FIR Designer Software FAQs
FIR Designer software offers much more than audio FIR filter design.
Learn what the software can do, what makes it unique, who uses it, how the different products compare, and how to choose. Download a free demo and try it for yourself.
For more detailed information about specific features, workflows, compatibility and licensing, see the information and FAQs on the relevant product, feature and support pages throughout the Eclipse Audio website. For tech support, visit our Support Forum.
What can FIR Designer software do?
FIR Designer is professional audio DSP software from Eclipse Audio for designing custom FIR filters, IIR filter EQ & mixed FIR+IIR processing for loudspeakers and other DSP-based audio playback systems.
Using imported audio measurement data, FIR Designer can be used to design EQ for individual loudspeakers or speaker systems. Full presets or individual filters & settings can be exported for use in several formats for use in a wide range of professional audio DSP processors, amplifiers & other audio devices.
The FIR Designer range includes tools for both single and multi-channel DSP design and all software is available for both macOS and Windows operating systems.
Who is FIR Designer software designed for?
FIR Designer is designed for audio professionals working with loudspeakers and DSP-based audio systems, including AV designers and system integrators, system engineers and installers, AV technicians, acoustic consultants, loudspeaker designers and manufacturers, embedded audio engineers, consumer audio device manufacturers and audio educators.
The software is built for professional audio use rather than general consumer EQ of home or car audio systems.
What makes FIR Designer different from other audio DSP design software ?
FIR Designer was released in 2016, and has been continuously developed since then by audio DSP specialist Michael John Smithers. It has evolved through ongoing development, professional user feedback and collaboration with other professional audio manufacturers & software providers such as Bose Professional, JBL Professional, PowerSoft, and Rational Acoustics.
What particularly distinguishes the FIR Designer range is the breadth of its workflow within a single DSP design environment. FIR Designer is built around both the measured response of the loudspeaker or audio system, and the destination DSP processor that will ultimately implement the processing. Rather than focusing solely on FIR filter generation, the workflow includes advanced automated and manual optimization tools for designing, analyzing and exporting DSP processing for real-world audio systems. The workflow combines both FIR and IIR filter design with processor-specific IIR implementations, conversion across DSP brands, extensive measurement import and DSP export options. FIR Designer also includes auditionDSP, a unique built-in real-time DSP processor and audio player that lets users listen to the effect of their DSP design before exporting it to the destination processor. Together, these capabilities allow experienced audio professionals to design, evaluate and audition custom EQ that is precisely tailored to their processor and specific design objectives.
Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach to DSP optimization, FIR Designer gives users detailed control over the design process while substantially accelerating the iterative work involved in loudspeaker and system optimization.
FIR Designer is used across the professional audio industry, with a well-established global user base. Reviews from respected audio pros have praised its practical filter-design workflow and professional DSP capabilities.
What types of audio DSP filters can FIR Designer create?
FIR Designer supports a wide range of FIR and IIR filter types which can be combined in an almost unlimited number of ways to create completely custom designs for DSP processing. Built-in IIR filter types include include parametric, low and high shelf, notch, band-pass, all-pass, and low-pass & high-pass Bessel, Butterworth, 2nd order variable Q, Chebyshev I & II, Elliptic, Linkwitz/Riley & Neville Thiele notched crossovers.
FIR Designer also includes brand-specific IIR filter modes to help users design custom speaker and system EQ that matches their chosen processor & control software.
Can FIR Designer design FIR crossovers for loudspeakers?
Yes. FIR Designer can be used to create FIR only, IIR filter only and mixed FIR+IIR crossover configurations for multi-way loudspeakers, including designs with custom magnitude and phase responses.
In addition to providing common crossover filter types, FIR Designer can mimic an IIR crossover filter’s magnitude response as a linear-phase FIR filter, and generate a complementary high-pass or low-pass linear-phase FIR filter. This functionality delivers flexibility in crossover design, enabling a much wider range of crossover characteristics to be used in multi-way loudspeaker designs, beyond the crossover types that naturally sum flat. Learn more about FIR Designer’s unique complementary linear phase crossovers.
This project example demonstrates how to use FIR Designer to create FIR Filters with crossovers for a 2-way loudspeaker.
What’s the difference between FIR Designer and FIR Designer M?
FIR Designer and FIR Designer M (Multi-way) share the same DSP design functionality, but FIR Designer has a single-channel workflow whereas FIR Designer M allows for up to six channels of DSP processing to be designed and simulated simultaneously, along with the combined system response.
(FIR Designer could technically still be used for creating processing for a multi-way loudspeaker, but each channel would need to be saved and loaded separately & the combined response measured from the processor.)
FIR Designer M also includes some export options not shared with FIR Designer because they’re only relevant for multi-way systems.
See the Feature Comparison Table.
What’s the difference between FIR Designer and FIR Creator?
There are two FIR Creator products; regular FIR Creator and FIR Creator EX (the ‘EX’ stands for Export). Both options are single channel and provide the core tools for custom audio DSP design. FIR Creator has a generic IIR filter set as well as limits on the number of filters & filter prototypes than can be used in a project. FIR Creator EX has no filter limits and also includes expanded processor export options, branded filter modes and Smaart Control functionality.
FIR Designer is a full-featured DSP design tool. It’s based on the same DSP design workflow used in all of Eclipse Audio’s DSP design software, but adds extensive additional functionality for advanced design and optimization (such as AutoIIR, filter conversion, measurement averaging and the auditionDSP built-in media player.)
The pricing page provides a good summary of the different features available in each product. For a more extensive breakdown of functionality for each product, see the DSP software comparison table.
Which audio DSP design software should I choose?
The best product depends on the type of speaker or system you’re designing and the level of functionality required. If you’re creating a multi-channel design, you’ll need FIR Designer M.
For single-channel design, there are three options. Consider FIR Creator if you only need to create simple designs (combining no more than 8 IIR filters and 8 FIR filter prototypes) and are working with sample rates of 44.1, 48, 93.75 or 96 kHz. If you don’t want filter limits and/or need access to an expanded set of sample rates plus brand-specific EQ filters, FIR Creator EX would be more appropriate than FIR Creator. For access to our most advanced EQ design functionality, well beyond what’s available in FIR Creator EX, choose FIR Designer. FIR Designer delivers expanded EQ design options plus access to the full set of built-in tools – including AutoIIR, filter conversion, measurement averaging and the auditionDSP built-in media player. FIR Designer is the preferred choice for experienced audio professionals who regularly design and implement EQ across different systems and DSP brands, and need maximum flexibility plus tools that accelerate repetitive design and optimization tasks. It is also the product used by loudspeaker and audio-device manufacturers developing proprietary FIR filters and DSP processing for integration into their products.
For a detailed feature-by-feature comparison, check the comparison table.
