Well, trying to convince someone of the benefits or liabilities of DRC in any brief essay is probably a non-starter because there are so many aspects to consider. My initial post on this subject was in 2010 (link below). The bottom line is whether after DRC, you have a music system that is more musically pleasing than it was before incorporating DRC. For many users like myself, the benefits have been considerable. For those that have not had positive experiences with DRC, it is no surprise your take away is negative. I think the main comment I wish to make in this regard is that it is not DRC per se that most people are judging when they hear DRC. Rather it is the implementation. I know that seems obvious, but it is an important overlooked detail. A superb DRC system can simply be made to sound unlistenable if it is not set up well. Conversely, a modest DRC set-up can have an impressive end result if set up judiciously. We should realize of course that most all professional recording studios think that audiophiles are nuts when it comes to their "purist" philosophies, and that most everything we hear commercially employs some form of digital correction. Again, that is neither a pro or anti DRC comment, but rather, it does say that there is a lot of DRC done commercially that appears to be implemented well enough that it commercially acceptable. There is almost certainly good reason for this and I'll leave it at that for further thought/comments.
As to my own system, I was more or less driven to DRC when I realized after years of trying to incorporate subwoofers with midrange/tweeters (this goes back decades to Maggies and subwoofers), that I as well as many others were always at a loss as to how to seamlessly integrate them using analogue gear. In fact, its no surprise that one really can't do this because the simple placement of subs behind the main speakers creates a time disparity that no analogue crossover can neutralize such that an impulse from the subs and mains will arrive at the listener's ears at the same time. You can stand on your head to try and prove this isn't so, but believe me, it will be futile. Without implementing a digital time delay to the mains (6-10 msec?) one can never get the timing right between subs and mains. Besides correcting time alignment between my Gotham subs and my Pipedream towers, the additional benefits of the modified (Anthony Padilla) TacT-based 2.2XP system I use are the opportunity to use very steep crossover slopes, and of course, implement the final target curve of my choosing (which I have often stated is very similar to the famed B&K curve mentioned frequently on this forum). http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?520-DSP-one-person-s-experience&highlight=target+curve
In a nutshell, that's about it. For me, I can't come close to bringing out the best attributes of my system without using DSP. As a reality check, I do try and bypass the DSP every year or so, but I almost have to force myself to wait a day or so (I want to at least make sure the system is burned in properly) before running back to my DSP based implementation. I'm also the first to admit that not everybody will have the deficiencies I have whereby DSP would be beneficial for their system. Steve knows darn well that I thought his system in Danville was superb and I therefore consistently tried to talk him out of implementing DSP.
One final word. There are so many superb DSP devices out there today for so little money that one could easily try DSP without a huge investment. The German Behringer DEQ2496 Ultra Curve Pro and/or the Behringer Ultradrive Pro DCX2496 cost about $350 each and have received universal praise. If you are thinking that there is no way this gear can possibly be the sonic equal of your 10K preamp, or that it can only ruin your well designed analogue system, I would suggest that you defer your thoughts until you have implemented them well into your system. You might find they are capable of truly marvelous results, especially if you have significant room issues such as boundary effects, floor bounce suck out at 125Hz, a bright top end or any number of other acoustic maladies that can be judiciously improved with a good DSP device. Have fun experimenting!
As to my own system, I was more or less driven to DRC when I realized after years of trying to incorporate subwoofers with midrange/tweeters (this goes back decades to Maggies and subwoofers), that I as well as many others were always at a loss as to how to seamlessly integrate them using analogue gear. In fact, its no surprise that one really can't do this because the simple placement of subs behind the main speakers creates a time disparity that no analogue crossover can neutralize such that an impulse from the subs and mains will arrive at the listener's ears at the same time. You can stand on your head to try and prove this isn't so, but believe me, it will be futile. Without implementing a digital time delay to the mains (6-10 msec?) one can never get the timing right between subs and mains. Besides correcting time alignment between my Gotham subs and my Pipedream towers, the additional benefits of the modified (Anthony Padilla) TacT-based 2.2XP system I use are the opportunity to use very steep crossover slopes, and of course, implement the final target curve of my choosing (which I have often stated is very similar to the famed B&K curve mentioned frequently on this forum). http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?520-DSP-one-person-s-experience&highlight=target+curve
In a nutshell, that's about it. For me, I can't come close to bringing out the best attributes of my system without using DSP. As a reality check, I do try and bypass the DSP every year or so, but I almost have to force myself to wait a day or so (I want to at least make sure the system is burned in properly) before running back to my DSP based implementation. I'm also the first to admit that not everybody will have the deficiencies I have whereby DSP would be beneficial for their system. Steve knows darn well that I thought his system in Danville was superb and I therefore consistently tried to talk him out of implementing DSP.
One final word. There are so many superb DSP devices out there today for so little money that one could easily try DSP without a huge investment. The German Behringer DEQ2496 Ultra Curve Pro and/or the Behringer Ultradrive Pro DCX2496 cost about $350 each and have received universal praise. If you are thinking that there is no way this gear can possibly be the sonic equal of your 10K preamp, or that it can only ruin your well designed analogue system, I would suggest that you defer your thoughts until you have implemented them well into your system. You might find they are capable of truly marvelous results, especially if you have significant room issues such as boundary effects, floor bounce suck out at 125Hz, a bright top end or any number of other acoustic maladies that can be judiciously improved with a good DSP device. Have fun experimenting!
