I was thinking about getting a mic from minidsp but it seems like this is quite invovled (while not a computer wizard I am generally a prosumer wiling/capable of doing basic level tweeking/computer stuff)
I watched this video and I was like you need a lot more than just a calibrated mic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYMQ6M-Z5rM
I expected it to be just slightly more sophisticated than the Sonos One / Denon AVR Audessey type of room detection stuff.
This is too much work.
Most of the stuff that guy goes through you only have to do once. You don’t need an SPL meter so that part is optional, you just need enough signal to make a measurement. I would look at the manual for calibration and measurement procedures.
Because REW can work with any mic, sound card, computer, amp etc, there are more settings to play with. IT is also much more powerful than some AVR calibration and can give you information you can use anywhere. The AVR already knows the mic sensitivity and gain settings to use so none of those settings are really necessary.
Doing speaker measurements should be gated (maybe 5ms) to remove reflections rather than long ones like this guy does. Room measurements are long like he shows.