Directivity Index Explained & Why You Can't EQ a Bad Speaker

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[@peanutbutterjellyjam2179]

Fantastic explanation. I'm sure that people (like me) who never knew what it meant that a bad speaker couldn't be EDed, now has a clear explanation. Thank you.

[@CurlyHoward928]

Hey Joe, one of the best tutorials I've seen. Keep them coming.

[@carywatson1146]

Way to innovate Joe! We’ll done!

[@grizzly6699]

Thanks Joe. Nice way of explaining this

[@stephencosta6814]

Excellent demonstration thank you so much even though I already knew this it’s good for people who don’t thanks for the hard work Steve long time viewer of your channel

[@DesmondKarani]

That's an excellent explanation!

[@joeydgraffix]

Absolutely excellent way to describe stuff like this. I used to do the same thing when teaching people a bit about photography. The abstract way is usually a much easier way for beginners to learn about everything! I think this is my problem with home theater and unless I’m exactly in the middle I can only hear the left or right speaker overpowering the sound. I’d love to hear about a nice speaker I can use in a 2.0 setup so that a few people can be in the center.

[@mcsenny4793]

Good video! Perhaps you could do something similar where you explain how FIR filters work (compared to IIR filters).

[@joentell]

I wish I could.

[@59seank]

Thanks Joe. Great explanation.

[@chefchutardo5215]

Nice explanation. You could also add that light just like sound has more directivity in certain frequencies. High Kelvin colors will tend to reflect less than low kelvin colors. So low kelvin colors such as a 2700k light will tend to make less shadows that a 6000k bulb. This is the same as high frequencies in a speaker thats not pointed directly at the listener vs a subwoofer hidden in a corner but its hard to tell where it is even if you hear it very well.

[@joentell]

Wow! That's new info to me! Thank you for that.

[@Wildblood]

Excellent explanation - I don't think I've ever seen directivity as concisely explained! If I may, I wish there were 2 things added: 1. Let people know that pointing a bad speaker on axis and EQing for that, doesn't make it sound good - because you hear more than just direct sound. You also hear sound that bounces off the walls. It's like if you have a yellow bulb in the room, everything looks yellow, not just the direct light. So it's not like you can make the speaker work for the main listening position by sacrificing off-axis listeners. 2. Like you say, graphs can be intimidating at first. I think it might help people if you showed how the linear and circular directivity graphs work. Hope this is constructive! You've truly done an excellent job - the thought and planning that went into your video, really "shines" through!

[@joentell]

Thank you. I agree with everything you've said. 1. I was hoping to show that in my example. The problem is my garage doesn't have white walls on either side as one side is filled with boxes and the other has an ambient light rejecting screen. But, yes, what we hear is a combination of on-axis direct sound and off-axis reflections in all directions. 2. I wanted to go into more detail to show what a good directivity index looks like vs a bad one and why that's the case. I need to make a separate video as I wanted to keep this one simple. I have what I think is an easier way to understand directivity index. I mentioned it here if you're interested kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGipfaCYmdijmcUsi=H11f4D7OaFRfLLND

[@user-uw3wj8mj3n]

Очень понятно объяснил!!! С светофильтром вообще супер 👍 Понимаю что не специально, но забавно 🇷🇺на рукаве

[@bhyydy6353]

What is the typical freq of light?

[@joentell]

Wavelength of light is way higher than anything audio related. That's why I mentioned that they aren't the same on a technical level, but just as a visual aid.

[@stackoverflow8260]

Joe, If there's only one MLP and only me listening to my system, why should i care about DI? You might say, soundstage width but when reflections are taken into account, the totality is messed up anyways!

[@joentell]

What you will hear at MLP is a combination of direct and reflected sound.

[@stackoverflow8260]

@@joentell in that case, a speaker with less directivity in mid band is preferred? Aren't human ears more tuned to mid band?

[@joentell]

@@stackoverflow8260 what's preferred is when the on-axis and off-axis is similar with the off-axis sound having less high frequencies, but falling off in a linear and predictable manner. Using the light example, if the light change is slight and gradual (not an immediate and noticeable change) that is preferable.

[@Masterslessons]

I thought we would get some smoke effects. Looked ominous

[@phoenix4193]

What if you EQ speakers that are not the best, but are pointing directly at you

[@joentell]

That would be ok if you didn't also hear the reflected off-axis sound. That's why people find that room treatment helps with this. It would be equivalent to having walls painted black. It helps absorb reflections. Also, you can choose a speaker with a narrower directivity if you don't have room treatment. That's why I think people like Klipsch speakers. You get less off-axis reflections due to their horn design.