I don't see why you should be able to select RoomFit profiles via Preset.
Apart from having optimized tuning for different listening positions (as mentioned by
@Wiimer), and having the option to toggle RC profiles on/off for comparative listening purposes (as mentioned by
@anonyless); another reason to have this capability is to have tunings optimized for different environmental conditions - like e.g. whether you have doors and windows in the room open or closed.
This is something that can influence the in-room response at low frequencies, and room correction PEQs designed for e.g. a 'closed' room will not work as well when you open the windows and doors - see
some examples here.
Granted, this is probably not something most people will bother with, but for those that do it makes sense to have the capability to be able to switch with smart presets.
In my case I like to have at least a 'summer' tuning (everything open) and a 'winter' tuning (everything closed).
On a more general note, in my humble opinion the current implementation of RoomFit indeed makes
much more sense than the previous ones for the following reasons:
- Previously RC was associated to a specific input, whereas room correction EQ is naturally associated to a specific output.
- Most WiiM streamers have several audio outputs (e.g. RCA output, headphone output, USB output, BT output...) but a specific room correction profile was calculated based on a response measured with playback from only one of them (the one where the loudspeakers are connected). This should make it clear that the room correction EQ should apply only to this same output, and be applied regardless of currently used input. The previous implementation was the exact opposite of this!
- The previous implementation also meant that whenever we wanted to switch between several RoomFit profiles we had to manually change it on every input we use. For me this was quite tedious as I like to experiment with room correction.
- The new implementation allows stacking of an additional layer of EQ on top of RoomFit EQ.
The use cases for this are several:
- You can implement loudspeaker response correction (based on e.g. spinorama.org anechoic data) and run RoomFit on top of it.
- You can use EQ to fine tune the overall system tonality to taste (e.g. warmer or brighter tuning), post-RoomFit
- You can use EQ to correct for any tonality deficiencies of specific inputs/sources (e.g. add an anti-rumble high-pass filter to a turntable, but leave all other inputs flat), post-RoomFit.
- You can use EQ to correct basic tonality deficiencies of various recordings on the fly (e.g. decrease treble on bright recordings), post-RoomFit.
- You can use EQ to add bass for low-level listening (see Equal-loudness contours), post-RoomFit.
- You can use EQ to high-pass the very low bass to avoid disturbing the neighbors during late-night listening, post-RoomFit.
- There could be others I forgot...
However, while it appears that RoomFit EQ is now indeed associated with outputs instead of inputs, I'm not sure if it is already associated *only* to the one specific output where the loudspeakers are connected. However,
@WiiM Team communicated in April (relevant info
here as well) that this is something that is on their radar, so if not already done I hope it will be in place soon.
From what was communicated so far it is not clear to me how e.g. BT or USB output will be handled - since these outputs could have either headphones or loudspeakers connected to them. My hope is that in the end each output could have a separate profile assigned to it - RoomFit (or manual EQ) if loudspeakers are connected, and AutoEQ (or manual EQ) if headphones are connected, and that the EQ profile switching happens automatically when we switch outputs.
But we should still preserve the ability to switch both RoomFit and EQ profiles with the Smart Preset function!
I believe with a little planning, design work and care this could all be made to be very user-friendly and seamless - but it could also end up a complicated mess!
I hope for the best, though!
. Having the option to use EQ on top of Roomfit is a good idea but I wouldn't be surprised if I never use it. I would rather have another 10 filters available for Roomfit.
