dynamic Volume	Off
      Audyssey LFC	Off

   5. Set Audio->Bass

      Settings	Value
      Subwoofer mode	LFE
      LPF for LFE	120Hz

   6. Set General->ECO

      Settings	Value
      Mode	Off

   7. Start VLC Player and play an Atmos sweep. This will trigger your receiver to display surround parameters in the web interface, which are otherwise unavailable if the receiver’s decoder is not in Atmos mode. Verify that your receiver has changed the settings by reloading the web interface. Ensure you set it while playing an Atmos track.

   8. Set Audio->Surround Parameter

      Settings	Value
      Cinema EQ	Off
      Loudness Management	Off
      Low Frequency Effects	0 dB

3. Upload REW measurement mode file to receiver.

   1. Calibrate your Setup with MultEQ Editor app on three positions, if you didnt already do with same Speakers/Amp Assignment.
   2. Send the calibration-file (.ady) to your PC.
   3. Go to >> A1 Evo Calibration Tool
   4. Click on Upload sample calibration and select your Audyssey calibration file on your PC from step 2.
   5. Click on Create REW measurement mode file (.ady) w/Dynamic EQ ON/OFF
      • Choose if you want to have Dynamiq EQ On or Off. It is controllable with .ady-file.
   6. Send the measurement mode file to your MultEQ Editor App.
   7. Upload it to your receiver.

4. Microphone and HDMI

   1. Connect your HDMI to your graphics card on your PC and to one of your inputs of your receiver.
   2. Set the receiver input to the one where your HDMI is connected to.
   3. Connect your Audyssey microphone to the mic input of your PC or connect your MiniDSP Umik to a free USB-Port.

Setting up REW

Tip: It's a good idea to save your REW project after each chapter, allowing you to return to an earlier stage of your work without needing to re-measure your system.

Connecting calibration microphone

• Microphone tip is looking to the ceiling.
• Microphone is located at the listening position at ear height.

MiniDSP Umik-1/2

1. REW automatically detects Umik microphones on startup.
2. Click on Yes for accepting using it.
3. Click on Yes for selecting the calibration file.
4. Select the 90deg calibration file provided by MiniDPS based on your serialnumber.

Audyssey ACM1HB

1. Go to Preferences->Soundcard

   Settings	Value
   Input Device	EXCL: [YOUR MICROPHONE]

2. Go to Preferences->Cal files

   1. Select the provided calibration file from this repo. You see in pink your used microphone on the right.

Preferences

1. Go to Preferences->View

   Settings	Value
   Use thick traces	Off
   Maximum Measurements	500

2. Restart REW.

3. Go to Preferences->Api

   Settings	Value
   Api	On

4. Go to Preferences->Soundcard

   Settings	Value
   Drivers	Java
   Ouput device	EXCL: [NAME OF YOUR RECEIVER/HDMI]
   Buffer	32k
   Input Device	EXCL: [YOUR MICROPHONE]

   Set Output Channel Mapping...

   • Mapping is wrong for Windows.
   • We don't use it, because REW cannot generate Atmos sweeps.

   Levels

   1. Selecton on drop-down Use main speaker test signal to check/set elvels.
   2. Click on Check levels....
   3. Click on Next.
   • Info: You see on level meter that we receive some measurement from the microphone. If not, your microphone or output is not working.

5. Go to Preferences->Cal file

   1. Select your appropiate calibration file for your microphone.
   2. No calibration file for your soundcard.

Measurement settings

1. Click on Measure.

   Settings	Value
   Range	0-24000 Hz
   Level	0.00 dBFS
   Settings	256k
   Timing	Use acoustic timing reference

2. Click on Check levels and set up volume on your receiver to your normal hearing volume.

Target curve

1. Click on EQ.

2. Click on Target Settings.

   Settings	Value
   Target type	None
   House Curve	HarmanKardonTargetCurve
   Add room curve	Off
   Target Level (db SPL)	75.0

Centering the microphone

We will position the microphone at the center between the front left and right speakers. We will then measure a short REW sweep using the right speaker as the timing reference. The first measurement will be with the left speaker, followed by the right speaker. Since the right speaker is the reference, we will measure the distance difference of both speakers to the microphone and adjust the microphone position accordingly.

1. Click on Measure.

   Settings	Value
   Range	10000-24000 Hz
   Level	0.00 dBFS
   Settings	64k
   Timing	Use acoustic timing reference
   Output	Front-Left Speaker
   Ref output	Front-Right Speaker

2. Click on Start and the measurement begins.

3. Click on Measure.

   Settings	Value
   Range	10000-24000 Hz
   Level	0.00 dBFS
   Settings	64k
   Timing	Use acoustic timing reference
   Output	Front-Right Speaker
   Ref output	Front-Right Speaker

4. Click on Start and the measurement begins.

5. Click on Overlays->Impulse

   1. Select % instead of dBFS in graph.
   2. Zoom in with the + control
   3. Click CTRL + right mouse button to measure the distance of the highest peak of the impulse response of measurement 1 (left speaker) to the corresponding same peak of measurement 2 (right speaker).
   4. You can read the distance in meter. Move your microphone to the left or right accordingly.

6. (You can repeat the steps until you find the sweet spot for your microphone.)

Playing Atmos sweeps

1. Click on Measure->From file->Folder symbol.
   1. Select 256kMeasurementSweepReferenceFile_0_to_24000_0_dBFS_48k_acoustic_ref_FL.wav.
2. Check capture noise floor.
3. Check that your Input calibration file is the selected for your microphone.
4. Click on Start.
5. Wait for progress bar reaching Waiting for timing reference....
6. Play with VLC Player the Atmos sweep for the specific speaker you want to measure.
7. Right-click on the Measurement on the left side of REW and name it like listed on Nexus drop-down menu.

• Result: You have one measurement for your speaker and named it.

Measuring

1. Do "Playing Atmos sweeps" for all your speakers.
2. After you measured all your speakers, move your microphone to a new listening position (e.g. 10 cm to the left/right).
3. Repeat step 1 & step 2 for as many positions you like.

• Result: You have one named measurement for each speaker position.

Averaging Atmos sweeps

1. Add a zero as a suffix to the first measurement name (e.g., FR0) to indicate that it is the one we centered in the "Centering the microphone" section and serves as our reference point. Assign sequential numbers to the other measurements for each speaker (the specific numbering doesn’t matter)
2. Select all measurements for one speaker at once. Be sure, that zero-measurement is on top of all of them.
3. Right-click on graph -> Cross corr align.
4. Right-click on graph -> Vector average.
5. Rename the new measurement to your speaker name without suffix (e.g. FR).
6. Delete all measurements of that speaker with suffix.

• Result: You have a list of cross correlated and vector averaged measurements for all your speakers (FL, C, FR, SR, SL, SW1 ...).

Matching measurements with A1 Evo Nexus

1. Go to A1 Evo Nexus
2. Click on Upload sample calibration and select your initial Audyssey calibration file on your PC.
3. Start the calibration process by clicking Optimize calibration. The process takes some minutes.
   • Stay in SPL & Phase view for performance reasons.
   • Yellow warnings in the log window cannot be fixed by Nexus. You have to execute the commands by yourself!
4. Upload the calibrated .ady to your receiver with the MultEQ app.

Nexus Warnings explained

Please set 'Subwoofer Mode' to 'LFE + Main', set 'Bass extraction lpf' to 80 Hz in your receiver.

• Explanation: If your speaker is set to Large in the Speakers -> Speaker Config menu and the Subwoofer Mode is set to LFE + Main, the crossover frequency in the Speakers -> Crossovers menu functions as the bass extraction low-pass filter (LPF). The LPF for LFE can be set to either 120 Hz or 250 Hz: 120 Hz if your subwoofer can reach up to 250 Hz, and 250 Hz if it can only reach around 120 Hz.

1. Open your webbrowser and type in

   • http://[IP-Address]/ or
   • https://[IP-Address]:10443

2. Turn on your receiver in web interface (if not already on).

3. Set Speakers->Bass

   Settings	Value
   Subwoofer Mode	LFE + Main
   LPF for LFE	120 Hz or 250 Hz

4. Set Speakers->Crossover

   Settings	Value
   Front	80 Hz (example)

Tools

>> A1 Evo Calibration Tool

Disclaimer

This source code is independently developed and is not affiliated with, nor has it been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Audyssey Laboratories, Inc. or its partners, including Denon and Marantz. The term 'Audyssey' is used here for descriptive purposes only to indicate the compatibility of this software with products from Denon and Marantz that utilize Audyssey's technology.