Part 2:  Installing 2-Speaker, 4-Speaker, and 6-Speaker Ambiophonic Systems

The basic Ambiophonics system consists of two closely-space front speakers driven by RACE crosstalk-reduction software.  The two speakers together are called an Ambiodipole.  Virtually any type of speaker can be used to form an Ambiodipole.  Like stereophiles, Ambiophiles can have preferences for particular speakers.  There is never a need for a center speaker.  In fact, a center speaker substantially degrades performance.  Ambiophonics can be used with four speakers, two in front and two in back.  One can add side speakers to the four-speaker system resulting in a 6-speaker Ambiophonics system.  The present instructions will cover 2-speaker, 4-speaker, and 6-speaker systems.
 
RACE can be downloaded to a PC without charge from the Ambiophonics web site or obtained in commercial products from TacT Audio.  Instructions for both will be provided below.  Over the years, RACE has been improved and the present installation instructions apply to all the versions currently on the web site and to all current TacT Audio products that include RACE.  RACE software in TacT products is engaged when the product is set to the XTC (crosstalk cancellation) mode.

2-Speaker Systems

Speaker and Room Set Up.  The two speakers forming the Ambiodipole should be located about 20-30 degrees apart measured between the midrange drivers.  Audible differences will be small as speaker width is varied within this range and the user should select what sounds best.  For some speakers or listeners, angles outside the range of 20-30 degrees will work well.  In fact, research is actually lacking on the exact, best speaker angle.  On the other hand, the usual stereo equilateral triangle speaker spread of 60 degrees will seriously degrade the sound.  Wider spreads are even worse.  The speakers can flank a TV monitor and a center speaker is never required.  Just to get it done, simply place the speakers anywhere from 20-30 degrees apart and go on to the rest of the set up.  You can always experiment later with a different speaker angle.  The speakers should be the same distance to the listener measured to the nearest inch, if possible.

One easy way to measure speaker angle is to buy a cheap, plastic protractor and a legal-size manila folder or piece of cardboard.  The folder/cardboard has two short and two long sides.  Put a dot at the very edge of one of the short sides, halfway across the edge.  With the protractor and a straight edge, draw rays radiating from the dot all the way to the far edge.  The rays should be at 5-degree intervals subtending a total of 30 degrees.  Sit in the listening chair, put your eye between the speakers, hold the folder/cardboard so that the dot is just under your eye, and sight the midrange drivers to measure the angle between them.

While room treatment is always a good idea, Ambiophonics is much less damaged by room reflections than conventional stereo or 5.1.  One reason is that the delays involved in RACE are less than 100 microseconds whereas even a very early room reflection is delayed by milliseconds.  The richness of the localization cues provided by Ambiophonics swamps the effects of most room reflections.  This is similar to a concert hall, where the richer, longer-lasting hall ambience masks the clutter of short-delay reflections from seat backs and heads.  So room treatment is always desirable but not critical in the case of Ambiophonics and even less so in Panambiophonics (below).          

Directional speakers produce fewer room reflections than speakers with wide dispersion.  So directional speakers are well suited to Ambiophonic (and stereophonic) reproduction.  Nevertheless, wide-dispersion speakers can produce excellent results.

TacT owners wishing to use XTC will also be doing room correction.  When doing room correction measurements, XTC is automatically disabled so it makes no difference whether the XTC mode is on or off.

RACE Adjustment Parameters.   When one of the stereo loudspeakers produces sound, the close ear hears it first and, with some time delay and attenuation, the far ear hears it as crosstalk.  The amount of delay and attenuation depends on the angle to the loudspeaker and the distance between one’s ear canals.  Since crosstalk cancellation requires the cancellation signal to be the correct magnitude and to arrive at an ear exactly when the crosstalk does, one must be able to adjust the crosstalk canceller to the particular attenuation and delay required by the speaker angle employed and, less importantly, to the size of the listener’s head.  For both RACE downloaded to a PC and TacT RACE, there are three user adjustments:

1. Delay.  Delay represents the time difference in microseconds (μs) between a sound’s arrival at the near ear and its arrival at the far ear.  The range of adjustment in RACE PC or TacT is from 20μs to 210μs.  The front panel display for TacT’s XTC mode measures delay in milliseconds, not microseconds.  A millisecond is 1/1,000 second.  A microsecond is 1/1,000,000 second.  There are a thousand microseconds in a millisecond.  Hence, the range of adjustment shown on the TacT display is from .02 to .21 milliseconds, abbreviated by TacT as .02 to .21msec.  70μs (.07msec) is average for most installations.  Another way to view Delay is that a Delay of, say, 80μs means that when a speaker launches a signal to be cancelled at the far ear, the speaker near that ear will launch the cancellation signal 80μs later.  A Delay value that is correct for a listener sitting centered will be incorrect if the listener moves off center.  But there is no need to change Delay with reclining, head rotation, nodding, tilting, normal forward and back motion along the center line, or additional seating along the center line.

2. Attenuation (Spread Factor).   Attenuation represents the level loss, in dB, between the near and far ears  (The level loss is due to longer path and facial absorption.)  RACE for the PC shows an adjustment range from -1.5 dB to -4 dB.  It is easier if one drops the minus sign and thinks of these values as positive.  We will refer to the Attenuation range as 1.5 dB to 4 dB.  An Attenuation of 1.5 dB means that there is a 1.5 dB loss in level between the near and far ears.  In the TacT implementation of RACE, Attenuation is called Spread Factor.  Spread Factor uses a different unit of measurement.  Spread Factor values range from 0-100 and are inversely related to Attenuation values.  The following table shows the conversion between Spread Factor and Attenuation.

Each unit of Spread Factor equals 0.1 dB.  The range of Spread Factor adjustment, 0-100, has a range of 10 dB.  This corresponds to an Attenuation range of .5dB to 10.5 dB.  A Spread Factor of 80 corresponds to an Attenuation of 2.5 dB.  To convert Spread Factor to Attenuation, move the decimal point in the Spread Factor left by one digit (80 becomes 8.0) and subtract the value from 10.5.  RACE PC does not provide Attenuation values higher than 4.0 dB.  Too low an Attenuation, 0.5-1.5 dB (Spread Factor 90-100), should be avoided.  It can produce unpredictable effects such as buzzing, abnormal localization, or even oscillation.  A Spread Factor between 80-85 (Attenuation between 2.0-2.5 dB) usually produces the best results.  Another way to interpret Attenuation is that an Attenuation of, say, 2.5 dB (Spread Factor of 80) means that when a speaker launches a signal to be cancelled at the far ear, the speaker near that ear will launch a cancellation signal that is 2.5 dB softer.  The signals will have the same level but opposite polarity when they arrive at the far ear.  

3. Algorithms.  RACE crosstalk reduction operates between DC and 20,000 Hz.  But this range can be reduced by the control called Algorithms.  RACE software in the TacT 2.2 XP provides 10 algorithms.  The following table shows, for each algorithm, the frequency range in which crosstalk reduction operates.

A-series algorithms affect both the high- and low-frequency limits of the operating range.  B-series algorithms affect only the low-frequency limit.  A-1 and B-1 are identical in effect.  Neither restricts the operating range.  Having A-1 in the A series facilitates comparing full range operation to the other A settings.  Having B-1 in the B series facilitates comparing full range operation to the other B settings.  The algorithms in the PC version and the TacT version of RACE are identical in concept but RACE PC provides fewer algorithms.

How to Use the Three Adjustments.   Even more than stereo, Ambiophonics is a tweak-and-listen enterprise.  The basic principle is this:  Normally all tweaks and changes in settings will be heard only as slight changes in the width of the stage.  Stage width can vary from recording to recording due to the microphone and mixing techniques used.  Using recordings with the widest stage, or better yet a one-sided test signal (see below), Attenuation (Spread Factor) and Delay settings have been optimized when stage width is just under 180 degrees.  Here, crosstalk cancellation is optimum. A stage wider or narrower than (just under) 180 degrees indicates incorrect settings for best cancellation.  Begin with the following settings and experiment from there:  Delay = 70-80μs (TacT Delay = .07-.08msec), Attenuation = 2.3 dB (TacT Spread Factor = 82), and Algorithm B-1.  (Note that Delay values for TacT’s new Ambiophonics unit change in .02msec increments.)  Neither Delay nor Attenuation (Spread Factor) settings are all that critical if not pursued to excess.  However, you may prefer partial crosstalk reduction (less stage width) for certain recordings or to suite your taste.

Fine Tuning Attenuation (Spread).   To cancel crosstalk at the far ear, the correction signal must arrive at the far ear at just the correct loudness.  If Attenuation is too low (Spread too high), the correction signal will be louder than needed to cancel the crosstalk.  Here, instead of the correction signal and the crosstalk canceling each other to zero, the far ear will hear a residue of the correction signal and it will be opposite in polarity to the signal heard by the near ear.  The ear/brain appears to interpret this as an increase in ILD (interaural loudness difference) and the stage gets wider.  This increased stage width results from an incorrect Attenuation (Spread) setting and not from the recording.  Insufficient Attenuation also affects center-stage soloists.  Soloists are located at center stage when the same (or nearly the same) signal arrives at both ears at the same time.  Insufficient Attenuation produces a residue of the correction signal at each far ear which is opposite in polarity to the signal at each near ear—reducing the loudness of the (almost mono) signal arriving at the near ears.  The result is a reduction in loudness of center soloists compared to side sources.  To avoid these problems, one can fine tune Attenuation (Spread):  Use a test disc with a signal on only one channel or, with a standard stereo CD, disconnect one output channel of the CD player.  You need a signal on only one of the two stereo channels.  Engage XTC.  Set Attenuation high at 4.0 dB (Spread at 65).  Do not change the Delay setting.  Gradually decrease the Attenuation (increase Spread) until the sound is located nearly 90 degrees to the side and then stop.  To confirm the stopping point, repeat the procedure with a signal on just the other channel.  The result with both channels operating should be a stage nearly 180 degrees wide with the many recordings and movies that have such stages.  In principle, it is possible to start with Attenuation low at, say, 1.5 dB (Spread at 90), working to larger attenuations rather than starting high with 4.0 dB and working to smaller attenuations.  But using small attenuations such as 1.5 dB or smaller can sometimes produce unpredictable effects such as buzzing and oscillation.  So avoid using small Attenuation values (large Spread values).

RACE assumes that the sound from a speaker arrives at the far ear with a fixed delay and loss in level.  These two values depend on the speaker angle and the size of one’s head.  As the speaker angle gets wider or one’s head gets larger, the attenuation gets larger and the delay gets longer.  With the speakers about 20- to 30-degrees apart (measured from the midrange drivers), a Delay of about 70-80μs (.07msec to .08msec) is usually correct for most people and speakers.  Changing the Delay to, say, 60μs or 90μs will probably not be audible.  You should experiment as described below to get the stage you like.  Attenuation is usually correct when set to around 2.3 dB (Spread Factor around 82) but again try varying it to get a stage just under 180 degrees.  If you have a recording of a string quartet and the violin and cello appear to be 200 feet apart, consider changing Delay and Attenuation (Spread Factor) settings for this recording.  The 200-foot wide quartet or a 70-foot wide piano indicates that the recording contains interaural loudness and/or time difference cues, picked up by the microphones, which the recording engineer could not hear while mastering because monitoring was done in conventional stereo.  Nevertheless, you are hearing what the microphones heard even if the engineer did not.

Delay and Attenuation (Spread Factor) adjustments are useful for adjusting the width of the stage.  They have the same audible effect but, when solving certain problems, both should be used.  Normally, one changes the two controls about the same percentage.  Imagine that Delay and Attenuation are controlled by two close knobs.  You connect the knobs with a rubber band so that when you turn one, the other turns similarly.  But feel free to experiment.  To find the best listener location, play a test track with a signal on only one channel or, with a standard stereo CD, disconnect one of the outputs of the CD player.  Engage XTC.  Now move closer to and farther from the speakers along their center line until the source just begins to reach as far to the side as you can get it.  This is the best listening position—the maximum crosstalk reduction on the center line—given the speaker angle, head size, and Delay and Attenuation settings used.  Repeat the single-sided experiment with the other side, checking to see that the audible stage is symmetrical.  A nonsymmetrical stage means that the speakers have different distances to the listening location or are not identical in level or frequency response.  It may be faster to use a program source with both channels operating while you adjust settings for maximum stage width.  But you are assuming, perhaps incorrectly, that the recording was mastered to have a symmetrical stage.  

If you are hearing the 180-degree stage but interior decoration requires moving the listening location farther from or closer to the speakers, move the listening chair to where you want it and change the distance between the speakers to maintain the same speaker angle used at the original listening location.  If the speaker angle is the same at the new listening location, you will not have to change the Delay and Attenuation settings.  If you do not change the distance between the speakers, then moving the listening chair has, in effect, changed the speaker angle and you must change the Delay and Attenuation settings.  Delay/Attenuation settings and speaker angle must jive—that is, for a given speaker angle (and head size), only one Delay and one Attenuation setting will produce the nearly 180-degree stage when the recording calls for it.  If you change the speaker angle, you must change Delay and Attenuation.  If you change Delay and Attenuation, you must change the speaker angle.  If Delay and Attenuation are correct for the speaker angle, you will have the longest sweet centerline coupled with the 180-degree stage.  This means that listeners can sit in front of you and behind you and they will hear the same stage you hear.  If your head suddenly shrinks to the size of a child’s head, you can reduce Delay/Attenuation without moving the speakers or reduce the speaker angle without changing Delay/Attenuation.  Either way, play with the adjustment until your new head hears the widest stage.  Within reason, Delay/Attenuation settings are not critical.

Be careful with speaker tone controls or equalizers.  When RACE calculates cancellation signals, it assumes that the speakers have identical frequency response at the listening location.  If the speakers are not identical, the cancellation signals will be incorrect.  So the speakers must have the same response at the listening location and the location must be equally distant from the speakers. 

As an example of using Delay and Attenuation (Spread Factor), you might decide to flank your new TV screen with your speakers and find that the angle between the speakers is wider than before, perhaps 25-30 degrees.  Adjust Delay and Attenuation, changing them by similar percentages, to obtain the 180-degree stage.  For speakers 25-30 degrees apart, try the larger Delay/Attenuation settings first.  On the other hand, if speakers are very closely spaced, again use Delay and Attenuation to produce the 180-degree stage.  When the stage is just under 180 degrees, crosstalk cancellation is at its maximum.  There is no theoretically ideal angle for the speakers within reason (within about 20-30 degrees).  But the 60-degree angle used in conventional stereo is far too wide and will seriously degrade performance.  RACE control settings cannot compensate for such a wide angle.  Moreover, pinna errors will return.
                                                                                                     
In some versions of RACE, including TacT’s implementation of RACE, it is possible to restrict the range of frequencies in which crosstalk reduction operates.  This is done with the Algorithms setting.  At one time, it was thought necessary to restrict the frequency range of crosstalk reduction.  This is no longer the case.  Suppose RACE is allowed to operate at low bass frequencies, say below 90 Hz.  Below 90 Hz, there is no meaningful attenuation, no meaningful bass loss, as sound travels around the head from the ear closest to the speaker to the far ear.  Since both ears hear the same low bass—even in a stereo system—all low bass is mono.  Hence, low bass frequencies cannot be localized by our ears and crosstalk in the low bass has no localization significance.  Nevertheless, RACE will try to cancel it.  While the Attenuation control may be set at a value of, say, 2 dB, the actual attenuation of low bass across the head is almost zero.  The cancellation signal will be 2 dB smaller than needed to cancel the crosstalk.  It is now thought that such errors average out so close to flat that their effect on low bass response is inaudible.  And the change in bass is several dB less than that caused by the bass boost of the stereo triangle.  Hence, what RACE does when it operates below roughly 150 Hz is acoustically meaningless.  It is also acoustically meaningless when RACE operates above roughly 10 kHz.  High frequency wavelengths are so small that crosstalk cancellation is essentially uncontrollable and random—resembling the randomness of concert hall reverberation but infinitely lower in level.  Any narrow peaks or dips produced by RACE when operating at high frequencies are unlikely to be audible.  Moreover, such peaks and dips at much lower frequencies are inherent in stereophonic reproduction and these peaks and dips are removed by RACE.  So why provide an Algorithm control if the full range setting is almost always the best choice?  The control was provided because it was easy to create and because it might be fun to experiment with it—and it has been used in laboratory studies.  A-1 and B-1 have the same effect and normally work best for general use.  A-5 and B-5 produce a noticeably narrower stage. 

4- and 6-Speaker Systems

Ambiophonic 4.x and 6.x systems provide a 360-degree sound field and slightly widen—perhaps by 5 to 10 degrees—each side of the stage compared to the basic 2.x Ambiophonic system.  The 4.x and 6.x systems were developed not only to enhance reproduction in music-only systems but also to provide surround sound for movies.  A 4.x system contains two closely-spaced front speakers and two closely-spaced rear speakers.  Two different RACE programs are needed, one for the front speakers and one for the rear speakers.  One can reproduce 4.x or 5.x DVDs or SACDs.  One never needs a center speaker—front or rear.  Set your player to the no-center-speaker setting for both movies and music.  The result is called Panambiophonics or Panambio.  If music recordings or movies are made with a direct sound, 180-degree wide rear stage, then it is possible to hear voices, instruments, or sound effects anywhere in the horizontal plane.  Imaging at the extreme sides is easy to achieve, unlike 5.1 where such localization is impossible.  Normally, one can sit anywhere on the line between the two pairs of speakers and experience the full circle of sound.  With four speakers going, even off-center listening is usually more enjoyable than off-center 5.1 listening since, with 4.x, it is harder to identify a speaker’s location and one can still separate front sources from rear.

It is possible to make a four-channel music recording that records a 180-degree rear circle of hall ambience for the rear two speakers and a 180-degree front circle of ambience (plus direct-sound instruments) for the front two speakers.  Such a recording can be reproduced Panambiophonically to create a domestic concert hall which lacks only ceiling reflections to mimic fully the hall in which the performance was recorded.  Such recordings are now being made on an experimental basis.  The rear channels can include rear instruments for unusual musical effects or sound effects if the recording is a movie soundtrack.

One can try Panambiophonics without cost by downloading RACE from the Ambiophonics site and configuring Audiomulch with dual RACE chains in a PC.  The RACE chains look the same but will have different inputs and outputs for 4.x and the settings for the chains should be slightly different.   One can also obtain Panambiophonics commercially from TacT Audio, which includes it in their TCS and Ambiophonics models.  With either RACE PC or TacT RACE, provision is made for switching easily between 2.x (Ambiophonic) and 4.x (Panambiophonic) modes.  The TacT boxes come with demonstration 4.0 DVD and SACD surround music samplers.

A 6.x system simply adds side speakers to the 4.x configuration.  The side speakers are added to tickle the ears with side pinna cues and provide a head shadow when a side source is reproduced.  Since the pinna and head provide localization cues above roughly 200 Hz, side speakers need operate only in that range.  Side speakers produce only a very small improvement in side imaging over a 4.x system.  If you are engrossed in music or film, you may not notice the improvement.  It is provided for perfectionists.  Ideally, the side speakers should be turned off or limited to frequencies above 1,000 Hz when recordings made with the Ambiophone or other dummy-head recording microphones are being played.  (An Ambiophone is a special microphone/recording set up using a baffled four-microphone dummy head without outer ears designed to maximize realism when played back on Ambiophonic systems.)

The four speakers in a 4.x system will clearly outperform a 5.1 surround system.  The 4.x system will provide seamless surround without hot spots, without sonic gaps between surround speakers, without localization to surround speakers, and with precise imaging at all angles including side and rear imaging.  Again, even though 4.x does not use side speakers, 4.x provides better side imaging than 5.1, 7.1, or 10.2 systems.  6.x Ambiophonics is only a hair better at side imaging than 4.x.  Moreover, 4.x and 6.x Ambiophonic systems, with the front speakers flanking the screen, provide a fine center image for dialogue without needing a center speaker.  But you do need to set the CD/DVD player to the no-center-speaker setting.  The player will then split the center signal and add it to the main left and main right speakers.  Similarly, if DTS or Dolby decoding is done in a processor, set it to divide the center channel equally between the left and right front channels.

The only TacT Audio unit that currently provides for side speakers is the TCS.  To implement side speakers for the other TacT units, pass the front stereo pair through a Pro Logic decoder in an outboard receiver or processor feeding an amplifier.  Attach your left side speaker to the left main speaker output and your right side speaker to the right main speaker output.  Tell the Pro Logic unit that five full-range speakers will be used.  That way, only side signals (labeled front left and front right) will be sent to the side speakers.  The Pro Logic box will provide a volume control.  See below for more details.

Two-Channel Media with 4 or 6 speakers

When playing two-channel media such as CDs or LPs, feeding a RACE signal to the rear speakers noticeably enhances stage width and depth—and makes all the various adjustments seem less critical.  The front and rear RACE signals should be similar but not identical in order to avoid audible peaks and dips.  Using the rear speakers on two-channel media insures that not all hall ambience comes unrealistically from the front.  For a side source, rear speakers provide a second, quite different rearward pinna pattern that combines with the same-side frontal pinna pattern.  This allows the brain to localize more easily to the extreme side.  The exact mechanism of why this works is unknown.  One possibility is that the final pattern that reaches the ear canal averages out relatively flat and therefore seems to come from a direction where the ear canal has a direct view of the sound source which, of course, is at the side.  Another possibility is that this novel pattern is unknown to the brain and thus is ignored.  With two-channel media, using two speakers directly behind the listening position increases stage width roughly 15 degrees and enhances the feeling of depth and spaciousness.  But it can also slightly reduce precision of the imaging.

One can add side speakers to a 4.x system, making it a 6.x system.  Side speakers do not use RACE.  Instead, one can feed side speakers the unprocessed stereo signal to slightly widen the stage and to slightly improve side imaging.  Ideally, one puts the stereo signal through a Pro Logic decoder and tells the decoder that there is a center speaker and rear speakers.  Here, the decoder will send a signal to the side speakers only when there is a strong, one-sided input.  Moreover, when stereo signals are applied to speakers 180-degrees apart, as are the side speakers, a hole-in-the-middle develops and therefore the side speakers will have little or no effect on the central part of the stage.  Again, one adjusts the level of the side speakers to widen and deepen the stage.  In general, however, rear speakers work a bit better than side speakers at widening the stage.  But this usually requires two versions of RACE as in PC systems, TacT TCS, and TacT Ambiophonics.  While RACE-driven rear speakers widen and deepen the stage, and add rear ambience, side speakers (with or without Pro Logic) can only help stabilize imaging at the extreme sides where many movies have sound effects.  You can use side and rear speakers at the same time without problems as long as levels are not excessive.  Again, as in 4.0, if the 2-channel recording was made with an Ambiophone or with another dummy head, side speakers may not be needed.  If needed, they will work better if limited to frequencies above 1,000 Hz.

It is possible for owners of the TacT 2.2 XP to use its single RACE to drive 4 speakers.  But an audible suckout might occur if one is unlucky.
                          
Speaker and Room Set Up  

The preferred room set up for 2-, 4-, and 6-speaker Ambiophonics is the same.  The rear speakers need not be the same brand or type as the front speakers.  Delay and Attenuation (Spread) must be set for the rear speakers and with the same criteria used for the front speakers.  The rear stage should have the same width as the front stage.  A purist should face the rear speakers when making the adjustments.  Compared to the front speakers, the rear speakers should not have the same angle or the same distance from the listener.  The reason is that, when you set Delay and Attenuation (Spread) for front and rear to create the same front and rear stage width, the rear settings will be different from the front settings.  If everything is too symmetrical, some averaging potential is lost.  Moreover, there is a remote risk that, if everything front and rear is exactly identical, audible peaks and dips can occur with slight head motions.  Normally, the level of the rears should be about the same as the level of the fronts.  But feel free to experiment with all the variables.  The goal is to produce a front stage of nearly 180 degrees for music or for movies with sound effects at the sides and a rear stage with the same width.  When front and rear settings produce the same stage width, nearly 180 degrees, crosstalk reduction is optimum for front and rear speakers.  Once you know the optimum settings, feel free to back off the settings to reduce the stage width to suit your taste or the recording.  Whether you back off the settings or not, if you rotate to face the rear speakers—keeping your head in the same spot—you should hear the same stage width but reversed.  Listen to just one stage at a time with the other silent.

Room Correction

Correction of speaker and room deficiencies has always been part of Ambiophonic theory.  Devices intended for speaker and room correction have been commercially available from TacT, Lyngdorf, DEQX, and so on.  Typically, the function is simply called room correction.  Those running RACE crosstalk cancellation on a PC will likely find compatible room correction software available in the near future.  All TacT products that provide crosstalk cancellation (XTC mode) also provide room correction.

When assembling a system with both room correction and RACE crosstalk reduction, one must decide which should come first in the signal path.  If the speakers and the room are identical for both channels, then it does not matter whether room correction is done before or after RACE crosstalk cancellation—as long as room correction is the same for both channels, which would be normal for this case.  If the speakers and room are not identical for both channels, we believe that RACE crosstalk reduction should come first.  The signal path would be:
 
program source --> crosstalk reduction --> room correction --> amplification --> speakers

TacT devices use the above signal path.

Consider what would happen if the room were dissimilar for the two channels and room correction were done first. Suppose, when measuring a 500Hz signal at the listening chair, the left channel has a 7dB peak and the right channel has a 4dB valley. The correction logic will therefore cut the signal to the left speaker by 7dB and boost the signal to the right speaker by 4dB so that the direct sound from the speakers sounds flat. Again, before the left signal even gets to the crosstalk canceller, room correction for the left channel will cut the 500Hz level by 7dB. The left channel of the crosstalk canceller will create a cancellation signal for the right speaker by inverting the polarity of the left signal­, but the 7dB cut at 500Hz remains in this cancellation signal. This cancellation signal is intended for the right ear and when the right speaker launches it, it will be 7dB too low. Additionally, the cancellation signal fed to the right speaker was subjected to left channel room correction but not right channel room correction.  Since the uncorrected right speaker has a 4dB dip, the total cancellation signal will be 11dB below what is required to cancel the original acoustically flat signal coming from the left speaker to the right ear. (This ignores head shadow and the corresponding XTC attenuation setting). Thus, doing room/speaker correction or any asymmetric equalization before XTC is not a good idea.  
 
If crosstalk cancellation is done first, the subsequent room correction ideally makes both speakers identical in level and timing when measured at the listening chair and thus there will be no problem.  Indeed, RACE will function at its best.  The result will be a wider stage, cleaner localization, and a better sense of depth.  When effective room correction follows RACE, one can think of the room correction as part of the circuitry of the speakers making them appear perfectly matched to RACE.

For almost all conventional home speaker systems, room correction will make a clearly audible improvement in Ambiophonic performance—even more so than with standard stereo.  But if one is lucky enough to have excellent speakers properly located in an excellent room, one might not hear an important difference from room correction.  In fact, if one is not careful, room correction can make the sound worse.  For example, if the microphone is not equidistant from the speakers when measuring the room, then room correction might introduce time delay differences for the two channels that will degrade crosstalk cancellation.  In a problem room, a broad, high amplitude peak in measured response might fool some room correction software into thinking that not only must the peak be reduced but also the overall level.

If one hears a loss of stage width, or if the stage gets one-sided, when room correction is turned on, then the room measurement should be repeated or the impulse response and correction filter parameters should be examined for anomalies.  A nearly foolproof technique for room correction is to apply the same correction filters to both speakers.  In Ambiophonics, the front speakers are so close together that the room response is likely to be very similar for both speakers and, if the speaker frequency responses are reasonably similar, a single correction curve for both channels is likely to yield excellent crosstalk reduction.

Whether or not room correction has been engaged, one can use channel level and delay controls to fine tune the width and symmetry of the stage.  Thus, if the correction curves are not quite identical in level, one can adjust the channel level controls to compensate.  Similarly, if the delay from each speaker to the listener is not identical, the left or right channel delays can be tweaked to compensate—thus optimizing stage width and symmetry.  This is easily done by feeding the left channel music or test signal to both speakers and then feeding the right channel music or test signal to both speakers.  In each case, one should adjust controls to achieve maximum stage width and symmetry.

Additional Reading

Additional reading on these topics can be found on this web site: http://www.ambiophonics.org/