Getting Started with REW

(Logo courtesy of A.V RoomService, Ltd.)

A Step-by-Step Guide
(Rev 6.0, March 22, 2020)

Contents
Contents ........................................................................................................................................................ 1
Hardware/Operating System ........................................................................................................................ 3
Using REW on Apple Macintosh Computers ............................................................................................. 4
Configuring Windows Audio Playback Devices ............................................................................................. 7
Configuring Windows Audio Recording Devices ......................................................................................... 18
Installing and Configuring REW ................................................................................................................... 24
 Getting Started with REW: A Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Downloading and installing the latest beta version of REW...................................................... 24

Step 2: Downloading and installing ASIO4ALL Software ........................................................................ 26
Step 3: REW Software Configuration. .................................................................................................... 29
ASIO4All Troubleshooting ................................................................................................................... 36
FlexASIO – An ASIO4All alternative. .................................................................................................... 38
Step 4: REW Sound Card Calibration...................................................................................................... 40
Step 5: REW Microphone Calibration .................................................................................................... 41
USB Microphones with Sensitivity parameters: Special Considerations ........................................... 46
Notes on the accuracy of USB mic calibration files with sensitivity parameter ................................. 51
Notes on factory microphone gain setting (UMIK-1).......................................................................... 54
Taking REW Measurements ........................................................................................................................ 55
Generating Waterfall Graphs ...................................................................................................................... 67
Generating Spectrograms ........................................................................................................................... 72
Generating Decay Graphs ........................................................................................................................... 75
Generating Energy-Time Curve (ETC) Graphs ............................................................................................. 78
Generating Distortion Graphs ..................................................................................................................... 85
Generating Impulse Response Measurements & Time Alignment............................................................. 87
Using REW to Generate EQ Filters .............................................................................................................. 91
Measurement Guidelines............................................................................................................................ 95
Additional Measurement Guidelines (courtesy of Jevansoh) ................................................................. 98
Taking Pre-Out measurements with REW ................................................................................................ 100
Using REW to Set or Measure Speaker Levels .......................................................................................... 106
Time-Aligning Speakers using REW Impulse Measurements.................................................................... 113
A Note on SBIR .......................................................................................................................................... 123
Publishing Graphs ..................................................................................................................................... 124
Revision History ........................................................................................................................................ 127
Credits ................................................................................................................................................... 131

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Introduction
The purpose of this document is to provide a basic step-by-step guide for novice users of Room
Equalization Wizard (REW), freeware audio measurement software authored by John Mulcahy. This
guide focuses on the enhancements to REW that support the use of USB microphones and HDMI
connectivity. Since this guide was developed, there have been many significant enhancements and
advanced capabilities in REW that may not be covered fully here. You are encouraged to visit the REW
forum, and to thoroughly read the REW Online Help documents.

Readers of this guide are likely to be seeking improvements in the audio in their listening rooms. What
are the targets that the reader should be striving for? The white paper “Acoustic Measurement
Standards for Stereo Listening Rooms”, by Nyal Mellor of Acoustic Frontiers and Jeff Hedback of
HdAcoustics, provides excellent guidelines and is a highly recommended read.

Hardware/Operating System
To conduct measurements with REW following this guide, you will need:

1. A computer (preferably a laptop or a netbook) running the Windows operating system

(Windows 10 recommended) or a MacBook. While most of the examples given in this
document pertain to Windows computers, there are links to advice specific to Mac users.
2. An AVR that supports HDMI (1.4 or higher).
3. A sound pressure level (SPL) meter (optional).
4. A USB microphone (either the Dayton Audio UMM-6 or the MiniDSP UMIK-1 are
recommended).
5. A stand for the microphone (preferably a boom mic stand).
6. An appropriate suite of cables and connectors, as specified later in this document.
7. A tape measure or laser measure.

This document was developed using a typical Windows dual-core laptop using Intel chipsets. The laptop
is patched current, which is always important. Always check to make sure the chipset drivers are
current, as well as the audio drivers. Normally, running Windows Update will ensure the latest
supported (i.e. non-beta) drivers are installed.

Note: The two USB mic’s can be purchased directly from the vendor (MiniDSP for the UMIK-1, or
Dayton Audio for the UMM-6) Microphone calibration files can be downloaded directly from the
vendor’s web site. Calibration files will be required for using REW. Both mics are also available from
Cross-Spectrum Labs, which runs a custom calibration for each mic they sell. The mics are provided with
several calibration files, including a 90-degree calibration file, which is the angle used for most REW
measurements. Does it make a difference which type of calibration files you have? Check out this post
(post 4926), which provides measurement data comparing the various calibration files available for the
mic’s. Also, read the special sections covering “USB Microphones with Sensitivity parameters: Special

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Considerations” and “Notes on the accuracy of USB mic calibration files with sensitivity parameter”
immediately following “Step 5: REW Microphone Calibration”.

Note 2: If you plan on trying to use an SPL meter (e.g. the popular Radio Shack SPL) in lieu of a USB mic,
please read this analysis (post 12143) before proceeding.

Using REW on Different Operating Systems

REW has been tested successfully on the following versions of the Windows operating system

- Windows XP (not tested, and no longer supported)

- Windows 7 (both 32-bit and 64-bit) – now obsolete, consider upgrading!
- Windows 8.1 (both 32-bit and 64-bit)
- Windows 10 (both 32-bit and 64-bit)

Using REW on Apple Macintosh Computers

As of REW V5.17 beta 11 and higher multichannel output selection capability is now available directly in
REW's "Measure" dialog on OS X / macOS. No additional software required.

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Cabling Basics When Using USB Microphones

The basic cable requirements outlined in this section are intended for REW users who use USB
microphones on the input side. It is not for REW users who are using SPL meters or microphones such
as the EMM-6 or the ECM8000, which when used with a laptop require external full-duplex USB
soundcards and a source of phantom power (for the microphones). This group of users can find
directions at REW Cabling Basics.

Only one type of connectivity on the output side are described:

- HDMI connectivity for laptops that have an HDMI port (by far the simplest output connection)
- PC audio connectivity (i.e. the speaker output jack) for laptops without an HDMI port is no
longer discussed in this guide.

Input Cables

On the input side, the only cable required is the USB cable that was supplied with the microphone. A
USB cable extension can also be used. Please note that the maximum supported length of a USB cable is
16 feet (5 meters), although active USB extenders may allow longer cable runs.

Output Cables

An HDMI cable of suitable length is the only output cable required.

With the HDMI connection, routing of REW test signals to various speakers is controlled in the REW
software (e.g. HDMI1 is the left front channel, HDMI2 is the right front channel, HDMI3 is the center
channel, HDMI4 is the LFE channel, etc.)

Note: When measuring main speakers + sub(s), the main speakers should be configured as “Small”,
which will route bass signals below the crossover frequency to the sub channel. When measuring main
speakers without subs, the main speakers can be configured as either “Small” or “Large”, depending on
your objective. Just note that if configured as “small”, the low frequency roll-off is due to bass
management.

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Windows Audio Configuration

It is important to understand that your audio hardware talks to Windows, and Windows in turn
communicates with the REW application. So, you must verify that the Windows audio configuration is
correct before proceeding to run REW.

To view the Windows audio components, locate the Speaker icon in the System Tray.

Right-click the Speaker icon and the following pop-up appears:

An alternate way to display this same screen is to click the Start Menu, then Control Panel, then
“Hardware and Sound, and finally “Manage Audio Devices” under the “Sound” link.

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Configuring Windows Audio Playback Devices

Note: Since this section was originally developed, it has been discovered that the output level of the
HDMI connection has no effect in the REW software. However, it is not clear whether the other settings
in this section, e.g. the effects setting or the sampling rate, have any effect for HDMI connections, so it is
recommended that you follow these guidelines for the time being.

Start by right-clicking the Speaker icon in the Windows System Tray.

From the drop-down, select “Open Sound Settings”, and then click “Playback”.

The Playback tab shows the current audio playback devices configured on your computer. All laptops
will have “Speakers”, which is the default audio device that routes sound to the in-built speakers, or to
speakers connected to the headphone or audio out connections. If your laptop has an HDMI audio
capability, you should also see an HDMI output device.

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If you are using HDMI connectivity, plugging in the HDMI cable results in the following screen:

Note that the output device is the AVR. If this doesn’t happen automatically, simply click the down
arrow to open the drop-down list and select the AVR.

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Note: Different Windows PC’s will have different names for the playback devices. On some PC’s, the
actual AVR will be recognized, and you may see a playback device named, for example, “Marantz-AVR”,
which signifies a Marantz AVR. Regardless of the differences, there should be a generic playback device,
and an HDMI output device (on laptops with an HDMI port).

Before proceeding, make sure the appropriate output device is set as the default, i.e. HDMI for laptops
with HDMI ports.

Clicking “Device Properties” for the Output device produces this screen (HDMI):

In the Spatial Sound Format, select the proper format for your setup (Stereo, 5.1 or 7.1). Then select
“Additional device properties”.

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Click on the “Supported Formats” button (HDMI only):

Different laptops may have different supported formats. In the example, a full eight channels are
supported (i.e. a 7.1 configuration). Older laptops may only support a two-channel configuration.

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Proceed by clicking the “Levels” tab:

This is a very important screen. Windows controls the output of the audio system going to REW, and
then REW controls the final output. We want maximum control within REW, so we want to set the
Windows output to 100%. Also, make sure that the speaker icon next to the volume slider doesn’t have
a red line through it, which means the audio channel is muted. (Note: Since this section was created, it
has been discovered that the output level setting has no effect for HDMI connections.)

Tip: If you right-click the output box, you can toggle between “Percentage” (set to 100%), or “Decibels
(where 100% = 0.0dB).

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If you see an “Enhancements” tab (not all HDMI connections will have this tab), select it and check the
“Disable all enhancements” button.

We do not want Windows enhancing the audio signal in any way, so make sure that any enhancements
that appear on this screen are disabled.

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Finally, click the “Advanced” tab:

This screen allows you to select either 44100 Hz or 48000 Hz. The USB microphones will have a setting
of 24-bit 48000Hz, so you should select a 48000Hz setting for the Windows output device as well. Not
all laptops will support 24-bit output, so use 16-bit output. This should not affect measurements.

Leave the other settings at their default value. Click OK to save the settings for the output device.

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Now right-click the Speaker icon on the Taskbar, select “Speaker Setup”, and then “Advanced Setup”.

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Highlight the AVR and click “Configure”. Select the appropriate configuration for your setup,

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Click Next, and check the boxes as appropriate:

Click Next, and set all speakers to Full Range:

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Click Next and then Finish.

This concludes the configuration of the Output Device.

Configuring Windows Audio Recording Devices

Note: The screen shots and description in this section refer to the UMIK-1 mic. Unless noted otherwise,
these instructions are the same for the UMM-6 mic.

This screen is informational only and confirms that the UMIK-1 is the default output device. Also, note
that this screen shows that the connected mic has a gain setting of 12dB. For the UMIK-1, newer mics
are now shipping with a gain setting of 18dB. (See section titled “Notes on factory microphone gain
settings” under Step 5 later in this Guide for more information.)

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Click “Device Properties”.

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Click “Additional Device Properties”.

Click the “Listen” tab, and make sure “Listen to this device” is unchecked.

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Click the “Levels” tab.

The correct microphone level setting depends on what version of Windows you are running. The
objective of level-setting on this screen is to get the microphone gain close to zero. If the gain is too
high, you will run into clipping and headroom issues when you run REW measurement sweeps. Right
click the gain slider to switch between gain % and gain dB and adjust the gain slider to be equal to (or
close to) the levels shown in the examples below. For Windows 10, a microphone gain of 80%, or
+9.4dB, has shown to work well. Experiment with other settings for your specific setup.

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Note 1: There is a relationship between the Windows gain setting, and measurement headroom in
REW. If you experience any headroom issues, or receive clipping errors, while taking measurements,
experiment with Windows gain settings to see if the issue can be resolved.

Note 2: As of the writing of this section, no information was available with respect to how to set
microphone gain if you are using a Mac computer.

Note 3: See the special section describing using a microphone calibration file with a sensitivity
parameter.

Click the “Advanced” tab.

Make sure the sample bit rate matches what you set for the output channel, in this case 24-bit, 48000
Hz. Leave the other settings at their default values. Click OK to apply the changes. For some USB mics
(e.g. the UMIK-1), this option cannot be set/changed. Accept the default value.

The Recording Device is now configured.

The settings in “Advanced Sound Options” can be left at their default values.

The Windows Audio configuration is now complete.

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A quick test to verify the Windows configuration:

1. Connect your laptop and the AVR using an HDMI Cable.

2. Select the appropriate input on the AVR associated with the HDMI jack you are using (e.g.
Aux1)).
3. In the AVR menu, configure the input to use the appropriate HDMI connection (e.g. the front
panel HDMI connection, or an HDMI connection on the rear panel)
4. If the HDMI connection is working properly, connecting the HDMI cable should result in an
HDMI handshake, and then the PC desktop should appear on your TV display.
5. Now take your USB microphone and plug it into the USB jack on the laptop.
6. Open the Windows Sound Recorder app (Start/All Programs/Accessories/Sound Recorder).

7. Click “Start Recording” and say a few words into the mic.
8. Click “Stop Recording” and save the output file to your laptop (it is a .WMA file).
9. Double-click the .WMA file, and you should hear your recorded voice coming from the speakers
connected to your AVR (the sound may not be very loud, but not to worry).

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Installing and Configuring REW

Step 1: Downloading and installing the latest beta version of REW.

As of May 2017, the Official REW Support Forum is now hosted on the AV Nirvana web site here.
Notification of new REW beta downloads can be found here, as well as a complete list of all
enhancements and bug fixes. A typical download notification looks like this:

Note: REW requires that the Java JRE be installed on your computer. If you select a REW installation file
without the Java JRE and attempt to install it, you will receive this warning message. To avoid having to
locate and download a Java JRE installation file manually, it is recommended that you select one of the
REW installation files that has a packaged Java JRE.

1. Save the download file to your local hard drive.

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2. Launch the installation file.

3. Click Next to begin the installation, accept the licensing agreement, select a location to install
REW, and allow the installation to complete.

REW has now been successfully installed.

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Step 2: Downloading and installing ASIO4ALL Software

Note: Conduct this step is only if you will be using an HDMI connection to the AVR. Proceed to Step 3
if you do not plan on using HDMI.

1. Go to http://asio4all.com/
2. Download the latest beta version:

3. Launch the install file.

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4. Click Next, accept the licensing conditions, and click Next again.

5. Accept the defaults and click Next.

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6. Accept the default file location and click Install. The following screen indicates success:

7. Click Finish. A shortcut to a brief instructions document will be placed on your Desktop.
8. ASIO4ALL is now installed.

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Step 3: REW Software Configuration.

Before starting, make sure your HDMI cable is plugged in, your microphone is connected, and the proper
input on your AVR is selected (e.g. AUX IN, AUX 1, etc.).

1. Launch the REW application.

2. The initial screen shows only the toolbar at the top:

3. Click the “Preferences” icon. The Preferences screen is displayed.

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4. In the “Drivers” box, click the drop-down and select ASIO. The screen will change to the
following one:

5. In the sample rate box, select 48 kHz (assuming you configured 48 kHz during the Windows
audio configuration section. Remember, Windows and REW must match.)
6. In the ASIO box, open the drop-down and select ASIO4ALL v2 (should be the only choice).
7. In the Output box, Display Audio Output 1 (i.e. HDMI1) to start with. This configures the first
output channel (the left front speaker). Note: On some systems, only two channels will be
available. You will still select the first channel for now.

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8. In the Input box, select the UMIK-1. (Note that two instances of the UMIK-1 are listed—it
doesn’t matter which you choose.)

9. Now click the ASIO Control Panel button.

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10. The following screen appears. It lists the audio subsystems that are recognized by ASIO, which
should be the same audio devices that you configured under Windows, a generic HD audio
device, a HDMI audio device, and the UMIK-1, as shown below. Also, note that some audio
devices have a small “play” icon on the left. This signifies that the devices are active. Note:
both the HDMI and the UMIK-1 devices must be active. If they are not, try placing the cursor on
the device and clicking once. This should turn on the “play” icon, i.e. activate the device.

11. In the lower right corner is a “wrench” button. Click it to open the “Advanced Options” screen.
This screen allows you to view components for each device.

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12. If you hover the cursor over an audio device, a status window pops up. You can verify that the
device is active and polling in this pop-up window.

13. Assuming both the HDMI and UMIK-1 (or UMM-6 as shown in the screenshot) devices are
active, close the Control Panel. (If the devices are not active, our current knowledge of how to
troubleshoot is limited, but a non-active device is a showstopper. See the ASIO Troubleshooting
section.)

Note: The screenshot above shows “ATI HDMI Audio”, which indicates a laptop with an AMD
(ATI) chipset. Laptops with Intel chipsets may show “Intel Display Audio” as the HDMI device.

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14. The preferences screen now looks like this. Output is directed to the left front channel, and
input is from the mic connected to input channel 1.

15. A recent addition to REW was the capability to generate an Acoustic Timing Reference. It is
always recommended that an acoustic timing reference be used with measurements. Set the
reference speaker in the “Timing Reference Output” box (it must be a full-range speaker, not a
sub). It does not matter which speaker is chosen (you can even choose one of the speakers to
be measured), but once chosen, do not change the reference speaker during the current
measurement session. For more information on the Acoustic Timing Reference, open REW Help
and search for “Impulse Response Calculation”.

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16. If you want to direct sound to both the left and right channels simultaneously, check the “Two
Outputs” box and configure the second output speaker.

17. Back on the Preferences window, click the “Cal Files” tab. For the UMIK-1, select the 90-degree
calibration file that also has the mix sensitivity parameter. The “Separate cal file for each input”
does not normally need to be selected. Soundcard cal files are also not heened when using
HDMI.

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18. The other tabs on the Preferences screen can be left at their defaults for now. Experiment with
settings on the View tab to tailor REW output screens when you have time.
19. Close the Preferences screen. The REW software configuration for ASIO HDMI connections is
complete.

ASIO4All Troubleshooting

If you are having issues with getting ASIO to work properly, here is a trouble-shooting procedure that
might help. It is assumed you are running at least ASIO 2.11 beta1.

- Before launching REW, make sure that your Playback (AVR) and recording (mic) devices are properly
configured in Windows Audio per the Guide instructions, and make sure you exit the Windows Audio
configuration tool (otherwise REW will see that the mic is in use by another program).

- Check that no other program or service is using the mic or the Windows Output device. REW and ASIO
require exclusive use of both devices. For example, if your laptop has an inbuilt camera/microphone,
these devices might prevent ASIO from working properly. Either exit the app, or open Task Manager and
kill the service.

- Also make sure the sample rate for both the Windows playback and recording devices are set to 48kHz.

- In the REW Soundcard Preferences screen, make sure ASIO is the driver, and that ASIO4ALL v2 is
selected as the device. The soundcard calibration file should be a blank box.

- Open the ASIO Control Panel.

- Make sure you are in “Advanced Mode” by clicking the wrench in the lower right corner. When in
advanced mode, the wrench will have a red X over it.

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Notice the two white circled areas to the left of the display and recording devices. The Intel Display
Audio has a small symbol next to it, as well as the UMIK-1. Note that when the cursor is hovered over a
device, a status box opens up. The important line in the status box is the last one, which in this case is
showing the Intel Display Audio as “Status: Active – Polling (Push). The status of both the HDMI display
device and the microphone must be Active – Polling, or else the device will not display and cannot be
selected on the Preferences Soundcard tab.

Try these steps to resolve the issue:

- Open the ASIO Control Panel again.

- Click the small icon next to the display or recording device. There should now be a small triangle
(arrow).

- Now exit the ASIO Control Panel, exit REW, and re-start REW. The device should now be active!

- If the device is still not active, try clicking the “Reload” button next to the ASIO Control Panel. You may
need to exit REW and restart the program again.

If the mic is still not appearing, try this last-resort tip:

- On the Preferences screen, switch to the Java driver.

- Exit and re-launch REW.
- On the Preferences screen, switch back to the ASIO driver, and select ASIO4ALL as the ASIO
device.
- Exit and re-launch REW one more time.
- Check to see if the mic is in the drop-down now.

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FlexASIO – An ASIO4All alternative.

If all efforts to get ASIO4All working properly have failed, there is an alternative called FlexASIO, which
can be downloaded here.

- Once you have downloaded and installed FlexASIO, select the Preferences Soundcard tab, click
the Drivers drop-down menu, and select FlexASIO.

- Then click the ASIO Control Panel button.

- Select Windows DirectSound as the Driver Type. REW will inspect your computer’s audio
configuration and automatically select the proper input and output devices.
- Click “Close panel and update config file”.

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- Back on the Preferences Soundcard tab, the output devices will be shown as “OUT 0, OUT” 1,
etc.”, which correspond to the “HDMI1, HDMI2, etc.” that are used by ASIO4All. Out 1 = Front
Left speaker, Out2 = Front Right speaker, etc.

- Inputs are listed as “IN 0, IN 1”, which correspond to UMIK-1 and UMIK-2. Typically, you will
choose “IN 0”.

- Hopefully, you can get FlexASIO working properly if ASIO4All is not working. The only trouble-
shooting recommendation for FlexASIO is to reboot the computer, load REW again, and see if it
is working properly.

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Step 4: REW Sound Card Calibration

Note: This step has been eliminated because sound card calibration is no longer necessary when using
USB microphones.

The Calibration box on the REW Soundcard Preferences screen should remain blank,

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Step 5: REW Microphone Calibration

Note: This section deals with manual microphone calibration. If your microphone has a calibration file
with a “sensitivity parameter”, manual calibration is not required. Please skip to the section “USB
Microphones with Sensitivity parameters: Special Considerations”.

1. Configure the AVR:

a. Select the proper input (e.g. AUX IN or AUX 1)
b. Turn room correction (Audyssey, Dirac Live) off.
c. Set the master volume at -20 to start.
2. Configure REW to output a signal to the left speaker (select HDMI Out #1 if using the HDMI
connection, or unplug the right channel connector of the Y-adaptor if you are using the Java
connection).
3. Place the microphone at the MLP at ear height.
4. Using your SPL meter, set the SPL meter to “slow”, C-weighting, and the 80dB input range.
(Note: an SPL meter is required to calibrate REW.) Have the SPL meter ready for the next steps.
5. On the REW main screen, click “SPL Meter”. The SPL meter screen is displayed.

6. Configure the REW SPL meter for Slow, and C weighting.

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7. Click the “Calibrate” button. (Note: until the calibration routine has been completed, the word
“Calibrate” will appear in red letters.)

8. For the calibration output, select either the subwoofer cal signal or the Speaker cal signal as
follows:
a. If your REW output is currently routed to the left speaker, and the subwoofer(s) are
enabled, choose the Subwoofer cal signal.
b. If your REW output is currently routed to the left speaker, and the subwoofer(s) are
turned off, choose the Speaker cal signal.
9. Now, you should hear a test tone from your left speaker (and the sub(s), if turned on). Make
sure only the left speaker is playing. The following screens are displayed while the tone is
playing. Focus on the SPL Reading Calibration screen, which has a box for inputting a value in a
moment.

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10. Hold, or place, your SPL at the MLP at ear height (as close as possible to where the mic is) and
adjust the master volume so that the SPL reads 80dB. (You can choose any output level, but I
find 80dB works quite well.) The SPL should register 80dB with the AVR MV somewhere in the
range of -10dB to -20dB (mine is usually around -14dB).
11. Once you have the MV set at the proper level, enter “80” in the box on the SPL Reading
Calibration screen. By doing this, you have “told” REW that the electrical signal that it is
receiving from the mic represents an 80dB sound level, i.e. you have just calibrated REW with
your AVR. Click “Finished”.

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12. The following screen is displayed, which shows the maximum SPL that can be measured as the
system is currently calibrated. This should normally be in the 110-120 dB range.

13. The microphone is now calibrated, and we are ready to take the first measurements! You may
find it useful to leave the SPL Meter screen open (drag it to the far right out of the way).

Your listening room’s noise floor

Using the REW SPL Meter, click the red record button. Make the room as quiet as possible—turn off the
HVAC system, turn off appliances such as the refrigerator if it is within hearing distance, quiet the wife,
kids, pets, etc. When things are as quiet as possible, the REW SPL Meter is displaying the noise floor in
your room. Most typical listening rooms with have a noise floor of approximately 40-50dB. However,
with the USB mic’s we are seeing readings of 50dB, which is the lower limit of the USB microphone’s
measurement range.

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Analyzing “high” noise floor measurements

1. With the microphone in place at ear level at the MLP, open the real-time analyzer (RTA) in REW.
2. Adjust the graph limits to show 15-20,000, lower limit 0 and upper limit 100.
3. Click the red button to start the RTA display. You should see something like this:

In the example, the noise floor is showing to be about 50dB, and that whatever is causing this noise floor
is around 10Hz, which is inaudible to the human ear. (The spikes starting at 1 kHz are electrical noise
caused by the microphone’s USB interface, a known phenomenon.)

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USB Microphones with Sensitivity parameters: Special Considerations

The current version of REW (v 5.20 beta xx as of this Guide update) has direct support for both the
UMM-6 and the UMIK-1 mics. Specifically, REW will recognize these mics, prompt for a calibration file,
and allow you to proceed to taking measurements without running the Microphone Calibration step.

Update May 18, 2016: The calibration files for UMIK-1 and UMM-6 included in purchases from Cross-
Spectrum Labs now contain the sensitivity factor pre-loaded. This is the same sensitivity factor you
would get by logging into the mic vendor website as per the procedure outlined below.

Overview: REW will now look in the microphone calibration file for a “Sensitivity factor”, which will tell
REW how sensitive the mic is, thus allowing the mic calibration step to be bypassed. Calibration files
from Cross Spectrum Labs, however, do not have the sensitivity factor. To obtain the custom sensitivity
factor for your microphone, you must visit the microphone manufacturer’s web site, enter your mic’s
serial number, and download the data.

For UMM-6: http://www.daytonaudio.com/index.php/test-measurement/umm-6-usb-measurement-

microphone.html

For UMIK-1: http://www.minidsp.com/products/acoustic-measurement/umik-1

The UMIK-1 web page:

Once the calibration file has been downloaded, right-click the filename, scroll down and click “Open
with…”, and select “WordPad” from the program list (WordPad handles word wrap better than
Notepad). The first line of the file should contain the sensitivity factor:

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At this point, you have two choices:

1. You can use the downloaded calibration file from the vendor’s web site that contains the
sensitivity factor, or
2. You can cut and paste the line containing the sensitivity factor into the first line of the custom
CSL calibration file and use it instead (it does not matter if you include the microphone serial
number or not).

Use the following procedure to configure REW to use the new calibration file:

1. Automatic mic detection (examples show UMIK-1, EMM-6 behavior is identical):

a. Make sure your mic is connected before launching REW.
b. When REW starts up, you will see this message. Click Yes.

c. You will then be asked whether you have a calibration file. Click Yes.

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Browse to the location where the calibration file is stored (choose

narrow_band_response_90_degree.frd, the one to which you added the Sensitivity factor).

d. The calibration file will automatically be entered into the Preferences – Mic/Meter
screen.

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2. On the Preferences – Soundcard screen, select the UMIK-1 from the Input Device drop-down
(not sure why the mic is listed twice—choose the first one):

3. If you open the REW SPL meter, you will notice that the “Calibrate” button is not red, i.e. this is
an indication that the mic is already calibrated. Furthermore, if you click the “Calibrate” button,
you will get this message:

4. You may check the UMIK-1 level by opening the REW SPL meter and clicking the red button.
a. With the SPL meter displaying the measured UMIK-1 level, you can play a test tone from
the AVR of a known level to verify that the UMIK-1 level is acceptable. E.g. playing the
AVR speaker trim test tones should produce a reading on the UMIK-1 of approximately
75dB.
b. With the room silent, the UMIK-1 should be displaying your listening room’s noise floor
level (which should be around 50dB).

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5. If you have any reason to doubt that the UMIK-1 is properly calibrated, you can always run the
manual mic calibration described in Step 5. To do this, you must remove the Sensitivity factor in
the calibration file (otherwise, REW will assume the mic is already calibrated).

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Notes on the accuracy of USB mic calibration files with sensitivity parameter

How accurate are the USB mic’s when the sensitivity parameter is being used? Is the sensitivity
parameter indeed a substitute for a manual mic calibration? The following test was conducted.

1. Using an external SPL (in this case an original analog RS SPL) placed immediately in front of the
speaker, and using REW’s signal generator set to output a 1kHz tone at -20 dB FS, adjust the
speaker volume so that the SPL meter reads exactly 70dB (or as close as you can get it).

2. Place the tip of the USB mic next to the tip of the SPL (so measurement variances due to
placement are minimized), open the REW SPL while the 1kHz tone continues to play, and
observe the sound level measured by the REW SPL. If the sensitivity parameter is providing
accurate information, the REW SPL should show a sound level close to 70dB as well.
3. The input volume set for the mic seems to have some impact on the mic’s calibration, especially
for the UMM-6. Open the REW Preferences screen, select the Soundcard tab, and check the
“Control Mixer Input/Volume” box. To start, the Input Volume should be 1.000 (since you set
the mic’s volume to 100% when you configured Windows Audio.

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4. Now adjust the Input Volume down, observing changes to the dB FS and the SPL output, as
shown in the REW SPL meter.

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The following table shows the impact of input volume on SPL:

The UMIK-1 shows very stable behavior, with the SPL output not varying over a wide range of
Windows input volume settings. This is very desirable, and means that the UMIK-1 user does
not need to be very concerned with input volume. John M. has said that he has designed REW
support of the UMIK-1 such that its output is insensitive to input settings. Note that the
reading of 68.7dB, rather than exactly 70dB, is likely because the RS SPL (which set the level of
the 1kHz tone) is accurate only to +/- 2dB, so I consider the 68.7dB reading well within
tolerance levels.

The UMM-6, on the other hand, shows a significant variance as the input volume is adjusted.
This is likely because the integration of the UMM-6 into the current REW software rev is not as
complete as the UMIK-1’s integration. John M. communicated that the UMM-6 integration was
implemented using readings from a Windows XT system, and that the integration might not be
as accurate on Windows 7 or 8 systems.

Recommendation: if absolute SPL level accuracy is desired, then a manual calibration of the
UMM-6 mic is recommended. Both mics exhibited accuracy when a manual calibration had
been performed.

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Notes on factory microphone gain setting (UMIK-1)

The first UMIK-1 microphones that shipped from MiniDSP had a factory default gain setting of
12dB. You can observe the gain setting of you UMIK-1 in the Windows Audio Recording
Devices tab:

At some time in late 2015 or early 2015, the factory default gain setting changed to 18dB.
According to John M (REW Author) in this post, the change was made to improve signal-to-
noise ratios.

The UMIK-1 has internal DIP switch settings that allow the user to select a gain setting. This
post details a procedure for opening the mic housing, accessing the DIP switch, and setting the
desired gain.

However, if you know how to set up the UMIK-1 properly, it should not matter whether your
mic has a 12dB or a 18dB gain setting. The section at the beginning of this document
(Configuring Windows Audio Recording Devices) outlines the procedure for properly setting the
mic’s gain in Windows audio for Windows 7 and Windows 8 computers.

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Taking REW Measurements

1. Configure the appropriate output level for your measurements.
a. Set REW to output to the center channel (HDMI3).
b. Set up the mic at the MLP at ear level. Accurate mic placement is critical. See this guide
on how to place the mic properly.
c. Open the REW SPL Meter and click the red button to start measuring SPL.
d. Open the REW signal generator, select Pink Noise, Subwoofer Cal, and set the output to
-12dBFS (this is the same level as for the measurement sweeps).
e. Click the play button. You should hear the pink noise test tone.
f. While observing the level in the SPL meter, adjust the AVR master volume until you are
registering the desired output level. A typical measurement level is 90dB. The level can
be higher, or lower, depending on your needs, but should be at least 40dB above your
listening room’s noise floor.

Note: If you experience clipping warnings during measurement sweeps because the headroom
is too low, review section “Configuring Windows Audio Recording Devices” for tips on adjusting
the mic level to avoid clipping.

Note 2: The assumption is that you are using a boom mic stand to support the REW mic. Using
a tripod and placing it on top of seat cushions is not recommended and could result in flawed
measurements. Additionally, the boom mic stand should not touch anything other than the
stand feet touching the ground—avoid contact between the stand shaft or the boom itself with
pieces of furniture, etc. And finally, ensure that the mic is placed in such a manner as to provide
an unobstructed path from all speakers to the tip of the mic. Placing the tip of the mic below
the top of a seat back is not recommended and will negatively affect measurement results.

2. Since the REW SPL meter can fluctuate, making it difficult to obtain precise output levels, fine-
tuning/checking measurement output levels can be done by following this simple procedure:
a. Take a sample reading for a single main speaker, 15-20,000Hz (see Step 3 for
instructions on how to take a measurement).
b. Click on the Spectrogram tab, and then click the “Generate” button.

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c. On the right side of the Spectrogram, there is a display showing the maximum output
level for the measurement, as shown below:

d. If the maximum output level shown in the Spectrogram exceeds the level you want,
lower the AVR master volume appropriately. For example, if the desired output level is
90dB, then lower the AVR master volume by 10dB (using the example above).
e. Take another measurement sweep, generate the Spectrogram again, and check the
maximum output level. In the example shown below, the 90dB desired level has been
achieved.

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3. Leaving everything as configured for the calibration in the previous steps, click on “Measure”
from the REW main screen. The “Make a Measurement” screen is displayed.

4. For the first test measurement, select 15Hz as the starting frequency, 20,000Hz as the ending
frequency, and number of sweeps at 1, and leave the other fields at their default values. (In the
example above, the measurement sweep will be output to the left channel (HD Audio output 1),
with the Acoustic Timing Reference output (labeled “Ref Output”) to the right channel (HD
Audio output 2).
5. Consider adding a description to the measurement in the “Name” field. Select “Add number” or
“Add date/time” if useful. The contents of the “Name” field will be shown in the Legend area of
the measurement results screen, allowing for easy identification when multiple measurements
are present. Additional notes on the measurement can be added in the “Notes” field.

Note: Each doubling of the sweep length improves signal-to-noise ratio by approximately 3dB.
While a 256k sweep length is enough for most measurements (and is quicker), experimenting
with longer sweeps may be useful.

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Note 2: Per the REW Help Guide, “REW allows multiple sweeps to be averaged, although best
results are generally obtained by using single, longer sweeps rather than multiple, shorter
sweeps. Do not use multiple sweeps if the input and output are on different devices (for
example, if the input is a USB mic).

6. Click “Start”. If you are using the Acoustic Timing Reference (recommended), you will hear a
brief high-pitched chirp from the Reference Output speaker. If you receive the following error
message, your timing reference signal level is too low, or the speaker is not working. On the
Measurement screen, consider raising the level of the timing reference signal by adding several
dB to the “Ref Level Trim” field and re-try the measurement.

7. After the timing reference signal, you should hear a single sweep from 15-20,000Hz from the
speaker configured as the Output speaker. You are measuring!

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8. During the measurement sweep, you will see a “Headroom” display. Normally, this value should
be approximately in the 25dB to 5dB range, if the mic calibration was done properly. If the
value is too low, REW can’t take a good measurement, and a warning will be displayed, in which
case you should raise the AVR volume and repeat the measurement. If the value hits zero or
exceeds zero, then clipping will result, and a warning will be displayed, in which case you should
lower the AVR volume and repeat the measurement. For now, we will assume a good
headroom value was obtained.

9. During the measurement, a progress bar displays the current sweep, and the number of remaing
sweeps, if you configured multiple sweeps. The measurement headroom is also displayed in dB,
as well as a graph of the measurement level.

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10. When the measurement concludes, click the “All SPL” tab, and the output of the measurement
is shown:

11. The recommended axis settings for the All SPL measurement display screen, configured by
clicking the “Limits” icon on the toolbar, are 50-100dB for the vertical scale, and 15-20,000Hz for
the horizontal scale. The vertical settings typically result in 5dB increments in the vertical scale.
Note that when viewing a subwoofer-only measurement, a horizontal scale of 15-300Hz is
normally used. Also note the legend at the bottom of the screen—it clearly identifies each
measurement with the text entered previously in the “Name” field on the measurement screen.

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12. Notice that the output line is very jagged above ~500Hz, i.e. it has “whiskers”. To make the
graph more readable, click on the “Controls” icon in the upper right corner.

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13. Click the “Smoothing” drop-down and select a smoothing value (see note below). For example,
with 1/6 smoothing, the graph now looks like the example below. It is a little more usable with
this level of smoothing. Note that the level of smoothing for a measurement is shown next to
the measurement name in the Legend.

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Note: In recent updates to REW, several new smoothing algorithms have been added as shown
below (Variable, Psychoacoustic, and ERB). According to the REW Help file: “Variable smoothing
applies 1/48 octave below 100 Hz, 1/3 octave above 10 kHz and varies between 1/48 and 1/3
octave from 100 Hz to 10 kHz, reaching 1/6 octave at 1 kHz. Variable smoothing is
recommended for responses that are to be equalised. Psychoacoustic smoothing uses 1/3
octave below 100Hz, 1/6 octave above 1 kHz and varies from 1/3 octave to 1/6 octave between
100 Hz and 1 kHz. It also applies more weighting to peaks by using a cubic mean (cube root of
the average of the cubed values) to produce a plot that more closely corresponds to the
perceived frequency response. ERB smoothing uses a variable smoothing bandwidth that
corresponds to the ear's Equivalent Rectangular Bandwidth, which is (107.77f + 24.673) Hz,
where f is in kHz. At low frequencies this gives heavy smoothing, about 1 octave at 50Hz, 1/2
octave at 100 Hz, 1/3 octave at 200 Hz then levelling out to approximately 1/6 octave above 1
kHz.”

14. If you forgot to give the measurement a name before running the measurement sweep, you can
add a meaningful description to identify this measurement now. The short description will now
appear at the bottom of the graph in an area called the Legend.

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15. Now let’s take a second measurement of a different speaker and apply the same 1/6 smoothing.

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16. You can adjust the colors for each measurement by clicking the small “paintbrush” icon. As you
choose colors, they are added to the “Recent” box to make it easier to add the same color again.
Giving each measurement a unique color facilitates viewing multiple measurements.

17. Several other tips on this screen:

a. Clicking the “Average the Responses” button with generate an average of all the
displayed measurements (any hidden measurements will not be included in the
average).
b. Any time you make an "average" of several measurements, the average is what it is and
cannot be made to have "more" resolution. You must ALWAYS have the individual
measurements totally unsmoothed BEFORE averaging, and then make an average,
which will also then be unsmoothed. At that point, and only then, can you apply
smoothing to the averaged graph.
c. If you have multiple measurements, you can show or hide the measurements by
checking or un-checking the box next to the measurement name at the bottom of the
screen. Tip: to uncheck all measurements, right-click in the Legend and select “Clear
Selections”.

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18. Finally, if you are done with this set of measurements, click “Save All” to preserve the
measurements for future use. Make sure the file name is descriptive, because you will be taking
many measurements in the future.

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Generating Waterfall Graphs

1. For the Waterfall graph, generate a measurement with left+right+subs (Quote from User
Jevansoh: “This is the only measurement where you do want to measure both the Left and Right
speakers along with all subwoofers, together. You’re looking at the combined response in the
modal region on this graph, so you need every speaker playing that will be playing frequencies
below 300hz at the same time, which is the Left, Right, and Subs”.)

Note: For a Waterfall graph to show meaningful information, the original measurement level
needs to be high enough. A general rule is that there should be at least 40dB between the
measurement level and the noise floor. If you are using 45dB as the noise floor, then your mic
should be calibrated to at least 85dB, and 90dB or 95dB provides even more headroom
(although much louder).

2. Select a measurement, select the Waterfall tab, and click the “Generate” button. A waterfall
graph is displayed.
3. Open the “Set Graph Axis Limits” tool and set the limits as displayed below.
a. The Top limit should be just higher than the highest point in the Waterfall.
b. The Bottom limit should equal the noise floor in your listening room (e.g. 45 or 50 dB).
c. The Right limit should be 300Hz (a higher setting will not be likely to have any value).
d. Set the lower limit to 15Hz.
e. A typical Axis Limits screen should look like this:

f. Click Apply Settings.

Note: A quick way to determine the value of the lower limit for the waterfall graph is to click
the Spectrogram tab and generate the Spectrogram. On the right side of the Spectrogram
screen is a vertical scale that shows the highest reading in the measurement sweep. Set the
waterfall lower limit 40dB lower than the highest reading shown in the Spectrogram.

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4. Open the Controls tool. Set the control values as displayed below. (Note: These recommended
settings are taken from a series of articles published here, titled Bass Integration Guide Parts 1-
3, by Paul Spencer. A highly recommended read.). The only setting on this page that you will
adjust is the Time Range, which will be discussed later.

5. A typical waterfall graph:

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6. The waterfall consists of several horizontal lines, called slices (30 in the shown example,
configurable in the Controls panel). To assess the level of bass ringing displayed by the waterfall
graph, start at the very top and analyze the horizontal slices. They should be relatively even
spaced as you progress down the graph, with no obvious closely spaced slices looking like
“ridges” running from the top to the bottom of the graph. The first 20dB below the top of the
measurement is most important—slices should be uniform showing no ridges. Below 20dB from
the top, you will begin to observe less uniform distribution of the slices (e.g. between 40 and
50Hz in the example). You may also see small extensions from the bottom of the graph (e.g. 30
and 80Hz in the example). These anomalies are likely noise and are not an indication of bass
resonance.

If you see a “ridge” that starts at the top of the graph and extends all the way to the bottom,
that is an indication of an area of bass resonance. Note that it is not unusual to see more
evidence of ringing at the far left of the graph, i.e. below 40Hz. Bass ringing below 40Hz is
extremely difficult to correct. It is far more effective to focus on addressing bass ringing in
frequencies above 40Hz.

7. The appearance of the waterfall is significantly affected by changing the parameters in the
Controls panel. For example, increasing the time range value from 450 to 600 produces what to
the untrained eye might look like a better graph (i.e. less ringing).

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Changing the lower limit from 50dB to 45dB produces what looks like a slightly worse result:

The important thing to remember is that all three of the waterfall graphs shown above were derived
from the same measurement, so by definition the bass resonance is the same for all three. Therefore, it
is important to establish standard settings for the Controls. Comparisons of graphs which have been
created using the same controls are much easier.

Note: Per the previously mentioned articles by Paul Spencer (and as well as by other experts), all bass
resonances should be decayed below the noise floor within 300ms (i.e. Time Range set to 300ms).
However, this is a difficult target to reach without significant bass treatments. Complete decay by
450ms is a more typical result and can sound quite good (which is why we have suggested using 450ms
as the display standard). Anything above 600ms represents serious bass ringing, and is likely to result in
tubby, “one-note” bass, which is not what we want.

Note 2: The waterfalls in the examples above are from a typical non-dedicated 20’x16’ listening room
which has been heavily treated.

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Note 3: Here is an example of undesirable (extremely bad) ringing (courtesy of AVS member
Markus767):

Observe the “mountain” at 35Hz that starts at the top and never quits. This is ringing, which is most
certainly audible in the listening room.

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Generating Spectrograms
The Spectrogram is generated from the same measurements that were used to generate the Waterfall
graphs and are simply another graphical representation of the same data. Many people describe the
Spectrogram as looking down on a Waterfall graph from the top.

1. Using the same measurements that were created for the Waterfall, click the Spectrogram tab in
the REW menu.
2. Use the default Controls. You may now choose between two modes, Fourier or Wavelet (for a
description of these two options, see http://www.roomeqwizard.com/help/help_en-
GB/html/graph_spectrogram.html).

Note: by using the “Match top of scale to peak” setting, REW automatically adjusts the top of the
scale according to the level of your measurement, and sets the bottom scale down 40dB. As you
generate spectrograms using different measurements, you will see the scale adjust per the
measurement level.

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For Limits, the horizontal axis should be the same as the Waterfall, i.e. 15Hz-300Hz. The vertical scale
top limit can be set to 1000ms, and the lower limit to -600ms.

3. To generate the graph, click the Generate button in the lower left of the graph window. A
Spectrogram will be displayed:

4. Place the cursor such that it draws a horizontal line at 450ms on the vertical scale, as shown in
the example above.

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5. Interpreting the Spectrogram:

a. The color at the center of the Spectrogram will coincide with the legend on the left side
of the graph, which represents the level in dB of the measurement. Deep red signifies a
measurement close to 100dB, etc.
b. The Spectrogram is centered on time=0 on the vertical scale. For a specific frequency on
the horizontal axis, extend a line vertically, and where the color along that line fades to
dark blue and then into the background, this represents the decay of that frequency. In
the example below, where the cursor is placed at the topmost blue “plume” associated
with 45Hz, we see that this frequency is fully decayed at 397ms.

c. Again, using the cursor, place it such that it is at the exact height of the worst “plume” in
the Spectrogram (avoid frequencies below 20Hz, which always exhibit excessive ringing).
If the line is at or below 450ms, bass ringing is generally “under control”. Also, look at
the horizontal uniformity of the Spectrogram colors. If the colors are general smooth
horizontally, the decay is balanced across the frequency spectrum. A rough, jagged line
would represent an opportunity for better control of bass ringing at certain frequencies.

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Generating Decay Graphs

A Decay Graph is a third way of representing bass decay, or ringing. Use the same measurements that
were used for both the Waterfall and the Spectrogram. To generate a Decay Graph:

1. Click on the Decay tab on the REW home screen.

2. Select a measurement from the list of measurements on the left.
3. Use the same graph limits as for the Waterfall graph:

4. Set the Controls tool values as shown below:

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5. Click Generate. The initial graph looks like this. The top line is the bass frequency response.
Each subsequent line below (and filled with a different color), represents the residual measured
bass response after a specific time, as shown in the Legend at the bottom, in 20ms increments
up to 160ms (the Controls tool parameter “Slice Interval” determines the increment between
the slices).

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6. Again, drawing from the Paul Spencer articles, a good objective for the Decay graph is to have
all bass resonances -20dB within the first 160ms. To show this, turn off all the slices except the
160ms slice. The graph now looks like this:

7. To assess the state of the bass ringing, examine a peak on the 160ms slice (i.e. where the blue
shaded area is highest). In the example, the worst issue occurs at 62Hz. Placing the cursor on
this peak, we can see that it has a value of 75.8dB on the vertical scale. Moving the cursor
upwards to the corresponding spot on the red shaded curve, we get a value of 95.2dB. This
shows that a 62Hz bass tone has decayed approximately 20dB within the 160ms time, which is
right on target. If the distance between the blue slice and the red slice is less than 20db, this
would be an indication that ringing needs to be controlled at that frequency.

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Generating Energy-Time Curve (ETC) Graphs

The Energy-Time Curve (ETC) represents reflections as a function of energy (dB on the vertical scale)
and time (milli-seconds on the horizontal graph). When selecting measurements to generate ETC
graphs, choose only the measurements that isolate one speaker, e.g. left front, right front, center,
etc. Do not use measurements that combine multiple speakers, or measurements that include the
subwoofer(s).

1. Again, using the same measurement data, click on the “Impulse” button.
2. Using the “Set Graph Axis Limits” tool, set the following limits:

3. In the upper left corner, make sure “dBFS” is selected, not “% FS”

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4. In the box at the bottom of the screen, select “Envelope: ETC”. An ETC graph is displayed.

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5. By clicking the mouse, place a horizontal line at -20dB. Any peaks above -20dB represent
reflections that should be researched. Several of the worst peaks are highlighted below:

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6. To determine the distance to a peak, place the cursor on the vertical axis at the height of the
peak you want to measure, hold the Control Key down with your left hand, depress the right
mouse button with your other hand, and drag the cursor horizontally to the top of the peak. In
the example below, the peak measures at 5.389ms, or 1.85m, or 6.1ft.

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7. Use the “String Technique” to identify surfaces that may be causing reflections:

a. Generate the ETC graph.

b. Using the technique described earlier, determine the distance to the peak you
are trying to identify (6.1ft in the example).
c. Add to this distance the actual distance from the speaker (use the mid-range
driver if physically measuring, or use the distance calculated by the Audyssey
calibration). In the system from which the example was taken, the speaker is
9.7ft from the MLP. Add 9.7ft and 6.1ft to get 15.8ft.
d. Now cut a length of string so that 15.8ft is marked on it (add 6-12 inches on
each end to secure it in place).
e. Tape one end of the string so that the mark on the end of the string is on the
front grill of your speaker at tweeter height.
f. Secure the other end of the string at ear level where the mic was placed
during the measurement. Taping it to the mic stand works well.
g. Now, holding the string in the center, move around the room until the string
is touching a hard surface. Recalling your old trigonometry lessons, the angle
of incidence should equal the angle of reflection. When you find such a place,
you have likely found the source of the reflection.
h. Treat that point on the hard surface with a temporary treatment. A square of
R-30 insulation (i.e. "pink fluffy"), available at your local hardware store, is a
good temporary treatment.
i. Re-run the ETC measurement to see if you have indeed found the source of
the reflection, and whether the treatment reduced the reflection to the target
value of -20dB.

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8. Use the “Blocking Technique” to identify the direction the reflections are coming
from. This example uses a spare 2x4 acoustic panel as the blocking tool.
a. Start with the speaker that is generating the reflections you want to identify.
b. Place the panel on the left side of the speaker so that it blocks, as shown
below:

c. With the panel in place, create a new ETC graph. Observe whether the
reflection you are looking for has gone away or not.
d. Repeat the process, placing the panel on the right, behind, on the floor in
front of, and finally on top of the speaker, generating a new ETC graph for
each placement.
e. Once you know the direction the reflection is coming from, you can move the
panel to likely sources of reflections in the direction that the blocking method
revealed.
f. If you are lucky, you will find and be able to eliminate the reflection.

Several useful links regarding the interpretation of the ETC graph, courtesy of AVS
member LastButNotLeast can be found here.

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An example of a reasonably good ETC measurement (in a highly treated room) is shown
below:

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Generating Distortion Graphs

1. Using the same measurement data, click on the “Distortion” tab.
2. Select the measurement you want to analyze, e.g. the left front speaker as in the example
below.
3. In the legend, “THD” for total harmonic distortion, and “3rd Harmonic”. De-select the other
harmonics for now. You should see a graph like this one:

4. Place the vertical cursor on a frequency of interest (60Hz in the example above). In the Legend,
read the distortion associated with that frequency (.521% THD, and .087% 3rd Harmonic in the
example above).

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Note: In the Controls icon, you may select three different ways to present the data. You may
find the Percent selection the most useful. From the REW Help file: “The Distortion Figures
control selects the units that are used for the harmonic distortion levels displayed on the graph
legend. The choices are dB SPL, which shows the actual sound pressure level of each harmonic;
dB Relative, which shows how many dB the harmonic is below the fundamental; and Percent,
which shows the harmonic level as a percentage of the fundamental.”

Notes regarding distortion measurements:

1. Distortion values normally increase at lower frequencies.

2. Distortion values normally increase at higher measurement levels.
3. There are differing opinions regarding “acceptable” levels of distortion.
4. The 3rd harmonic is, as a rule, the most interesting of the harmonics. Higher harmonics normally
exhibit lower distortion. And distortion in the 3rd harmonic is usually more displeasing to the
trained ear than distortion in the 2nd harmonic.

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Generating Impulse Response Measurements & Time Alignment

Note: Impulse Response measurements are only meaningful if the original measurements were take
using an acoustic timing reference.

To display the impulse measurement, select a measurement in the left REW panel and click the Impulse
button on the toolbar. Configure the graph limits as follows (experiment with different settings if the
measurement doesn’t display properly):

When the mouse cursor is hovered over the upper left corner of the Impulse screen, a small selector box
appear with two choices--% FS and dBFS. Make sure % FS is selected.

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The impulse response for a main speaker should look something like the following example. Note that
the impulse is centered exactly at “zero”, a result of using the acoustic timing reference for the
measurement.

The following example shows the impulse response for a subwoofer (note that the horizontal axis scale
needs to be adjusted for the measurement to display properly).

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The impulse response can be useful to analyze speaker time alignment. To do so, select the Overlays
button on the toolbar, and then choose Impulse from the Overlays toolbar. In the Legend at the
bottom, right-click, click “Clear Selections”, and then select the measurements you want to compare.
The following example compares the two impulse responses. Note how well the two measurements line
up at the zero marker, indicating that the speakers are time aligned.

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The following example shows the Center and the Sub Channel, also showing good time alignment.

In the examples shown above, there seems to be good time alignment for the selected speakers. Time
alignment is a function of automated room correction (the examples are from a system which is using
Dirac Live). The impulse response can also be used to manually time align speakers, and to fine-tune
automated time alignment, although a tutorial on how to do so is beyond the scope of this guide.
Discussion on this topic can be found in the REW Forum on the Home Theater Shack web site.

Note: The Impulse Response may have limited value in phase-aligning subwoofers. Read a discussion
on this topic here (link courtesy of AVS member Markus767).

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Using REW to Generate EQ Filters

Using REW’s EQ tool, you can create exportable EQ filters for several DSP devices. To see if your DSP is
supported, open the EQ tool, and then open the “Equalizer” drop-down. A list of devices will be
displayed.

To generate exportable DSP filters, follow these steps:

1. Select the REW measurement curve that you want to use to apply the DSP correction. In this
example, the subwoofer response curve is selected. Note: According to the REW Help file
“Variable smoothing is recommended for responses that are to be equalised.”

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2. Select the target DSP or equalizer (MiniDSP in the example):

3. Open the “Target Settings” drop-down, scroll down and click the “Set Target Level” link. This
will match the DSP target level with the level that the measurement was taken at (so you aren’t
equalizing for output level differences). Note in the example it shows 86.4dB, which matches
the level of the subwoofer measurement.

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4. Next, open the “Filter Tasks” drop-down and click “Match Response to Target”.

This will generate EQ filters based on the default values of the parameters, and create a “corrected”
curve which you can compare to the original uncorrected response curve:

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5. Finally, click on “Send Filter Settings to Equalizer” to create the export file that can be then
loaded into your DSP or equalizer.

Note: The Target Settings and Filter Tasks have a number of configurable options that you can research
and experiment with. The example shown above is using default settings for everything.

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Measurement Guidelines
A note on AVR settings before going into the Measurement guidelines. There are three types of REW
users at this point, based on their hardware. Fully functional users have a complete 7.1 HDMI support
on the laptop. Other “partially functional” users have HDMI support, but only 2-channel. And finally,
there are the users who have not been able to get HDMI working at all and must resort to using the REW
Java drivers.

For the “fully-functional” users, the AVR should be set to “Mult CH IN” mode. Typically, the AVR will
detect the incoming REW signal as a 7.1 signal and switch to the appropriate input more automatically,
as per the example below:

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Note: On the most recent REW beta versions, you can now select left, right, or both directly on the
Measurement screen, as shown below.

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General guidelines:

1. All measurements should be taken from 15-20,000Hz (except for 7-12, which should be taken
from 15-300Hz).
2. The measurement output level should be at least 85dB to provide sufficient headroom (i.e. at
least 40dB) above the noise floor (assuming a 45dB noise floor). Note: if you can stand levels of
90dB or 95dB, this would even be better.
3. If you are an Audyssey user, Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume should be turned off for all
measurements, as well as any other sound enhancements (e.g. Dialog Enhancer).
4. When publishing frequency response graphs, full-range graphs should be formatted as follows:
a. Display the full 15-20,000Hz range.
b. Select a vertical axis range that results in 5dB increments (typically 50-100Hz).
c. Smoothing should be either 1/12 or 1/6 and should be clearly specified when posting
the measurement (or one of the recently added smoothing algorithms).
5. Bass-only graphs should be formatted as follows:
a. Display the range 15-300Hz.
b. Select a vertical axis range that results in 5dB increments (typically 50-100Hz).
c. Select “No Smoothing”.
6. Waterfall guidelines are included in the Waterfalls section.
7. Spectrogram guidelines are included in the Spectrogram section.
8. Decay graph guidelines are included in the Decay graph section.
9. Impulse graph guidelines are included in the Impulse section.
10. Save all measurements and consider subscribing to a file-sharing web site such as
http://www.dropbox.com to upload and share measurements with thread participants.

Note: If you are using a setup that has full 8-channel support and you are taking one of the
measurements above that involve both the main speaker(s) and the sub(s), do not select the sub
channel as well as the speaker channel(s). The bass frequencies are routed to the sub(s) by bass
management in the AVR (assuming the speakers are set to “small”, of course). If you include HDMI4
(the LFE channel), you will be doubling up the bass in the measurement, and it will not be accurate.

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Additional Measurement Guidelines (courtesy of Jevansoh)

The original post is here.
• Measure Left, Right, Center, and any/all other channels separately. The reason you want to do
this is to see exactly how your speakers, individually, interact with the room so you can ensure
the best placement for each speaker and choose the best listening position. If posting these
measurements, full range measurements should be at 1/24th and at 1/6th octave smoothing.
1/24th is for working on a problem and when asking for assistance about resolving an issue or to
properly show the issue and 1/6th is for showing the overall response.
• Subs should first be measured separately from the L/C/R/etc. speakers, but as a group. When
showing FR of this range (below 300Hz) always show unsmoothed. There is simply no reason to
smooth this range and it is much more important to get this range flat because of the way our
ear hears these frequencies. Look at the standard logarithmic display in REW. See how many
frequencies are shown together in the higher end of the spectrum in such a short amount of
space, IE: 2 KHz to 3 KHz in a 1/2 inch of space, yet the lower you go, the more resolution you
see. Look at how much space it takes to view from 20Hz down to 10Hz for instance. Our ear
hears the same way these frequencies are presented visually, so in the modal region we should
not smooth. For instance, if a 40Hz bass note is played and is 5db louder (than your reference
"flat") then a 50Hz bass note is played and is 3db quieter than 40Hz, which is an 8db swing in
only 10Hz and at these frequencies is audible. If the same thing were to happen at 8000Hz and
8010Hz, you wouldn't notice the difference at all, which is why it's ok to smooth a little there.
The reason we want to see the subs separately from the mains "first" is to ensure we have
found the best placement for our sub or group of subs relative to our listening position(s) and
only by measuring them separately from our (assuming bass managed/small w/ crossover)
mains first can we find the best placement for them (to obtain the smoothest response) without
possible interactions from the mains which could create or even hide problems with
phase/interaction. Basically, by doing this measurement first, we'll later know how our speakers
interact with our subs and whether it's positive or negative and where to look to solve the
problems.
• Once you've found the best locations (for speakers, subs, and listening position) you can then
measure each channel PLUS the sub(s). When measuring L+subs, R+subs, etc, you should again
show an unsmoothed response for below 300Hz and above 300Hz you can show 1/24th or 1/6th
depending on the advice you're wanting or what you're trying to show. Never smooth more
than 1/6th as it just hides way too much resolution. If when you measure L+Subs (or any other
speaker plus subs) your response in the crossover range deteriorates from your sub(s) only
measurements you then know you have poor phase interaction and you need to either raise the
crossover, change the distance/phase settings on the sub(s) and/or your AVR, and possibly a
combination of both. Without separate measurements first of your individual speakers and sub
or sub "group" you won't know if including your speakers have made this response better or
worse.
• Once you're satisfied with the per channel + sub(s) response you can then combine L+R+Sub(s)
and show the combined response BELOW 300Hz unsmoothed. This is the ONLY measurement
you "need" to show with the L+R combined with the sub(s). The reason for this is that most bass
is summed/mono and you want to make sure your "combined" response is smoothest since this
is what you'll be listening to most of the time as far as bass goes. This is the measurement I use
when deciding what EQ to apply to my subs, as well. (I then take separate measurements with

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L+Subs and R+Subs AFTER EQ to verify that neither of the individual measurements are much
different from each other)
• If you decide to view a full range measurement with L+R+Sub(s) you will most likely be
disappointed above about 1khz or so (most of the time and unless you are VERY careful and
have very exact speaker and mic placement between the speakers) as the wavelengths start to
become so small the slightest movement of the mic will cause phase interactions, comb filtering,
and a very poor and inaccurate measurement in the higher frequencies. There isn’t any reason
for this. Again, the only measurement necessary for L+R+Sub(s) - combined - should be to look
at the overall bass response, below 300Hz, unsmoothed.
• Also, note that you should always overlay your L+Sub(s) and R+Sub(s) (plus any other speakers
you measure and I recommend measuring the Center channel at a minimum in addition to L/R
unless you're only designing your space for critical 2 channel music listening) and compare at
both 1/24th and 1/6th smoothing. They should follow a similar path at 1/24th smoothing and at
1/6th smoothing should be within 2db of each other. (This is an arbitrary number I'm selecting
based on what I've been able to pretty easily accomplish with proper placement and a
reasonable amount of treatment in my past experience). By insuring both (or all) channels
match as closely as possible you will enjoy smooth pans and proper imaging by getting the
timbre matched between all speakers.
• So to sum up, measure subs as one group/one measurement no matter how many subs you
have, measure each speaker individually, then each speaker combined with the subs, and only
L+R+Subs to look at below 300hz and share your images at 1/24th or 1/6th depending on what it
is you're trying to accomplish.

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Taking Pre-Out measurements with REW

A "pre-out" measurement is a measurement taken of the AVR audio signal taken directly from the AVR's
pre-out connections, usually located on the back panel. The benefit of a pre-out measurement is that
you can highlight the electronic differences between two audio signals without the influence of all other
factors (the speaker, the audio characteristics of the listening room, ambient noise, etc.). A pre-out
measurement is particularly effective in comparing before and after audio signals when EQ is applied,
e.g. Audyssey room correction.

This procedure outlines how to measure the pre-out signal using the REW HDMI connection, rather than
the "legacy" REW connection involving an external sound card, mic with phantom power, etc.

Procedure:

1. Locate the pre-out connection on the back of the AVR for a specific audio channel that you want
to measure, e.g. front left, center, sub1, etc.
2. Connect an RCA audio cable to the pre-out connection.
3. On the other end of the audio cable, attach a converter cable that has an RCA connection on
one end, and a 3.5mm stereo min-plug on the other end.
4. Insert the 3.5mm mini-plug into the laptop’s external 3.5mm Line-In jack (if the laptop has no
Line-In jack, try the Microphone-In jack, but be careful not to over-drive the input). This
completes the input side of the signal.
5. Connect an HDMI cable from the HDMI port on the laptop to an HDMI port on the AVR. In my
test, I used the front panel HDMI connection.
6. Set the AVR output to Stereo mode, using AUX1 (or whatever connection you have used), and
make sure this connection is configured in the AVR for HDMI output. This completes the output
side of the connection.
7. Finally, in Windows, for both the recording and the playback devices, under Properties,
Advanced Tab, make sure the Default Format is set to “16 bit, 44100 Hz (CD Quality)”.

Side note: With the connections as configured, the REW test signal will be output over the HDMI
cable into the AVR, the AVR will output the signal from the pre-out (with any EQ applied), and
the audio cable will route the signal back to REW through the microphone input, thus being able
to measure the signal.

8. Check the line-in or microphone level in Windows Audio. A setting of ~40, instead of the level of
100 which is used for the USB mic, should be appropriate. If you get clipping later on, remember
to adjust this setting lower.
9. Launch REW.
10. In REW Preferences, select the Java driver, select HDMI as the output device, and HD Audio Mic
as the input device.
11. Run the SPL calibration tone with the AVR master volume at the level that you use to produce
80dB output (e.g. on the AVR used for this procedure, MV= -14 measures 80dB at the MLP), and
input 80dB in the REW Calibration Input box.

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12. You can now run a frequency sweep measurement, and the signal from the pre-out will be
displayed.
13. If you are using the Microphone-In connection, the mic connection exhibits a typical roll-off in
the low frequencies. To compensate for this roll-off, create a microphone calibration file using
the measurement above, as follows:
a. Before starting, make sure any processing (e.g. Audyssey) is turned off.
b. In REW, Click Preferences, and select the Soundcard tab.
c. Click “Make Cal”, enter any notes you might want on the Notes screen, click OK, follow
the instructions for creating the calibration file, and then save the calibration file to your
local drive (give it a name something like “Laptop Mic Cal.cal”).
d. Note that this calibration file has been entered in the soundcard calibration file box,
which is not where we want it. Click “Clear Cal” to remove it.
e. Now click the Mic/Meter tab and enter the calibration file name that was created above
as the microphone calibration file.
f. Back on the main REW screen, run a new measurement sweep, which now looks like this
(the red line is the calibrated signal):
g. We now have a calibrated laptop microphone connection. Click the “SPL & Phase
button”, then click the “Mic/Meter Cal” checkbox in the Legend, and you can see the
calibration curve that will be applied to measurements:

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14. You can now measure the pre-out signal by taking a frequency sweep with EQ applied (i.e. you
can now turn processing like Audyssey back on):

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15. And you can compare different levels of EQ (DEQ Off, DEQ On, with RLO=0 and 10):

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An example of the use of a pre-out measurement:

First, measure in-room response before Audyssey correction. Then measure the Audyssey correction at
the pre-out.

Now, take an average of the two measurements, which will predict what the in-room response will be
after Audyssey is applied:

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Now add a measurement of actual in-room response:

This shows that the actual response is very close to the predicted response, based on the pre-out
measurement.

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Using REW to Set or Measure Speaker Levels

Some REW users are also using automated room correction systems (e.g. Audyssey), which set speaker
trims as part of the calibration process. These users may want to double-check the trim values that have
been automatically assigned. Other users may not have an automated room correction system, and
need to set the speaker levels manually. In either case, a device that measures absolute sound pressure
levels is required. This can be either a SPL meter (like the common Radio Shack SPL), or it can be a
calibrated REW microphone that has a sensitivity parameter (Step 5 has a description of sensitivity
parameters). The purpose of this section is to outline the procedure for using REW and a calibrated
microphone to set the speaker levels. The procedure is as follows:

1. Prepare the AVR:

a. Using the AVR’s setup menu, adjust each speaker’s trim to zero as a starting point.
b. Set the AVR master volume to zero (assumes AVR uses the -80dB to +18dB volume
range).
c. Disable output to the sub channel. This can be accomplished by turning off the sub(s),
or by setting the speakers to “large”.
d. Set the AVR’s output to stereo.
e. If your AVR has automated room correction, make sure it is turned on (we want the
speaker levels set with room correction engaged).
2. Select the calibrated USB microphone and the 90-degree calibration file that contains the
sensitivity parameter. (If you don’t have the custom 90-degree calibration file, use the
calibration file you have.)
3. Set up the mic at the MLP, pointed towards the ceiling, with the tip of the mic at ear-level.
4. Make sure the Windows audio input and output devices are configured properly as per the
instructions earlier in this Guide.
5. Launch REW.
6. Open the REW SPL tool and click the red button so that the SPL is measuring sound levels.
7. In the REW preferences screen, select the HDMI channel for the first speaker you will be
measuring (e.g. HDMI1 for the left speaker).

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8. Open and configure the REW Signal Generator:

a. Select Pink Noise.
b. While measuring the main speakers, select “Speaker Cal”.
c. Set RMS Level dB FS to -30 (Why -30? See note below)

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9. Click the Play button in the Signal Generator. You should now have a tone playing from the left
speaker.
10. Observe the sound level being displayed in the REW SPL. Normally, it should be close to 75dB
(within +/- .5db).

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11. If the level is not 75dB, subtract the SPL reading from 75, and go back to the AVR speaker level-
setting screen. When you launch this screen, the REW test tone will stop. Adjust the speaker
trim setting by the difference you calculated above, exit the level-setting screen, and observe
the level in the REW SPL meter. Continue this back-and-forth process until you have a reading
of 75dB in the REW SPL meter. (If the REW SPL meter is fluctuating too rapidly to set the level
precisely, you can open the SPL Logger, which might allow more precision).

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12. Repeat step 11 for the right speaker (HDMI2 output), and the center speaker (HDMI3 output).
All three front speakers are now playing at a consistent 75dB output level.
13. Now, to set the level for the sub(s) channel, turn off the main speakers so only the sub(s)
channel is playing.
14. Set the main speakers back to “Small” so bass is routed to the sub channel.
15. Change the Signal Generator output to “Sub Cal”.
16. Play the pink noise by clicking the Play button. Sound should be coming from the sub channel.
17. Follow the same procedure described in Step 11 to achieve the desired sub output level. (If you
have two sub channels, adjust the output of the combined sub channels, not the individual sub
channels.) The sub channel is now playing at the same 75dB level as the mains.

Note 1: If you must adjust a speaker trim level by a large amount to achieve a reading of 75dB on the
REW SPL meter, then something is wrong. Clearly, you normally only have +/- 12dB to work with. If you
exceed this limit, stop and review your setup.

Note 2: Based on the author’s experiences, channel levels set by an automated room correction system
are normally very close to what is measured by this process. If the differences are in the +/- 1-2dB
range, the recommendation is to trust the levels set by the room correction system rather than rely on
this procedure.

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Note 3: Why use -30dB FS as the level of the test tone? The AVR master volume, when set to a value of
zero, should play at “Reference Level” at the MLP. Reference level is defined as a level of 105dB (which
is very loud) for the main speakers, and 115dB for the LFE channel. When the test tone output level is -
30dB FS, the level is 75dB (105-30) at the MLP. So, a speaker trim setting that produces 75dB at the MLP
at -30dB FS is equivalent to playing Reference Level, or 105dB at 0dB FS. (A good explanation of
Reference Level, written by Nyal Mellor, can be found here.)

Note 4: How accurate is the calibrated USB mic using the sensitivity parameter? In tests comparing the
USB mic levels as measured by the REW SPL, and compared with an external Radio Shack SPL meter, the
two readings were within 2dB of each other. In other words, for the types of measurements we are
concerned with here, they are close enough that we can conclude that the USB mic is accurate.

Note 5: Now that all speakers are level-set at 75dB, what if you want to make changes? For example,
many complain that the bass level is to low or thin for their preferences. There is nothing wrong with
adjusting the speaker levels to suit personal preference. It is recommended that the changes be made
in the AVR menu, not in adjustments to external controls, like the gain knob on the sub amp. This allows
you to easily return to the previous level settings if you don’t like the new ones.

An alternative method to setting/checking the sub channel level (courtesy of Markus767):

1. Open the REW RTA tool and configure the settings as follows:

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2. Play full bandwidth pink noise and adjust the 30 or 60Hz band (by adjusting the trim for the
subwoofer channel) until it reads the same as the 1kHz band in a 1/1 octave RTA.

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Time-Aligning Speakers using REW Impulse Measurements

Users with automated room correction typically don’t need to worry about speaker time alignment—the
room correction system does it for you. But what if you don’t have an automated room correction
system, or if your AVR requires you to manually time-align the speakers? You can always take physical
measurements using a tape measure and use these measurements for time alignment, but physical
measurements are not always as accurate as we might like. Physical measurements do not consider
potential down-stream acoustical delays caused by electronics. Thankfully, there is a relatively easy way
to use REW’s Impulse Response measurement to arrive at a more accurate time alignment.

Procedure:

1. In REW, configure measurements to use the Acoustic Timing Reference, and set the Timing
Reference Output. Assuming you know in general terms what your speaker distances are, set
the timing reference to the nearest speaker in your configuration (this is not absolutely
required, but will make things slightly easier later, as we will show). Details on setting the
Acoustic Timing Reference can be found here.
2. Before proceeding, make sure any speaker distance settings in the AVR are set to zero.
3. In the REW Measurement screen, take measurements of each speaker 15-20,000Hz.

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4. On the REW Toolbar, click the Overlays button, and on the Overlays screen, click the Impulse
button. You will see something like the example below. Note in the second screenshot that the
RBS speaker is the closest speaker (impulse response furthest to the left), and the RF speaker is
the furthest (impulse response furthest to the right). In this example, the RBS speaker was
selected as the timing reference.

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5. Use one of these methods to record the delays determined by the impulse response
measurements.
a. Method 1: Place the mouse cursor on the peak of the right surround impulse,
simultaneously hold the CTRL key down, depress the right mouse button, and drag the
cursor to the peak of the next speaker impulse to be measured. To facilitate this
method, turn off all impulse responses except the one being measured. In the example
above, this technique shows 2.3134ms, or 2.6ft, as the distance from the right surround
to the right speaker impulse peaks. Continue measuring each of the other speakers
using this same technique, and write down the results.

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b. Method 2: On the left side of the measurement screen, in the measurement

description, note that the delays are listed, and are very close to the same as
determined by Method 1 (the slight difference is due to the inaccuracy of the cursor
method). Some may find using this method is easier, and potentially more accurate,
than dragging the mouse. As with Method 1, write down the results for each speaker.

6. When you have completed recording the delays using one of the two methods, you will have
something that looks like this:

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7. In the AVR, open the speaker distance setting menu, and enter the distances shown in Step 6
(from the column labeled Delay – ft). Since the AVR distance setting granularity is .1ft, round
the delay values appropriately.

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Note: To many, it will look strange to see the distance of a speaker set to zero, like the RBS
speaker above. And the distance settings shown above will look very different from actual in-
room speaker distances, as determined by a tape measure. But one must understand how the
AVR determines speaker delays. The AVR looks at all the distance settings, determines which
speaker is the furthest away (largest distance setting), and then subtracts each of the other
distance settings to determine how much closer each of the other speakers are. These distance
differences are converted to milli-second delay values and applied to each speaker. Here is
another copy of the worksheet we saw earlier, with a column added showing the actual delays
calculated by the AVR. Note that the delay for the RF speaker (the furthest) is zero, while the
delay for the RBS (the closest) is the largest delay.

For readers who are familiar with Dirac Live on the DDRC-88A, the delays are listed differently
than a typical AVR, and are more recognizable as being like the delays shown above.

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Note 2: Now back to the previous recommendation to set the nearest speaker as the acoustic
timing reference and why. If a speaker other than the closest speaker is set as the timing
reference, then some of the delay values derived using Method 2 will be negative values. Since
the AVR will not accept negative distance values, the negative values can be confusing to some
who are following this procedure, and force the use of Method 1 to determine delay values. So,
it’s best to avoid the negative values by selecting the nearest speaker as the timing reference.

8. To test the new time alignment, re-measure the speakers, open the Overlays screen, and see
how the impulse responses line up. As you can see in the result below, the impulse responses
are now precisely aligned.

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Note 3: In the impulse overlay shown above, the speakers look to be in perfect alignment.
However, if you zoom in by adjusting the horizontal scale (click the small “+” sign in the lower
right corner of the impulse screen), a higher resolution will show a small difference in the
impulse responses. This is not because the speakers are out of alignment, it is because of the
difficulty of placing the REW measurement mic in exactly the same position as it was for the first
measurement of the automated room correction software, which is when speaker distances are
calculated. In the two examples below, the second is shown at a higher resolution, and seems
to indicate a slight miss-alignment. Note, however, that the distance difference is only .07ft
(.8in), which is most likely the accuracy of the REW mic placement. Resist making alignment
adjustments when the distance difference is so small—trust the automated room correction
software.

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Sub Channel Time Alignment

The alignment procedure can also be used for the sub channel. The shape of the sub impulse response
is quite different, so to achieve the proper time alignment, measure the distance from the peak of the
main speaker’s impulse response to the beginning of when the sub’s impulse response starts to rise.
The example below shows the sub channel time-aligned with the mains.

The sub time-alignment should be checked by measuring subs+mains and observing the smoothness of
the response curve in the crossover region. Then follow the Sub Distance Tweak procedure to see if the
smoothness can be improved.

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Automated Room Correction and Time Alignment.

An automated room correction system should perfectly align all speakers. If you are inclined to verify
whether this is actually happening, be advised that the verification is highly dependent on microphone
placement. As we know, room correction software determines speaker delays by measurements made
at the MLP. To check speaker alignment, the mic must be returned to the MLP at exactly the same spot,
which is very difficult (even a very small placement difference can affect the impulse response
measurement). To gain confidence that room correction software actually aligns speakers very
effectively, conduct this experiment:

1. Place the measurement mic in the MLP at ear height.

2. Using your automated room correction software, run a 1-position calibration.
3. Save the results and allow delays to be set for your speakers.
4. Without touching or moving the mic, run a frequency response measurement for all your
speakers, leaving room correction turned on, with speakers set to Small, and subs turned on.
5. Open the REW Overlays tab, select the Impulse Response, and observe how well the speakers
are aligned.

In a test using Dirac Live room correction, here is the resulting speaker alignment for the left, center and
right speakers, showing precise alignment. These results are possible because the mic was not moved
and should provide reassurance that one should always trust room correction alignment.

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A Note on SBIR
Are you observing a dip in the frequency response a little below 300Hz? You may be experiencing SBIR
(Speaker Boundary Interference Response), caused by placing speakers against the front wall. Here is an
explanation of the phenomenon, courtesy of AVS member Sdurani:

Speakers fire direct sound towards you. But below a certain frequency, speakers also radiate omni-
directionally; meaning some of the sound will fire towards the front wall behind the speaker. Those
reflections bounce off the front wall and combine with the direct sound as it is coming towards you.

Cancellations happen when sounds meet out of phase. If a speaker is against the front wall, then its
woofer is about a foot away from the wall, so the rearward radiating sound makes a round trip of about
two feet (one foot to the wall, another foot back the speaker baffle) before combing with the direct
sound from the speaker.

If the boundary reflection is creating a notch in the frequency response, then it must be out of phase
with the direct sound when they combine. So if the 2-foot round trip is half the wave length (out of
phase), then the full wave length of the cancelled frequency must be 4 feet. Speed of sound divided by
wave length equals frequency: 1130 ÷ 4 = 282Hz (close enough to 300).

Since lots of people place speakers against walls, a speaker/boundary interference dip around 300Hz is
common. Also, you must have noticed by now that the distance to the wall (about a foot) turned out to
be a quarter of the wave length of the cancelled frequency. Simple SBIR prediction formula: distance to
wall x 4 = wave length of cancelled frequency. Easy math. As with any formula in acoustics, calculated
predictions are trumped by reality (e.g., diffusors on the front wall).

Still, using this formula shows that moving a speaker away from the wall drives the notch down in
frequency. For example, more than 3.5 feet from the wall, the notch is below 80Hz (below the crossover
frequency). Hence one of the reasons people place speakers away from boundaries and place
subwoofers at boundaries (drives the subwoofer cancellation notch a couple octaves above its
crossover).

Of course, this is all academic if you have sufficient absorption on the front wall behind your speakers.
But if your front wall was bare, then the above might let you know why you're seeing a notch in the 200-
300Hz range.

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Publishing Graphs
Once you have generated some REW graphs, you may want to share the graphs, e.g. post them in an
AVS Forum thread. Here is how to post your graphs:

1. Make sure the graph you want to post is displayed in the REW graph window.
2. If you have multiple measurements, select the ones you want displayed by checking the boxes in
the Legend.
3. Make sure the horizontal and vertical scales and all other Controls settings are appropriate for
the graph you will be posting.
a. The vertical scale should show in increments of 5dB. Adjust the upper and lower limits
so 5dB increments appear (e.g 50-100dB).
b. The horizontal scale should be logarithmic, not linear (use the toolbar icon “Freq. Axis”
to toggle between linear and logarithmic).
c. Low frequency graphs (e.g. 20-300Hz) should be shown with no smoothing. Full-range
graphs typically will have smoothing applied.
4. Consider using the Cursor. A useful technique is to have the vertical cursor line represent the
speaker crossover value (e.g. 80Hz), and the horizontal cursor line represent the mic calibration
level for the measurement(s), e.g. 80dB.
5. Once the graph is configured properly, click the Capture icon (looks like a camera) above and to
the left of the graph panel.
6. The following selection screen appears:

7. Normally, you would want to include the Title, Legend, and the Cursor. Also, type in any useful
additional information in the box provided (this will appear immediately below the Title). Posting
a graph without clearly identifying what is being measured serves no useful purpose. When
identifying measurements, include the following information:
a. Which speakers are being measured (e.g. Left+Subs).
b. Whether room correction or PEQ has been applied.
8. Click OK. You will be prompted for a file name and location. Enter values and save the file.

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9. To post your measurement image on the AVS forum, you have two options, showing the image as
a thumbnail, or showing the image within the body of the post as a larger picture. To post the
image as a thumbnail:
a. Open the reply post on AVS.
b. Scroll down so that the “Drag and Drop File Upload” box is visible.
c. Open your computer’s file explorer and navigate to where you saved the measurement
image.
d. Drag the image from the file explorer to the upload box in the post.
e. Click “Submit Reply”.
10. To post the image as an embedded image in the post:
a. Go to the AVS Forum “Post Testing Area” thread (under AVS Forum Information).
b. Create a new thread.
c. Follow the instructions in the previous step to post your measurement image as a
thumbnail and submit the post.
d. Once the post has been submitted, right-click the thumbnail and select “Copy Link” from
the drop-down.
e. Go to the post where you want to embed the image.
f. From the toolbar at the top of the message, click the “Insert Image” icon.
g. In the Insert Image box, paste the link you copied in Step D above.

h. Click “OK”

Note: You can also use a file-sharing site such as Dropbox.com to post your measurement
image.

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11. Here is an example of a saved file. Note the useful description below the title, the legend which
also shows the smoothing that has been applied, and the cursor lines at 80Hz and 80dB.

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Revision History
Version Date Change Description
1.04 Jan 13, 2013 Initial release
1.05 Jan 14, 2013 Added section "REW Soundcard Calibration".
1.06 Jan 15, 2013 Added Revision History section.
1.07 Jan 23, 2013 - Added sections “Credits” and “Cabling Basics…”
- Updated “Generating Waterfall Graphs” based on recent
discussions.
1.08 Jan 29, 2013 - Revised Windows Audio Playback Devices configuration
to reflect both HDMI and non-HDMI connections.
- Added Section 3b for non-HDMI configurations using the
Java interface.
- Moved Revision History and Credits sections to the end
of the document
- Inserted description of the “String Technique” in the
Generating Impulse Graphs section.
2.0 Feb 1, 2013 - Updated with procedures for using the UMM-6 USB
microphone.
2.1 Feb 9, 2013 - Windows Audio Playback Device Configuration not
required if using HDMI
- Replaced sample measurement graphs with examples
using full 15-20,000Hz range, and specified 1/6
smoothing as default
- Added section “Measurement Guidelines”
- Minor cleanup for consistency
2.2 Feb 10, 2013 - Changed Windows Audio Recording Device level to
reflect value of 100% (page 23).
2.3 Feb 12, 2013 - Minor corrections to spelling and consistency.

2.4 Feb 18, 2013 - Removed REW Soundcard Calibration section (left a
placeholder) because it is no longer required
- Made minor revisions to the ETC section
- Added section describing the Pre-out measurement
procedure
2.5 Feb 21, 2013 - Updated ETC section by correcting the distance
calculation instructions.
- Updated the Pre-Out measurement section to include
instructions on creating a microphone calibration file.
- Updated the Measurements Guidelines section with note
on how users with 8-channel capable set-ups should
configure tests that include sub(s).
- Revised Taking REW Measurements, Section 15.b (page
59) referring to instructions for generating an average.

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Version Date Change Description

2.6 Feb 27, 2013 - Minor error corrections

2.7 Apr 15, 2013 - Added section “Generating Decay Graphs”

- Added section “Publishing Graphs”
- Re-wrote “Generating Waterfall Graphs” based on
feedback from thread participants.
2.8 Apr 29, 2013 - Updated dot-point 1 in the Waterfall graph section (p.
60) to recommend using a measurement that includes
LF+RF+Subs.
2.85 July 7, 2013 - Added section “UMIK-1 Microphone: Special
Considerations”.
3.0 Sept 12, 2013 - Added link (p. 3) to guide on how to use REW with the
Apple MacBook Pro, authored by forum participant
J_P_A.
3.1 Nov 3, 2013 - Added note 3 (p. 3) describing using custom mic
calibration files.
- Minor revisions to Waterfall Graph and Decay Graph
sections, based on best practices since the original write-
up.
- Added new section on generating Spectrograms (p. 63)
3.11 Nov 14, 2012 - Added wording to Spectrogram section (p. 63) clarifying
the default settings.
3.12 Nov 16, 2013 - Added Jevansoh’s tips to the Measurements Guidelines
section
3.2 Jan 18, 2014 - Updated section describing REW support for USB mic’s
with Sensitivity parameters.
3.3 Feb 4, 2014 - Added section “Notes on the accuracy of USB mic
calibration files with sensitivity parameter”

3.4 March 31, 2014 - Added ASIO Troubleshooting section (between 3a and
3b)
3.5 April 6, 2014 - Corrected non-HDMI cabling instructions (based on
Batpig’s feedback)
3.6 July 2, 2014 - Updated Step 3a.15 with instruction on how to output to
two HDMI channels simultaneously.
3.7 July 8, 2014 - Added section “Using REW to Generate EQ Filters”

3.8 August 29,2014 - Added section “Using REW to Set or Measure Speaker
Levels”
3.9 October 21, - Several minor revisions to the “pre-out” measurement
2014 instructions.

3.91 December 28, - Added a note to the “Measurement Guidelines” section

2014 specifying an AVR mode of “MULT CH IN” for users with

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full 7.1 HDMI support, while all other users should set
the AVR to Stereo mode (p. 85).
3.92 December 30, - Added link to “Note 3” on page 3 that points to the
2014 utility to generate a 90-degree calibration file if you
don’t have one, thanks to Manni01’s research.
4.0 June 5, 2015 - Re-worked the section on setting microphone levels in
Windows audio (p. 23).
- Added a section on setting the proper measurement
level before running measurement sweeps (p. 59).
- Added a section titled “Generating Distortion Graphs”.
- Various minor clean-up (e.g. new ASIO4ALL SW revision).
4.1 June 6, 2015 - Updated “Configuring Windows Audio Recording
Devices” to reflect the recent wisdom imparted by
JohnPM regarding proper gain settings.
4.2 July 3, 2015 - Added notes under Section 5 explaining factory gain
setting for UMIK-1 microphones.
4.3 September 9, - Added sections under “Hardware/Operating System”
2015 titled “Using REW on Different Operating Systems” and
“A Special Note for Windows 10 Users”
- Updated the note for Mac users by adding a link to the
recent post by J_P_A.
- Added a paragraph to the ETC section describing the
“Blocking Method”.
- Added the useful links posted by AVS member
LastButNotLeast to external information regarding
interpreting ETC graphs.
4.4 December 31, - Revised the section “A special note for Windows 10
2015 users” to reflect that manual calibration is no longer
required.
4.5 January 5, 2016 - Added section “A Note on SBIR”

4.6 March 17, 2016 - Re-worded the section on Generating Waterfall Graphs

4.7 April 14, 2016 - Added link explaining how to use REW with Apple
Macintosh computers and HDMI connections, authored
by Markus767.
4.75 May 18, 2016 - Added a note stating that the USB mic sensitivity
parameter is now included in calibration files included
with mic purchases from Cross Spectrum Labs.
5.0 August 3, 2016 A concerted attempt to update the whole Guide to reflect
the considerable number of changes/enhancements that
John M. has added over the last several months. (Thanks,
John!). These include the Acoustic Timing Reference, the
new ways to specify output channels on the Measurement
screen, the addition of Sensitivity parameters in mic
calibration files from Cross Spectrum Labs (Thanks, Herb S.!),

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and any other enhancements I am aware of. If any

enhancements have been excluded, please come forward.

5.1 August 6, 2016 - Incorporated the changes recommended by AVS

member 3II3d00d in this post.
- Revised set-up and measurement screens for the Java
drivers, based on enhancement in recent REW updates.
5.2 August 10, 2016 - Added commentary to the “Measurement Guidelines”
section describing the issue with measuring the center
channel on AVR’s which no longer have Dolby Pro Logic
II, including a link to the post describing the differences
between PLII and Dolby Surround authored by Sdurani.
5.2.1 November 23, - Added a comment to the ETC graph set-up instructions.
2016

5.2.2 February 12, - Added a note to the Taking REW Measurements section
2017 providing mic placement tips/cautions.

5.3 February 15, - Added a section “Generating Impulse Response

2017 Measurements”.
- Edited all hyperlinks that reference content in this guide
stored on Dropbox.com, or reference AVS posts with
Dropbox.com content, to remove reliance on
Dropbox.com.
5.3.1 March 10, 2017 - Added warning not to use multiple sweeps if using a USB
mic to the “Taking REW Measurements” section.
5.4 March 18, 2017 - Added new section “Time-Aligning Speakers using REW
Impulse Measurements”.
5.41 March 20, 2017 - Fine-tuned the ““Time-Aligning Speakers using REW
Impulse Measurements” section.
5.42 June 2, 2017 - Updated REW beta downloads information to reflect that
the Official REW Support Site is now hosted on the AV
Nirvana web site.
5.43 June 3, 2017 - Added Note 3 in the “Time-Aligning Speakers using REW
Impulse Measurements” section.
5.44 March 16, 2018 - Updated the section “Publishing Graphs” with additional
tips.
5.45 May 25, 2018 - Noted that “variable smoothing” should be used on
measurements when generating EQ filters.
5.46 June 30, 2018 - Minor tweaks to the ASIO Troubleshooting section.

5.47 August 22, 2018 - Added link to “Accurately Determining the First Mic
Position” to the “Taking REW Measurements” section.
- Added paragraph titled “Automated Room Correction
and Time Alignment” in the “Time-Aligning Speakers…”
section.

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5.48 February 7, - Removed links to tips for REW users with Mac computers
2019 after feedback that the links are no longer applicable.

5.49 February 19, - Changed Impulse Response setting to “Truncate IR after

2019 1.7s”, based on recommendation from JohnM, which will
reduce file sizes and speed up load times.
5.50 March 15, 2019 - Added link in the introduction of this guide to the white
paper “Acoustic Measurement Standards for Stereo
Listening Rooms”, by Nyal Mellor of Acoustic Frontiers
and Jeff Hedback of HdAcoustics, as a guideline for audio
improvement objectives.
6.0 March 22, 2020 - Swept entire document to update screenshots to reflect
the numerous changes in REW through V5.20 beta 42.
- Removed sections dealing with non-HDMI setups using
the Java drivers—the assumption is that most users will
have HDMI-capable laptops now.
- Added a section for FlexASIO as an alternative to
ASIO4All.

Credits

Thanks to the following AVS Forum members for contributing to this document:
Jevansoh, Kbarnes701, Djbluemax1, Sdurani, Markus767, J_P_A, Jim19611961, and a whole list
of AVS members who have provided valuable feedback! And of course, a huge thanks to John
Mulcahy for his relentless efforts in the original development, and ongoing enhancements,
making REW an essential tool for any serious audio enthusiast!

Please send suggestions or corrections in a PM to [email protected] .

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