Perhaps you’re using room correction. Dirac, ARC, REW—maybe even your receiver’s auto-EQ. And in many ways, it’s working. The bass firms up. Peaks smooth out. But somehow, the music starts feeling distant. The stage may narrow. Transients soften. That sense of openness and flow—of presence—might seem diminished. The curves look great. But something human seems missing.
Could be the DSP is doing too much.
What to Do
Let correction do what it does best: fix the room down low. Keep EQ focused below about 250 to 300 Hz, where modal issues dominate and placement options are limited. Above that, listen carefully. If the software’s EQ is engaged above the midbass, try bypassing it. Don’t be afraid to let the midrange and treble breathe without intervention. Instead, shape them with toe-in, symmetry, distance from walls, and—if needed—diffusion at first reflection points.
Measure with REW or your software’s response tool, yes. But listen longer than you look. The goal isn’t flat. It’s alive.
Here’s Why That Works
DSP is powerful. But in the midrange and up, it can suppress more than it solves. Corrections for small dips or reflections often involve phase manipulation and digital filters that—while technically accurate—alter timing and dynamics in ways that matter. You might lose air, damp natural reverb, or blur subtle placement cues. Spatial cues and harmonic energy don’t just live in the curve. They live in how that curve arrives.
EQ is a scalpel. Not a paint roller. Let it trim the bass. Let acoustics—and your ears—guide the rest.
Because when the correction is right-sized, the music tends to come back.
