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i'm still a bit confused on how to calibrate the system with a sound level meter (1 Viewer)

AlbertA

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Nov 3, 1999
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EDIT - the manual that came with the sub says "ensure your subwoofer's volume control is set 1/4 to 1/3 up, to start. it also says to set the receiver's test tones to no higher than "-5dB" initially
Oh ok. Yeah, you should follow that.

And higher than -5 means -4, -3, etc. Remember your negative numbers?
 

AlbertA

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Nov 3, 1999
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What are you listening to?

Have you doubled check your settings on the receiver, like all speakers small, sub on?

Are you are hearing any bass at all? If not check your connections. Is the sub on? did you disengage the crossover in the sub? Double check everything...
 

Mike Matthews

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Aug 1, 2003
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the connections are made and the sub is on....the walls rattle when i calibrate it! it's definitely working...and i hear a load of bass when i turn the gain up high...but i don't think i should have to turn it up that loud...

the SVS manual says to use to disable the Crossover switch, so that the sub will reproduce only what it's fed from the receiver. it says to only enable the feature when in a 2-channel set-up

maybe my crossover frequency is set wrong on the receiver? i have it set to 80

i'm running Monitor 11s and Mini Minitors. all speakers are set to "small" in the set-up, too
 

Mike Matthews

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well, i just popped in a concert DVD, and there was definitely some bass on that

i wonder why it doesn't seem as prevelant when i listen to music though...

either way, i can just turn it up and down on the subwoofer itself and not worry about throwing my system out of whack, right?
 

AlbertA

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Nov 3, 1999
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On the Denon every input remembers the speaker level settings (pressing the enter button on the remote cycles through all the speakers level)

So that means, that if you put the receiver on CD input (to listen to music), you can adjust the level of the subwoofer for that input. That way your other inputs like for example DVD won't be thrown out of balance (too much bass when watching a movie for example).
 

Mike Matthews

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Aug 1, 2003
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ahh, good to know about the receiver


also - i'm an idiot and realized that i get no bass because i've been listening to music in 5 channel stereo!

EDIT - ok, after playing with the individual receiver settings, i can still listen to 5 channel stereo and up the bass. i thought i needed it around -2 or so, but on the reviever...i have to get the numbers in the "+" range to get the bass. so i have it around +8 now for the subwoofer and that's great. with an SVS sub, it's not dangerous to have the bass level high (around +10 or +11), right?
 

AlbertA

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Sorry I misinformed you. It's not the input that remembers the settings is the mode (like direct, stereo, dolby, 5ch stereo). In any case I think you got it....

As far as being dangerous, just make sure the driver doesn't bottom out (you would hear some clank sound not sure how to describe it) but I'll doubt you would as long as your not listening at deafening levels....
 

Sebastian

Second Unit
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Apr 14, 2002
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361
THe driver has reached its mechanical limits. It can only move in and out so far and if push to hard at a low frequency it will bottom out.
As for no Bass present, welcome to HT!
If you were like me you came from gobs amount of bass and calibrated your HT sub and played music and the bass was missing.
I actually had to adjust my sub to be 10-15 dB higher on my sub at first to let my ears get accustomed to a calibrated sub. Now I am +5 - 7 db and the bass is perfect for DVD's! but then again I do not listed to it at loud volumes.
However I still like a little more bass in my music. Good thing I don't listen to music much anymore.
:D
 

Mike Matthews

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still a little confused. so on the revceiver, to increase bass, i have to raise the levels to the "+" mark (+7, +10, etc). i thought negative numbers = louder volume and lower bass. so why do my speakers get louder when they're in the "+" range on the receiver? i tried to get some info from the FAQ, but this decibal stuff is confusing, and i feel like it's contradicting...
 

Sebastian

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Apr 14, 2002
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Mike,
Why do you think negative #'s equal louder volume? From my experience +5dB has always been louder than -5dB.
It will make the bass sound lower in volume but not louder
 

Mike Matthews

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Aug 1, 2003
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i have no idea why i thought that...i think all these negatives and positives and dBs confused me!

so, if i change individual receiver channel levels for different settings (5 ch. stereo, dolby digital, tv/dbs), it won't mess up all the calibration i initially did on the system, right?
 

Sebastian

Second Unit
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Apr 14, 2002
Messages
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so, if i change individual receiver channel levels for different settings (5 ch. stereo, dolby digital, tv/dbs), it won't mess up all the calibration i initially did on the system, right?
The calibrations (dB level) you did for each speaker channel should not change in different DSP modes.
Just double check them because on my Onkyo I have to cycle through the reciever test tones after I calibrate with VE to get them to save.
 

AlbertA

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Nov 3, 1999
Messages
107
On the Denon 2802, if you adjust the channel levels through the main menu it will set all the modes(stereo, dolby, etc..) to the levels you calibrate to.

So yes, changing the settings will mess up your calibration, but don't worry about it. Take calibration as a guideline, you are free to tweat it here and there to your liking....
 

Mike Matthews

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Aug 1, 2003
Messages
140
ok - one last question (maybe):

A) how often should one calibrate one's system? once a month? once a year? is this something that should be done regularly, every so often, or rarely? i suppose it probably depends on how often you adjust audio levels for each setting..

B) is it normal to have all of your audio channels set to a different level. when i calibrate, i don't really look at the levels on the display. instead, i just watch the SPL meter and make sure everything's reading the same level. however, once i've finished doing this, none of the levels seem to "balance out." by this, i mean that my levels will look something like this:

Front Left: -2dB
Front Right: -1dB
Center: 0dB
Surround Left: -4dB
Surround Right: -5dB
Subwoofer: -1dB

then i'll try the calibration again, and get a similar result (with slightly different numbers). my questions is whether it's best to tweak the system so that both front speakers are the same level, and both surround speakers are the same level (Albert A DID say that calibration is just a guideline). or should i leave it like it is? or does it not make THAT much of a difference. i've found that i often play with the subwoofer levels in order to get different amounts of bass depending on the music or movie. i just feel like, logically, the fronts should be at the same level, as should the surrounds. any advice on this topic?
 

AlbertA

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Nov 3, 1999
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a) I tend to calibrate every time I change components, or move the speakers or have new furniture.

b) yeah, it's pretty much normal to have them at different levels. You are trying to match the sound level output of speakers in different locations, in probably less than ideal room conditions (most of us). 1 db difference is pretty good though , and the surrounds are probably lower because you are closer to them.

Some people play with the subwoofer level too, setting it to a level that is comfortable and enjoyable for them.
 

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