trouble getting it right (1 Viewer)

[pookie]

hi... I've just bought a set of 5.1 wharfdale crystal speakers and a sherwood 7.1 amp. I previosly had 5.1 onkyo system.
problem is I just can't seem to get the same clarity and realism from my setup as I had with onkyo :-(
I think I may have crossovers wrong. I've got front speakers set to large..all others set to small.
I've got my sub set on half volume and 80khz 'these are settings on the sub itself'.
I've got the crossover set on the amp at 80khz also.
Im actually finding the sherwood amp harder to configure than my 15yr old onkyo..
i am not really tech savvy when it comes to home theatre so any advice would be great..
oh.. and Im using a spare set of wharfdale front speakers as my surround speakers..and the smaller surrounds as my surround back speakers.
cheers
pookie

 

[Al.Anderson]

A few things. Unless your sub is really bad, you want the fronts set to small. Otherwise only the pure LFE channel is sent to the sub, not all the lower frequencies. (When set to small, the receiver sends the lower frequencies of *all* the channels to the sub).
Also, if your receiver has a crossover adjustment (as most do, including yours), then turn off the sub's crossover. (If it doesn't have an 'off', set it to the maximum.)
Finally, if the Sherwood (model# would help) doesn't have an auto calibration, then you have to get a calibration disk and an SPL meter and go at it old-school.
http://www.amazon.com/Disney-WOW-World-Wonder-Blu-ray/dp/B0045ASBLG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1356790726&sr=8-5&keywords=audio+calibration+disc
http://www.amazon.com/USB-Digital-Sound-Level-Meter/dp/B005JX2EZ2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1356790756&sr=8-2&keywords=spl+meter

 

[schan1269]

It would also help to know which speakers are included in your particular Crystal set(Wharfedale has 5 different pre-package variations).

 

[pookie]

hi..
thanks for your replies so far
the sherwood is a 'rd-7505'
the surround large wharfdale speakers are 'Crystal cr 30.5'
the front large whatfdales are ones I already had 'Atlantic 500'
only diff between them is sensitivity rating.
Im not using the small surrounds atm.
sub is a diamond sw 100.
hope that helps
cheers
pookie

 

[pookie]

hi again... sorry I forgot to adress the question of calibration... Im not sure what that refers to exactly however the amp does have a microphone that I put at the listeners position and ran some auto config thing. would that be it ?
cheers
pookie

 

[schan1269]

hi again... sorry I forgot to adress the question of calibration... Im not sure what that refers to exactly however the amp does have a microphone that I put at the listeners position and ran some auto config thing. would that be it ?
cheers
pookie

Yep, that is the room EQ.

 

[pookie]

ah ok well I did that.
what about ch levels ? I've got fronts at +8db .. centre at +10db ... rears at +9db ... and sub at +8db..
cheers
pookie

 

[gene c]

Those settings are way too high. Automatic setup features usually set one speaker to 0 and adjust the rest to match it. All speakers at + 8 to + 10 must put a real strain on something somewhere. I usually set the center channel to 0 and match the rest to it when setting speakers volumes manually.
Also, these auto setup features usually set the speakers to Large and the crossover too low. Even though those Wharfdale's are pretty big and are listed as going down to 40 hz you should have the speakers set to Small and the crossover set no lower than 60 when using a subwoofer. For music 40, or even Large/Full Range, might be O.K. but for movies you're risking damage as there is a ton of deep bass mixed in dvd/br's that could terrorize those Wharfdales's. Especially with the volumes set to +8 and above.
You could also try tweaking the eq a little if the Sherwood allows manual eq adjustments but most people (myself included ) usually just make things worse. Or turn the eq off if you can and see if you like things better.

 

[pookie]

hmm ok. ill do the auto eq thing again and certainly keep the ch lvls down
atm I've got the sub crossover set to max on the sub itself...and the sub volume set to half..again on the sub itself.
I've got all spkrs set to small.
and I've got the crossover on the amp set to 80.
but
now I notice depending on the source I Dont always get surround and end up choosing a preset thing until I get to either pro logic 2 or something called neo.
this is usually the case with tv programs and streamed movies from Netflix via my apple tv3.
it seems ok with blue ray dvds .. on auto surround it is surround.
does anyone know if there is an indicator on the amp to tell me Im in dts mode ? it just seems to display the word 'digital'.. whereas my onkyo was more specific.
weird ?
cheers
pookie

 

[schan1269]

It can only do DTS when you've chosen a DTS source. Now if it is 2.0pcm, then everything "non digital" can be used.
So, if you put in a disc with a DTS soundtrack...DD doesn't do anything. DTS does.

 

[gene c]

hmm ok. ill do the auto eq thing again and certainly keep the ch lvls down
atm I've got the sub crossover set to max on the sub itself...and the sub volume set to half..again on the sub itself.
I've got all spkrs set to small.
and I've got the crossover on the amp set to 80.
but
now I notice depending on the source I Dont always get surround and end up choosing a preset thing until I get to either pro logic 2 or something called neo.
this is usually the case with tv programs and streamed movies from Netflix via my apple tv3.
it seems ok with blue ray dvds .. on auto surround it is surround.
does anyone know if there is an indicator on the amp to tell me Im in dts mode ? it just seems to display the word 'digital'.. whereas my onkyo was more specific.
weird ?
cheers
pookie

Your settings look reasonable.
Neo:6 is DTS's version of ProLogic II. It will take a two channel stereo signal and add the center and surrounds as best it can.
It could be the way things are hooked up or it could be some settings in the individual components like a cable or satellite box. They may have to be set to Dolby Digital instead of Stereo. If you have your display connected to the receiver with an optical cord it will only send a stereo (2.0) signal to the receiver, not a 5.1 signal. All components should be connected straight to the receiver for audio (either optical/coaxial digital or hdmi. According to the manual (pg 13) there's a line on the bottom, to the left of where the "Digital" icon is displayed, where the various DTS and DD icons would be lit when receiving those signals. If none or lit then the the input signal is probably a digital stereo one.

 

[pookie]

Im using the same optical cable I used with the onkyo .. everything seemed easier with onkyo..it switched itself to dts or dd or pcm :-(
anyway ill keep trying.. so far I have put dts dvd in but it doesn't display dts on front panel of amp..it still says digital..
so do I use hdmi cable for video image only or for audio too ?
atm I've got a combination of optical fibre and hdmi plugged into everything ..
cheers
pookie

 

[schan1269]

You should only have HDMI. My "guess"...
You have the audio ouput(which regardless of optical or HDMI) set downmix.
It would help if you get to your BD/DVD/PS3(on my phone so scrolling is easy...) Audio Menus for where you get to choose how DD/DTS etc are handled...take a picture(if all on one screen...great, if more than one...take more pics) and post here.

 

[schan1269]

On phone, scrolling ISN'T easy...
Typing isn't easy either...

 

[pookie]

what's downmix ? how do I check ?

 

[schan1269]

What sources...as in BRANDS/MODEL NUMBERS...do you have? In audio, in your devices, you have choices of downmix or DTS or downmix or DD. Every single cable/sat/OTA box ever made since the dawn of HD TV has a downmix or DD selection. Every single DVD(that has optical connections) ever made, PERIOD, has downmix or DD/DTS settings. ALL OF THEM, MEANING EVERY SINGLE ONE YOU COULD POSSIBLE EVER IN YOUR LIFETIME COME UP WITH. Every single BD player ever made that has ever been on the market from $40 to $40,000 has downmix or DTS/DD/DTS HD/Dolby TrueHD, period. You have to, period, end of every single discussion, have your sources, which again are your STB/DVD/BD, set correctly or they don't work correctly. Redundant enough for you?

 

[gene c]

The DTS (and Dolby Digital) Downmix setting is available in the audio setup menu's of dvd, bluray and cable/satellite boxes. It takes the 5.1 DTS and DD surround sound formats and "downmixes" them to two channel stereo. If you have accidently set one or more of these devices to "Downmix" either DTS and/or DD it/they will only send a stereo signal to your receiver. DVD/BR players must also be set to output "Bitstream" or "Auto" and not PCM which will also send out a stereo signal. LPCM is O.K. for dvd/bluray players that offer that option. In LPCM the player will decode the 5.1 signal and send it to the receiver. You (and everyone else) must make sure the appropriate settings are selected in the source devices setup menu's as well as the receiver's setup menu's in order to take advantage of all the things they have to offer. All this can be frustrating but the end result is worth the aggravation (most of the time ).