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Configuration Guide

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Shanon Pearce edited this page Aug 27, 2023 · 8 revisions

Equalizer APO Configuration

This dataset can be used with Equalizer APO, an Audio Processing Object (APO) for Windows featuring convolution capabilities. Instructions on how to configure Equalizer APO to use the provided filters for headphone correction and BRIRs for room simulation are provided below.

Installation steps

  1. Download Equalizer APO and follow the Equalizer APO installation tutorial.
  2. Download the latest release of the ASH Listening Set and extract the contents to the location of your choice. Alternatively, clone the GitHub repository to your device.
  3. Set your sound device's default format to 44100Hz under the properties of your playback device. In Windows 10 the playback device settings can be found in Settings -> System -> Sound -> Sound control panel.

Configuration steps

Clipping Prevention

  • In the configuration editor, add a Preamp to your config.txt file to reduce any clipping that may result from the convolution. The dB value required varies depending on the speaker configuration and filters selected. The analysis panel may be used to identify potential clipping. Alternatively, the Peace interface may be used to adjust pre-amplification as it offers automatic clipping prevention.

Headphone Correction

Headphone correction can be achieved through either IR convolution or Graphic Equalizer configurations, as per below.

IR Convolution

  • Add a new convolution command to your config.txt file, then navigate to the HpCFs\FIRs folder and select the desired HpCF WAV file for headphone correction. Refer to the HpCF page for more information.
  • A compatibility filter will also be required if you are using in-ear headphones with the BRIRs. Add a new convolution command, then navigate to the Compatibility_Filters\FIRs folder and select the 'Compatibility_In-Ear_Headphones' WAV file. A compatibility filter is not required for over-ear or on-ear headphones.

Graphic EQ

As an alternative to IR convolution, the provided graphic EQ filters can be used.

  • Add a new Include command to your config.txt file, then navigate to the HpCFs\Graphic_EQ folder and select the desired HpCF graphic EQ file for headphone correction.
  • A compatibility filter will also be required if you are using in-ear headphones with the BRIRs. Add a new Include command, then navigate to the Compatibility_Filters\Graphic_EQ folder and select the 'Compatibility_In-Ear_Headphones' txt file.

Binaural Room Simulation

  • Add a new Include control to your config.txt file, then navigate to the E-APO_Configs folder and select a BRIR convolution configuration file for binaural room simulation. A set of BRIR convolution configuration files are included in the dataset for each room and for a range of common speaker configurations.

Sample config.txt in the configuration editor Sample config.txt in the configuration editor

HeSuVi Configuration

The BRIRs and Graphic EQ filters in this dataset can also be used with HeSuVi, a headphone surround virtualization tool for Equalizer APO. The files located in the HeSuVi folder are provided in formats that HeSuVi can read. The below steps can be followed as an alternative to above Equalizer APO configuration steps.

Installation steps

  1. If using Equalizer APO for the first time, download Equalizer APO and follow the Equalizer APO installation tutorial.
  2. If using HeSuVi for the first time, download HeSuVi and follow the installation and usage steps outlined in the HeSuVi Wiki.
  3. Download the latest release of the ASH Listening Set and extract the contents to the location of your choice. Alternatively, clone the GitHub repository to your device.
  4. Navigate to the HeSuVi folder within the dataset and copy the eq and hrir folders into the HeSuVi installation folder (usually located at: C:\Program Files\EqualizerAPO\config\HeSuVi).

Configuration steps

  1. Open or restart HeSuVi
  2. The BRIRs can be selected in the Virtualisation tab. The rooms can be found under the Common HRIRs section at the top of the list as per the screenshot below.

Selecting BRIRs in HeSuVi

  1. The HpCFs can be selected in the Equalizer tab. The HpCFs can be found under _ASH_HpCFs at the bottom of the list as per the screenshot below.

Selecting HpCFs in HeSuVi

  1. If using one of the equaliser presets included in HeSuVi, it is recommended to also use the provided Room_Target_Inverse filter as the room target curve applied to the BRIRs may result in an excessive low frequency boost when paired with other headphone EQ methods. The eq\_ASH_Additional_Filters\Room_Target_Inverse graphic EQ filter, along with any other additional filter, can be included as an additional filter either beforehand or afterwards under the Addtional tab.

Troubleshooting

  • The BRIRs, HpCFs, compatibility filters, and additional filters are sampled at 44100Hz so the sample rate of the playback device must be set to 44100Hz. The sample rate of the device must match the sample rate of the filter. The HeSuVi BRIRs are provided in both 44100Hz and 48000Hz sampling rates.

  • If your audio device does not support a 7.1 surround channel configuration, a virtual audio device such as VB-Audio Virtual Cable or Voicemeeter can be used for audio processing in place of your regular audio playback device. Equalizer APO can be installed on the virtual audio device which can be configured for 7.1 audio, and the output of the virtual audio device can be sent to your regular audio playback device.

  • Ensure that the BRIRs are at the correct relative path. The 'E-APO_Configs' folder and the 'BRIRs' folder must have the same parent folder for the files to be read by the E-APO configurations.

  • The convolution, pre-amplification, and include commands can be placed in any order.

  • To assist with pre-amplification, the table below lists the approximate gains that the various IRs in the dataset apply to the low frequencies, which is the region where clipping is most likely to occur.

IR Approximate gain
BRIRs (2.0 configuration) +18dB
BRIRs (5.1 configuration) +27dB
BRIRs (7.1 configuration with 2.0 audio stream) +18dB
BRIRs (7.1 configuration with 7.1 audio stream) +31dB
HpCFs -6dB
In-ear headphones compatibility filter -4dB
Improved Diffuse-Field EQ filter 0dB
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