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Post by omuracada on Mar 23, 2021 18:31:56 GMT -5
Long time browser of Emotiva first time buyer and post! My stupid question is as follows, the mic that comes with the XMC-2 I know I will use for dirac. What I want to know is if I can also use it when calibrating my subs to the Minidps as well as when using REW. I ask because I had someone in the hobby mentioned I would only want to use the Emotiva Mic for Dirac and I should leverage the UMIK-1 for Minidps and REW. He did say that I should post here to see if you all feel the Emotiva mic can handle it all! In my limited knowledge (new to this level of the hobby) I do not see why it would not handle everything and I can save $$ and not purchase a UMIK-1. Please let me know your thoughts and thanks in advance.
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Post by ttocs on Mar 23, 2021 19:30:44 GMT -5
Long time browser of Emotiva first time buyer and post! My stupid question is as follows, the mic that comes with the XMC-2 I know I will use for dirac. What I want to know is if I can also use it when calibrating my subs to the Minidps as well as when using REW. I ask because I had someone in the hobby mentioned I would only want to use the Emotiva Mic for Dirac and I should leverage the UMIK-1 for Minidps and REW. He did say that I should post here to see if you all feel the Emotiva mic can handle it all! In my limited knowledge (new to this level of the hobby) I do not see why it would not handle everything and I can save $$ and not purchase a UMIK-1. Please let me know your thoughts and thanks in advance. There's a lot of opinion and fact in this thread: EMM-1 Mic VS Individually Calibrated MicsWhen the thread was created I only had the EMM-1, but now also have a miniDSP UMIK-1 and a Cross Spectrum UMIK-1. The EMM-1 works and is within most speaker specs. Both UMIK-1 mics are better in my opinion, but that is based mostly on the fact that the EMM-1 drives Dirac into giving my system more bass which I don't need. I use both UMIK mics and have each setup for different gain. I use the CSL version for Dirac and leave it on the default gain setting. I use the other one for high SPL measurements and adjusted the gain to cope with SPL higher than 94dB. There is nothing wrong with my EMM-1 for general usage, but because I had to answer the burning question, I bought a UMIK-1. I bought the second one by accident after CSL delayed my order indefinitely at the beginning of the pandemic, so I ordered one from Deer Creek Audio which came in a few days, but then the CSL order came a few days after that, so I kept both. If you have any doubt in your mind about it, get the UMIK-1. As far as I'm concerned neither UMIK-1 - CSL or non-CSL - is better. They both measure each other close enough, and both are individually calibrated these days. And don't be confused with the fact that CSL advertises a greater frequency range, it's only because that's the frequency range they check and calibrate, not that the miniDSP UMIK-1 can't measure that range, both versions have the same hardware. Splitting hairs for a dB or two below 20Hz is ridiculous to even consider. If you lived in an anechoic chamber and needed an extreme amount of accuracy, and never invited friends over which would immediately alter the calibration, then I would suggest getting a multi-thousand dollar microphone. Otherwise the EMM-1 works, and the UMIK-1 works and gives a little more peace of mind because of the individual calibration file. |
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Post by omuracada on Mar 23, 2021 19:39:41 GMT -5
Ok this is fantastic and I appreciate the quick response! So in the end if I understand your response, its in your opinion that I could just get a UMIK-1 Mic for everything and not use the EMM-1 at all. I know this is just your opinion and you not telling me to go out and get a new mic, however I do see you took the time to go ahead and test the differnt mics and its in your opinion they work better. You mentione the individual config file, does not the EMM-1 have a config file I can download off emotiva before running dirac. or am I missing you config file point. I apologize but I am a bit knew to this level of configuration with HT and desperately trying to soak up all info! I read the DIRAC manual twice and my XMC-2 manual twice as well and the minidps and REW, however its a lot to take in. I am going to attempt to configure everything this Saturday and just want to have all the right tools beforehand!
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Post by ttocs on Mar 23, 2021 20:05:03 GMT -5
For anyone who will want to do any tweaking, so will be using the mic more than once or twice or even a few times, I do suggest getting the UMIK-1 because there will eventually be some amount of doubt when reading about everyone using a UMIK-1. So, just like George Costanza who was caught double dipping a chip, just buy one - and end it!
The EMM-1 is manufactured to meet the one calibration file. It is said that they are all checked to be within a spec of the cal file, but there is only one calibration file for all EMM-1 microphones. The EMM-1 that came with my XMC-1 gave me similar sound to the EMM-1 that came with my XMC-2. Since I did the Trade-In, I wasn't able to compare both mics directly. But there have been some folks who recently have been experiencing some issues they think might be related to the EMM-1, so this is something to consider also.
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Post by omuracada on Mar 23, 2021 20:07:23 GMT -5
OK I think I now know what you meant by calibration file, are you talking about the cross Spectrum one that comes configured? The link to that thread was a huge help to0(Still reading through it). Since there is such a back order for Cross spectrum I went ahead and ordered the Minidsp UMIK-1. hope it gets here by Saturday but if not no big deal!
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Post by omuracada on Mar 23, 2021 20:08:54 GMT -5
For anyone who will want to do any tweaking, so will be using the mic more than once or twice or even a few times, I do suggest getting the UMIK-1 because there will eventually be some amount of doubt when reading about everyone using a UMIK-1. So, just like George Costanza who was caught double dipping a chip, just buy one - and end it! The EMM-1 is manufactured to meet the one calibration file. It is said that they are all checked to be within a spec of the cal file, but there is only one calibration file for all EMM-1 microphones. The EMM-1 that came with my XMC-1 gave me similar sound to the EMM-1 that came with my XMC-2. Since I did the Trade-In, I wasn't able to compare both mics directly. But there have been some folks who recently have been experiencing some issues they think might be related to the EMM-1, so this is something to consider also. |
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Post by omuracada on Mar 23, 2021 20:10:33 GMT -5
For anyone who will want to do any tweaking, so will be using the mic more than once or twice or even a few times, I do suggest getting the UMIK-1 because there will eventually be some amount of doubt when reading about everyone using a UMIK-1. So, just like George Costanza who was caught double dipping a chip, just buy one - and end it! The EMM-1 is manufactured to meet the one calibration file. It is said that they are all checked to be within a spec of the cal file, but there is only one calibration file for all EMM-1 microphones. The EMM-1 that came with my XMC-1 gave me similar sound to the EMM-1 that came with my XMC-2. Since I did the Trade-In, I wasn't able to compare both mics directly. But there have been some folks who recently have been experiencing some issues they think might be related to the EMM-1, so this is something to consider alsoads My bad I screwed up the reply!!!! What I wanted to say is this is EXACTLY why I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the UMIK-1! thanks for your patience on this one! |
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Post by markc on Mar 25, 2021 4:19:25 GMT -5
I have only compared four of the uploaded UMIK mic calibration files (from four different users mics) and the differences between them were insignificant.
Admittedly I only compared the data up to 200Hz, but this is really the main (only?) part of the audio spectrum where it matters.
Basically it means that they could all have shared a single calibration file, just like the Emotiva mic. For me that ends the argument. Good enough (EMM-1) is good enough.
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