JBL SYNTHESIS CALIBRATION OVERVIEW Adaptive Room Correction and Optimization System A.R.C.O.S. AN INTRODUCTION TO ARCOS ADVANCED ROOM-CORRECTION AND CALIBRATION TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY WITH JBL SYNTHESIS AUDIO SYSTEMS The Adaptive Room Correction and Optimization System, or ARCOS, was designed by Harman International engineers to achieve the best possible audio performance in a home theater or stereo listening environment. By correcting for the effects of room acoustics, ARCOS delivers ideal sound to multiple listeners in a room. ARCOS grew out of Harman International’s development efforts with JBL Synthesis® audio systems. Introduced in 1992, JBL Synthesis is Harman’s effort to create the best possible home audio systems. Yet even though years of research and refinement brought JBL Synthesis to a level of performance equaled by few, if any, consumer audio systems, Harman engineers knew that the end result—the performance achieved in the consumer’s home—was highly dependent on factors that were often impossible to control, such as the acoustics of the room itself. Figure 1: An ARCOS calibration in progress, with the laptop running ARCOS software and eight measurement microphones placed in different seating positions. ARCOS leverages the technology behind the Harman Audio Test System (HATS), which is used in the devel- opment of JBL®, Infinity® and Revel® speakers. In ARCOS, the hardware and core software of HATS combine with an interface created specifically for room configuration and calibration, and with audio processors designed to accept data from ARCOS. A small group of elite technicians, trained by Harman engineers in proper home theater configuration and ARCOS calibration, assures that the end result is a level of perfection rarely if ever before achieved in home audio system performance. Harman engineers designed ARCOS to deliver optimum results across an entire seating area, not just in the primary listening seat. ARCOS can optimize the performance of as many as four subwoofers, an important feature unavailable in any other system at the time of this writing. THE HARMAN AUDIO TEST SYSTEM: THE CORE OF ARCOS The core of every ARCOS system is the Harman Audio Test System—the same audio analysis system used by Harman engineers in development of JBL, Infi nity and Revel speakers; in the design and tuning of OEM automotive audio systems; and in Harman’s research program. In a sense, ARCOS is like a “skin” on top of HATS—an application-specifi c interface that adapts HATS to the demands of system and room calibration. HATS is arguably the most capable and versatile acoustical measurement system available today. It offers much more powerful data acquisition and processing capability than the audio analyzers used by most engineers, audio systems designers and professional acousticians. Here are its capabilities: 16-CHANNEL INPUT/OUTPUT CAPACITY. In ARCOS, this capability is implemented as 12 inputs and 4 outputs. In comparison, most audio analyzers offer only one or two inputs. With the capacity to process signals from eight measurement microphones at once, ARCOS can conduct nearly instantaneous measurements from as many as eight locations in a room. With most other systems, the measurement microphone must be moved repeatedly to perform a full set of measurements—an operation that can add hours to the time it takes to calibrate a system, and that also increases the possibility of measurement-to-measurement inconsistency. Figure 2: A speaker measurement made using the HATS software. 1/48TH-OCTAVE RESOLUTION. HATS achieves double or quadruple the frequency-band resolution of most other audio analyzers, allowing it to detect even tiny response errors and resonances and show the response of a speaker in great detail (see fi gure 2). Each octave contains 48 measurement frequencies, so there are four measurement frequencies for each note in the musical scale. In ARCOS, this resolution is reduced in the interface down to 1/6th-octave for easier analysis, but each measurement retains the full resolution in order to assure maximum accuracy in EQ and phase compensation, averaging and post-processing. SAMPLING RATES UP TO 20-BIT/96-KILOHERTZ. HATS can capture audio frequencies more than an octave above the normal range of human hearing, and with word depths sufficient to ensure that measurement system noise is not a factor in the testing process or in post-processing of data. Most audio analyzers are built primarily for a certain type of testing; they may have other capabilities, but those capabilities are not typically as refined as the core functions. HATS is completely different. It was developed by a team of audio engineers with many different needs (product development, audio research, quality control, system calibration, etc.), then augmented through the years as new demands arose and new technologies became available. Thus, HATS is probably the most capable acoustical analysis system available today. This extensive array of core functions is part of what makes ARCOS such a powerful system. HATS’ CORE FUNCTIONS ARE: SIGNAL GENERATION. HATS can produce all test signals it requires to perform its analysis, including sine waves, noise, maximum length sequence (MLS) pseudo-random noise bursts, and tone bursts. DATA ACQUISITION. HATS can acquire data for standard sine wave analysis techniques or FFT-based impulse measurements, allowing it to measure audio device or system performance on a momentary basis or over a span of time. DATA PROCESSING AND EDITING. Once data is acquired, HATS can process it in many useful ways. Curves can be smoothed, spliced, added, subtracted, divided, etc. Multiple curves can be averaged together. RESULTS DISPLAY. Because HATS was developed in part for the purpose of research—and, ultimately, the presentation of that research—it offers extensive graphing capabilities. This in turn made it possible to adapt HATS graphing capabilities to suit the needs of in-room acoustical analysis required for ARCOS. ADAPTING HATS TO THE NEEDS OF SYSTEM CALIBRATION For obvious reasons, the idea of using HATS for acoustical analysis seemed initially appealing to Harman engineers. However, three problems presented themselves. First, although different test configurations could be saved in HATS, the continually changing testing needs of the engineers required that many operations with the system be performed manually. This complicated use of the system with multiple microphones and greatly increased the time required for calibration of an audio system. Second, the system was developed primarily for use in speaker measurement, and thus was overly complicated for the generally simpler needs of acoustical analysis. Third, HATS was designed to produce data to be later analyzed by engineers, whereas an acoustical calibration system would ideally feed data directly into audio processors, minimizing or eliminating the need for manual adjustment of those processors. By adapting HATS to solve these specifi c problems, then adding a user interface adapted to the needs of in-room acoustical analysis and system calibration, Harman engineers created ARCOS: the Adaptive Room Correction and Optimization System. HOW ARCOS WORKS As suggested previously, ARCOS is a software front-end for a HATS system. The hardware, host system (laptop computer) and peripherals are the same. Only the interface is different. The controls, displays and functions in ARCOS are optimized specifi cally for acoustical analysis and system calibration. In order to speed operation and reduce the potential for operator error, all extraneous capabilities are concealed from the user, even though they remain within the HATS core. At the user’s discretion, and to suit the requirements of each project, operation can be fully automatic or manual. A wizard routine within the ARCOS software guides the certifi ed Master ARCOS Calibrator through a variety of checks to assure the system is installed correctly and functioning properly. To perform a calibration, the technician uses eight microphones placed in various locations around the room. ARCOS sends a variety of test tones to each speaker and subwoofer, then records the resulting in-room response at each microphone. ARCOS calculates a separate correction curve for each speaker or subwoofer. This correction curve achieves optimum performance from each speaker or subwoofer individually and as part of the entire system, compensating for the acoustical fl aws in the room and for the speaker’s own minor imperfections. ARCOS can transfer these correction curves to an audio processor, which is much faster and more accurate than entering the parameters into the processor manually. AUTOMATIC OPERATION WITH JBL SYNTHESIS AUDIO PROCESSORS ARCOS transfers its calculated correction curves to a JBL Synthesis audio system through HiQNet®, an Ethernet-based communications protocol originally developed by Harman engineers for controlling large, complex public-address systems. Currently, ARCOS works with two different JBL Synthesis audio processors. Figure 3: SDEC-4500 processor SDEC-4500: A 12-input/20-output processor that offers more than 500 bands of equalization at 24-bit/ 96-ki- lohertz resolution.Because of its extensive input/output capability, the SDEC-4500 can optimize complex home theater systems with as many as four subwoofers, and may also allow such functions as bi-amping, depending on the system confi guration. Figure 4: SDEC-3000 processor. SDEC-3000: An 8-input/8-output processor offering more than 250 bands of equalization. The SDEC-3000 is best suited for 7.1-channel home theater systems, or for 5.1- or 6.1-channel systems with dual subwoofers. MICROPHONES AND INTERFACE To perform its measurements, ARCOS uses an array of eight specially selected omnidirectional measurement microphones. These mics are designed and calibrated to operate in a vertical position instead of pointing at a particular speaker. Because of this confi guration, achieving consistent results is much easier—after all, there is only one way to point a microphone straight up. Although these microphones are designed for a fl at response, each one has been separately measured and calibrated so that even its slight fl aws are corrected within the software. Before running ARCOS, the Master ARCOS Calibrator calibrates the microphones once again to assure their responses match. All eight microphones are placed on stands and connected through a 12-input panel to a BSS® Audio Blu-32 audio interface (fi gure 5), which con- nects directly to a laptop computer through HiQNet. The input panel and Blu- 32 interface are housed in a fl ight case that allows them to be transported FFFiiiggguuurrreee 555::: easily and safely. AAARRRCCCOOOSSS mmmiiicccrrroooppphhhooonnneee iiinnnttteeerrrfffaaaccceee... ARCOS TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES Because ARCOS is built on HATS, its core data acquisition and processing capabilities are the same. However, these capabilities are optimized for acoustical and system analysis instead of speaker measurement. The goal was to achieve the best possible end result while also minimizing the time required to perform a system calibration. The technical capabilities of ARCOS include: 1/48TH-OCTAVE MEASUREMENTS. For maximum accuracy, all data is acquired, stored and processed in 1/48th-octave resolution, meaning that each octave is assigned 48 measurement points. Each measurement also includes time data (fi gure 6), so reverberation time (RT60) and noise can be evaluated. In ARCOS, the data is displayed in 1/6th-octave resolution, which makes it easier for the operator to gauge tonal balance and frequency response of the system. UP TO 20 PARAMETRIC EQ BANDS PER CHANNEL. As many as 20 different equalization functions may be applied to each speaker and subwoofer in a system. Each of these EQ functions may be independently adjusted in three parameters: center frequency, the width in octaves of the audio band to be adjusted, and the amount of cut or boost to be applied. The fi lter can be as narrow as 1/100th of an octave, or as wide as four octaves. This extensive EQ capability allows not only correction of room modes in the bass frequencies, but also correction of minor resonances in the speakers. Each speaker’s in-room response can thus be made to match the target response curve with a high degree of precision. IIR FILTERS FOR AMPLITUDE- AND TIME-DOMAIN CORRECTION. ARCOS uses IIR (infi nite impulse response) fi lters to optimize the performance of each speaker in a system. The primary errors ARCOS is designed to fi x occur as a result of room modes, which are minimum-phase—i.e., as the amplitude of a certain sound frequency is affected by the room, so is the phase of the sound at that frequency. IIR fi lters are capable of correcting the response in the amplitude and time domains (see fi gure 6). The FIR (fi nite impulse response) fi lters used in many equalizers and auto EQ technologies are maximum-phase, so they affect only amplitude, not phase, and therefore cannot fully correct room mode problems. Figure 6: ARCOS measures and corrects the in-room response of speakers in the frequency (left) and time (right) domains, enabling it to fi x phase errors and the ringing artifacts shown at right. LEVEL MATCHING TO ±0.1 dB. Relative levels of each speaker and subwoofer in a surround-sound system are automatically balanced and optimized to give an ideal channel-to-channel balance across multiple seating positions rather than in just one key position. Thus, no channel predominates and all listeners are treated to a realistic balance of center, front left/right and surrounds. DISTANCE SETTING TO ±0.1 INCH. ARCOS adjusts the time arrival of each speaker with a precision of ±0.01 millisecond, equivalent to ±0.1 inches of distance. In almost all other surround-sound systems, maximum precision is ±0.1 feet. This level of precision assures that sound effects and other elements of a soundtrack are located exactly where the producers intended, such as between the center and left speaker, or between the right side surround speaker and the right rear surround speaker. HOW ARCOS DETERMINES WHAT’S “RIGHT” Even the most advanced and capable measurement and audio processing technology does little to improve audio system performance unless a suitable goal is set. Fortunately, Harman engineers can draw on more than two decades of research and experience in determining the goals for an ARCOS calibration. Harman researchers have conducted hundreds of carefully controlled blind listening tests to determine what kind of in-room response listeners generally prefer to hear from an audio system. They have also measured the acoustical properties of thousands of rooms, and how those rooms affect the performance of audio systems. Thus, they have learned what kind of response listeners prefer, and how best to achieve that response in the residential settings where home theaters and stereo listening rooms are installed. They used this knowledge to create a “target curve”: a desired response of the system that assures an optimal result for everyone in the listening area, no matter where they’re seated. Because the performance characteristics of the JBL Synthesis speakers are so well known by Harman engi- neers—and because the model numbers of the various speakers are entered into the ARCOS software before calibration—the system does not push the speakers to potentially damaging levels, as can occur with auto EQ/ room correction systems in which the identity and performance characteristics of the speakers are not known. CONFIRMED IN BLIND LISTENING TESTS It’s important to note that the target curve was not simply calculated then applied. Harman engineers confirmed its validity by evaluating it in blind listening tests against all of the major automatic EQ/room correction technolo- gies now used in A/V receivers and surround-sound processors. Each test was conducted with a single listener in the “sweet spot,” at an equal distance from the front left, center and right speakers. Most of the competing room correction technologies had the capability to be optimized only for that seat. The ARCOS-generated curve was optimized across all six seats in the listening lab, not just for the primary listening seat. Even though this arrangement put ARCOS at a theoretical disadvantage, it was still preferred overall by the listeners (figure 7). After measuring the response of the system from eight different positions in a room, ARCOS calculates how to adjust the amplitude response (equalization) and phase response of each speaker and subwoofer in order to come as close as possible to the desired target curve in each of the eight measurement positions—and, therefore, across the entire listening area. The calculated correction curve for each speaker is then loaded into the SDEC-4500 or SDEC-3000 audio processor, and the results confirmed through on-site listening tests. Figure 7: Blind listening tests comparing ARCOS averaged across six seats, and optimized for only the chair the listener occupied, compared with three competing systems (all optimized only for the listener’s chair) and with using no EQ at all. Note that two of the systems produced worse results than using no EQ. SOUND FIELD MANAGEMENT FOR MULTIPLE SUBWOOFERS: A KEY ARCOS ADVANTAGE Besides the confi rmed listener preference for the ARCOS target curve, ARCOS offers another big advantage over competing technologies: the ability to optimize the performance of as many as four subwoofers in a single room. Below about 200Hz, residential-sized rooms act as resonators, amplifying some frequencies and attenuating others. The effects vary from place to place in a room. In one seat, frequencies around, say, 40Hz—about the range of the lowest note on a standard bass guitar—might be boosted to the point of being annoying. But just a few feet away, sounds in that frequency range may barely be audible. Harman research has proven that using at least two and preferably four subwoofers in an audio system deliv- ers more even bass frequency response across multiple listener seating positions than a single subwoofer can. Typically the subwoofers are placed in the corners of the room. Ideally, the subwoofers will be equalized and phase-corrected to work in concert, so they do not interfere with each other acoustically. The resulting system performance is clearly better both in terms of objective measurements and in listeners’ subjective evaluations. While a few auto EQ/room correction systems are able to work at least to some degree with two subwoofers, no others at the time of this writing were capable of optimizing four subwoofers independently. ARCOS Sound Field Management—the ability to optimize four subwoofers in a room—is a patented Harman exclusive. This exclusiv- ity exists not only because ARCOS is the only system with the data processing and audio processing capabilities to accomplish this task, but also because almost all of the research into the effects of using multiple subwoofers has been conducted by Harman. Thus, Harman engineers are without peer in their experience and insight when it comes to optimizing multiple subwoofers. Figure 8: In-room response of multiple subwoofers before (left) and after (right) ARCOS Sound Field Management. With Sound Field Management and the SDEC-4500 processor, ARCOS can deliver smooth bass response to multiple listeners. While room acoustics make it practically impossible to get perfectly consistent bass response in every listening seat, ARCOS minimizes the seat-to-seat variation in response to a degree never before achieved in home audio (fi gure 8). For the fi rst time, top-quality sound reproduction is available to all listeners in a room, not just the one lucky enough to be sitting in the sweet spot. There are no more “bad seats” in the home theater. AUTO CURVE SUM: CUSTOM-TUNED, FULLY OPTIMIZED SUBWOOFER CROSSOVERS Almost all home theater systems rely on preset subwoofer crossover fi lters within an audio/video preamp/ processor or receiver. These fi lters almost never achieve an ideal blend between the satellite speakers and subwoofers because the physical distances between the satellite speakers and the subwoofer are unknown. Thus, sound from the different speakers arrives at the listeners’ ears at different times, creating frequency re- sponse and phase errors. Through a feature called Auto Curve Summing, ARCOS uses its powerful measurement capability to create a subwoofer crossover profi le optimized precisely for the audio system and the room it’s in. Auto Curve Summing uses test tones to measure the distance from each speaker and subwoofer in the system to each of the eight measurement microphones. The software then creates a matrix of the various measurements and calculates the best subwoofer crossover processing algorithm to deliver the smoothest possible satellite-to-subwoofer transition across the entire seating area. Auto Curve Sum uses delay adjustments to achieve this smooth blend; using traditional phase adjustments, such as the phase controls typically found on subwoofers, would likely result in undesirable cancelations and reinforcements at various frequencies around the crossover point.