Recreating Wilson Audio's time alignment in software?

[IronWing]

Background: I was reading an article on these monstrosities and the point of the design is to allow the individual drivers to be time aligned such that the sound from all the drivers hits the listener's ears at the correct time. The designers argument is that by achieving synchronicity among drivers that muddy sound can be eliminated.

Okay, that's well and good if you have space and a big bag of money. So I'm thinking that one could achieve the same effect using cheap speakers with proper pre-conditioning of the sound files: modifile the sound, adding delays where needed to frequencies in the range covered by each driver to produce the same synchronicity when played through specific speaker models and listener location. Presumably, one would have to train the program using a standard calibration track and a mic.

 

[DigDog]

hmm ...

it's nice to have the drivers aligned; it would not affect the sound in any way unless the distance was noticeable. I would imagine the reason why this even made it into their marketing material, is that the above design has a few inches of distance between sub and speakers, because it's an idiotic design. Sorry, i meant "beautiful".

So, unless you have an idi .. beautiful design, but you keep speakers aligned, you would not need any software delay fixes.

Don't forget that your ear will compensate for microvariations.

 

[DaveSimmons]

The speed of sound is 1,125 ft/s, so if a pair of stereo speakers had 5' difference in the distance to your ears they'd be mismatched by 0.44%

To compensate, you'd need software that tracks your current position in a room and adds an ever so tiny delay to one of them. Of course that would only work for a single listener.

For drivers that are a few inches apart, compensating seems like nonsense snake oil to me.

 

[DigDog]

five inches??

i'd think you would notice if they were misaligned by 5 inches. remember we're talking about the drivers, not the speakers. it's not the left and right cabinet, but rather the cones in each cabinet.

and frankly, if your cabinet has drivers misaligned by 5 inches, you don't need to develop software to realign them, you need to learn how to build cabinets.

 

[marincounty]

I think what you're looking for is a miniDSP. You do some impulse tests and adjust the delay times for each driver.
BTW I think those Wilson's are fugly, and every time I have heard them at shows I thought they were way too bright.

 

[sdifox]

So am I supposed to strap my head into the optimal position with velcro?

 

[DaveSimmons]

So am I supposed to strap my head into the optimal position with velcro?

No, you need to run a CUDA-powered real-time software DSP paired with 3D image-based position tracking for each ear. Every driver will be delayed by up to +/- 237 ns as you shift position.

This should be combined with a tube amp and vinyl records for that "warm" sound

 

[IronWing]

No, you need to run CUDA-powered real-time software DSP paired with 3D image-based position tracking for each ear. Every driver will be delayed by up to +/- 237 ns as you shift position.

This should be combined with a tube amp and vinyl records for that "warm" sound

That's a really good idea!

 

[DaveSimmons]

It actually would be cool to have a speaker array in the walls, with a fixed woofer since low bass isn't directional. There wouldn't be designated "front" or "rear" speakers, the drivers would be used as needed based on your own position. Again, the big drawback is this only works properly for a single listener.

My apartment has one large open living / dining / kitchen area, and the sound could follow me around as I fix dinner, eat it, then plop down on the couch.

Or we could just get implants in our ears for everything except the low bass for "the feels"

 

[alcoholbob]

Seems like a lot of effort in DSP gimmicks when they probably ought to use better drivers in their speakers, lol. I've seen $3000 and under floorstanders measure better than those alien monkey coffins.

 

[rstrohkirch]

To actually answer the question, yes you can do the processing in software very easily but you need the hardware setup in a way to allow this. Primarily you need an active channel for each driver you intend on doing this for. General right to left imbalance can be done purely in software but this usually is not an issue in a home, mostly car.

DIY audio happens to be one of my oldest personal interest. Everything I build uses active EQ. I was contemplating expressing my thoughts on a few of the comments made in the thread but I don't really think there is a true interest in this topic here.

 

[DaveSimmons]

DIY audio happens to be one of my oldest personal interest. Everything I build uses active EQ. I was contemplating expressing my thoughts on a few of the comments made in the thread but I don't really think there is a true interest in this topic here.

My posts were lighthearted but sincere. I'm mildly interested in the topic, but not enough to spend the money or effort to do anything with it.

If I was a billionaire along with buying John Merrick's remains (all them crazy elephant bones) I'd seriously consider hiring someone to set up a whole-mansion audio system that could track my position and adjust itself accordingly.

 

[rstrohkirch]

If I was a billionaire along with buying John Merrick's remains (all them crazy elephant bones) I'd seriously consider hiring someone to set up a whole-mansion audio system that could track my position and adjust itself accordingly.

Or you could just wear headphones =]

 

[DaveSimmons]

Or you could just wear headphones =]

Too easy

 

[truckerCLOCK]

I think what you're looking for is a miniDSP. You do some impulse tests and adjust the delay times for each driver.
BTW I think those Wilson's are fugly, and every time I have heard them at shows I thought they were way too bright.

Totally agree !!! 2 years ago I listened to a demo of the Sasha, Alexia, and the Alexx. What a waste of a day that was. After reading all the reviews and hearing all this praise about how awesome these speakers are...total disappointment. I would compare them to a set of studio monitors. Too bright on the highs and dull - flat on the bass.

 

[Billb2]

1. Sounds of different frequencies travel at different speeds also.

2.) Save a lot of money, time, and effort and get some large, single panel, electrostatic speakers.