Case Study / Residential
Only the real bottleneck upgraded in a listening and vocal-practice room, keeping the mixer and wireless system already there.
Project summary
- Challenge
- A shallow, wide room prone to stereo imbalance and bass resonance; the owner wanted more natural vocals without replacing everything.
- Solution
- New speakers and DSP/FIR processing, the mixer and wireless system kept where they still fit, upgraded microphone capsules and presets.
- Result
- The bottleneck is solved for this room, the good equipment already there stays in use and presets bring the listening setup back in one step.
From First Survey to Handover
01 / Diagnosis
Mr. Chanh already had a complete active system: full-range speakers with a 15-inch active sub, run through a Midas M32R mixer and a Shure ULXD dual wireless receiver — good equipment with plenty of life left. After hearing the Vo Dong multi-purpose hall that Tony Lab Audio had delivered, he wanted a more accurate and more emotional sound: a true Hi-Fi response for listening to live music of every kind, and the best possible support for his wife’s weekly vocal practice. The 30m² listening room (3.3m deep, 9m wide, 3.9m high) is unusually shallow and wide, which easily unbalances the stereo image unless the Time Alignment is set precisely.
02 / Engineering decision
We started with a YME CS series setup — 2 CS 7P Main L/R speakers, 2 CS 5P Centre speakers and 1 CS 212 subwoofer placed in the centre to optimise the path of the bass — running on a DPA 2.0 amplifier with built-in DFM DSP and using custom FIR processing to support response shaping and crossover phase matching. We kept the Midas M32R mixer and the Shure ULXD receiver exactly as they were, and only proposed upgrading the microphone capsules from Beta 87A/KSM9 to a Neumann capsule matched to the Shure ULX-D transmitter — giving the mid/high more air and helping his wife sing lightly during practice. The loudspeaker connections use Neutrik NL4FXX speakON connectors. When Mr. Chanh visited his father in Australia, he took the whole CS set with him as a gift for his family — we had set up presets beforehand so it only needed plugging in; in Vietnam, he upgraded to a YME Nano Pro system with two NP 18 subs and six NP 09 line array speakers, still using FIR filtering.
03 / Verification and value
The bass went from hard and piled up in the corners to smooth, wrapping around the listening position; time and phase alignment were checked around the crossover at the listening position. Getting the most out of the high-end equipment already there solved the real bottleneck in the speakers and the microphone capsules, at a much lower budget than replacing everything; the Plug-and-Play presets made it easy to take the equipment abroad, install it and run it without a technician on site.
“The sound really surprised me — the mid-high is gentle and silky. The bass comes out very smooth, wrapping around you rather than making you uncomfortable.”
Before and After
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Low end (Bass Response) | Hard, easily piled up in the room corners | Smooth, wrapping around the listening position |
| Crossover phase matching | Phase offset at the Crossover | Phase matching checked around the crossover at the listening position |
| Vocal microphone setup | Shure Beta 87A / KSM9 | Neumann capsule matched to the Shure ULX-D transmitter |
| Singing / vocal practice feel | The microphone lacked smoothness, easy to run out of breath | Faithful vocal reproduction, lighter on the breath, smooth |
Frequently asked questions
How do you check whether a Neumann capsule fits a Shure wireless handheld?
Compatibility depends on the exact capsule and transmitter. Neumann specifies KK 104 U for Shure ULX-D and QLX-D; KK 104 S is for Sennheiser SKM 5000/5200. Check the complete model and any adapter before fitting a capsule.
How does an FIR filter help someone practising singing at home?
A custom FIR filter can shape loudspeaker response and phase. It works with placement, crossover and time alignment, checked at the listening positions. It does not make the entire room zero-phase or replace vocal technique and microphone gain management.
Are small line array speakers (such as the YME Nano Pro) suitable for a family listening room?
Very suitable. Line arrays such as the YME NP 09 have wide horizontal coverage but tight vertical control, reducing reflections from the ceiling and floor. Their compact design keeps the home interior looking good.
