Audyssey MultEQ: Questions and Answers - Onkyo, Denon, et. al. - Page 2

audyssey · 11-09-2007, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin C Brown

I have a question about dynamic equaliztion. I do like this idea ... in theory. My problem or question is this: Does the amount of eq depend on the volume knob setting, or the actual level of the recording?

Hi Kevin,

The answer is: Dynamic EQ looks at both. In developing Dynamic EQ, we looked at the exact problem you are referring to. To have proper loudness correction, there are several things to pay attention to:

1) the reference level at which the recording was made
2) the playback level measured in the room where the recording is being reproduced
3) the proper psychoacoustic loudness curves
4) the loudness level of the content measured moment-by-moment
5) for surround content, the "surround impression" delivered by the surround speakers

For movie content all the reference level at which the recording was made is known in advance. It is a standard that all mixes adhere to. However, for music content there are no strict standards imposed by the industry. We surveyed several key mastering studios and found that the best ones are starting to converge to the same reference as film, but there is still some variation. One of the key elements in Dynamic EQ is to monitor the perceived loudness of the content as it is playing. So, for softer passages we apply more loudness correction and for louder passages we apply less. This is required even if the volume control is not changing in order to better match what human hearing expects.

Regards,
Chris

Adam_R · 11-09-2007, 06:31 PM

Well I just got my 3808 and finished the Audyssey setup, and I must admit, it sounds very light on bass.

If I tweak the sub level, it kills my Audyssey settings right?

I think I can adjust the gain on the sub amp to suit my tastes.

Still messing with it.

And BTW - It found all my speakers as "small" as is should!

Kevin C Brown · 11-09-2007, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by audyssey

Hi Kevin,

The answer is: Dynamic EQ looks at both. ...
For movie content all the reference level at which the recording was made is known in advance. It is a standard that all mixes adhere to. However, for music content there are no strict standards imposed by the industry. ... One of the key elements in Dynamic EQ is to monitor the perceived loudness of the content as it is playing. So, for softer passages we apply more loudness correction and for louder passages we apply less. This is required even if the volume control is not changing in order to better match what human hearing expects.

Kevin C Brown · 11-09-2007, 08:33 PM

Chris- Sweet.

You are exactly right about movies. For Dolby Digital (and most DTS) DVD soundtracks, I can pretty much set the volume at -25 dB and I'm good to go. It's CDs where the big difference comes in. Cool !!

I have a Lexicon MC-12 and it has a similar feature, but I don't think it's content level dependent. (Although I'll have to check on that sometime.) I don't use it because it increases the bass response too much for my taste.

Oh, Chris- Is that dynamic eq function tweakble at all? For example, if I could tweak Lexicon's approach to do almost exactly 50% of what it's doing now, I'd be happy. Kind of like a low, med, high dynamic eq setting instead of just on or off.

??

audyssey · 11-11-2007, 12:11 AM

Hi Kevin,

You haven't even tried it and you want to tweak it already? Give it a chance!

But seriously, what we try very hard to do at Audyssey is to stay in the objective domain as much as possible. Just like MultEQ, Dynamic EQ is about rendering sound as close to reference conditions as possible. So for now, there is no ability to tweak it within Audyssey as that would put us in the business of subjective adjustments. You can, of course, still play with tone controls to tweak the bass if you end up not liking it.

Regards,
Chris

Kevin C Brown · 11-12-2007, 08:21 PM

I'll have to check it out sometime. I do like the idea.

RAF · 11-13-2007, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam_R

Well I just got my 3808 and finished the Audyssey setup, and I must admit, it sounds very light on bass.

If I tweak the sub level, it kills my Audyssey settings right?

Adam,

A quick thought (which may or may not apply in your particular situation).

Does your subwoofer have an "auto" or "standby" or "sleep" mode (which removes power to the SW if it doesn't receive a signal after a certain amount of time)? If so, you should disable this mode before performing the Audyssey calibration so that the SW is always putting out the test signal when required. If not, then there is a chance that you might get inaccurate SW measurements in the calibration process which might be the cause of your "thin" bass.

Like I said, this might not apply in your case, but it can't hurt to make sure.

Adam_R · 11-16-2007, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RAF

Adam,

A quick thought (which may or may not apply in your particular situation).

Does your subwoofer have an "auto" or "standby" or "sleep" mode (which removes power to the SW if it doesn't receive a signal after a certain amount of time)? If so, you should disable this mode before performing the Audyssey calibration so that the SW is always putting out the test signal when required. If not, then there is a chance that you might get inaccurate SW measurements in the calibration process which might be the cause of your "thin" bass.

Like I said, this might not apply in your case, but it can't hurt to make sure.

Thanks for the tip, but yes, my sub is "on". It's a SVS 20-39 PCi and I have the crossover disable, the power on, and the phase at 0 degrees.

I just did the calibration with the gain on the sub amp at 50% and have manually tweaked it to my liking. I think other than that, the Audyssey setup has been really nice. I am still listening. It takes a LONG time to really hear it all.

Jeff O. · 11-16-2007, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam_R

It takes a LONG time to really hear it all.

No kidding Adam. I am still trying to figure out all of the features of this receiver. I finally got to try Audessy last night, but wasn't too thrilled with the results. I have gotten a few tips and will try again tonight. Thanks again for the tip on the 3808. 6th Ave service was great.

Rob Grim · 12-05-2007, 11:18 AM

Well, I guess I should chime in on this thread. I recently picked up my 3808 on Black Friday which replaced my Outlaw 990. This is my second Denon receiver I've owned, my 3805 is on the upstairs rig and as with the 3805, been 80% pleased so far. Why 80% you ask, for the life of me I just can't seem to get the Audyssey Auto setup to work correctly. My front speaker are approximately 12.5' from my main setting position and after running the Auto setup they are showing the speakers as being 0.8' from the main seating position. When checking the speaker sizes the unit doesn't even show me as having front speakers, it set the rear speakers as large and the side speakers as small. Things just seem so out of wack but yet it sounds amazing other than the fact that the LFE just seems to low. I've ran the setup at least 3 different times using atleast 6 positions and everytime something is different. When I first purchased the unit the very first thing I did was downloaded the "LATEST" firmware. This was verified after trying to redownload and it clearly stated "LATEST". I never reset the microprocessor so I'm not even sure if this will help. Can anyone verify that if you reset the microprocessor if this would help with the Audyssey? Thanks.