[simondotau]

An objectivist audiophile would say that room correction is among the three or four grossly consequential parts of the audio chain. They are, in serial order:

0. Source material

1. Room correction DSP

2. Speakers (including subwoofers and crossover configuration)

3. Room acoustics (including positioning of speakers and listeners)

4. The human (ears, experience, expectations, ego, etc.)

All of the above are more consequential than anything else, assuming the core components are not total garbage, underspecified or malfunctioning. This includes the DAC and amplification.

Of the above list, I would place room correction at the bottom. (That still places it well above many things subjectivist audiophiles obsess over!) It is the cherry on top of a great system, not the means to achieving greatness. And it lets you get away with some things (most notably, mismatched speakers) to a greater extent than otherwise. But despite the name it can’t fix most real acoustic problems.

It can also make a system sound worse if it’s not used properly.