It is rather more advanced than your description. Amongst other things, the construction of floors, wall and ceilings is selectable, absorbtion can be calibrated up and down on a sliding scale, and doors, windows and other openings accounted for - even double glazed or not. Of course, there’s nothing to stop a keen user carrying out microphone checks with the necessary extra kit. But Linn seem to mostly sell lifestyle designs/systems today, hence SO enables a dealer to get the best results when on installation they’re asked to put speakers nearer the corner (say) than an audiophile would choose.Case in point, Linn's DSP (referred to as their 'Space Optimisation' software) doesn't use room-based microphone measurements, but instead relies on generic input data (room dimensions, average furnishings categories etc).
I prefer the traditional compromise of speakers placed optimally, but I have found with some speakers that SO has improved the results noticeably. My preference remains to avoid it, however, just like I’d avoid tone controls.
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