New Set-up on the way: Need advice on Reference DVDs and Audio (1 Viewer)

Hey guys:

Tomorrow I will be getting my new System. For brevity sake, and a lot of selfish reasons, I will be having it installed and set-up, rather than doing it myself.


Question? What is your go to reference for testing picture and sound quality? In particular, I'm new to 3D technology and need a few ideas to use for testing.


I have included my equipment list as a reference below.


Also, does anyone have a set testing procedure.... I don't want to miss anything.

i.e. test dvd, 3D, streaming, Audio; etc.


E Q U I P M E N T

display- Sony XBR65X850B

Receiver- Marantz SR5009

Mains- Energy CF50

Center- Energy CC10

Rear- Energy CB5

Sub- Energy ESW-C10

DVD- Sony BDPS6200

DirecTV, Netflix, Hulu, etc.


Thanks in advance,

Rocco

Get a multi-region BD player.

Audio wise(I don't do home 3D)...

Underworld: Awakening
Zero Dark 30
Baraka

Some fun movies with great video and sound for me:

Avatar

Pacific Rim

Tron Legacy

300

Sin City (Black level check!)

Anything Pixar (Finding Nemo!)

StarTrek

Master and Commander

Fury is new and great sound.

p.s. Blu Ray is not "DVD".

"Gravity" is a really good demo disc for both 3D quality and surround sound - in the opening scenes, the astronauts in space are talking with mission control via radio and the dialogue just bounces around all of the speakers as the camera moves, that's become one of my favorite things to use to show off how 3D and surround sound can work together.

I was glad to see that I have some of the movies that you listed. Thanks for the replies. btw. I do know that blu-ray and dvd are not the same, thanks for pointing it out though. I should have listed the sony as a blu-ray player.


I'll let you know how I make out. Today is the big day. I get my new HT set-up.


best regards

Second the Pixar recommendation. The joyride scene from Cars is just about the most beautiful thing you can put on a TV screen.


Is your setup person going to calibrate the display? If not, you should pick up either a calibration disc or one of the Disney BD sets that includes calibration tools. I forget which ones have them, but you can Google for a list.

One of my favorite test movie not yet mentioned is Saving Private Ryan the opening scene especially. You have bullets flying all over, nice explosions, all kinds of good stuff going on in that movie.

Update

Installation went well today, very professional and very clean....but

The Marantz receiver kept powering off and the sub woofer level was horribly low, even after setting the speakers to small and adjusting the crossover settings. We updated the firmware on the receiver, after resetting, so far no powering off. I still opted to swap out the receiver as a precaution.


They will swap out the receiver for a replacement in a weeks time, but I'm afraid I may have to live with the sub woofer problem.

I may need to post the woofer problem in a separate post.

What do you mean by the subwoofer level is low? Do you mean you can't hear it when you play test tones or is it just not very loud during movies (and if so, what are you comparing it too)? Did you run the auto setup (Audyssey)? If so, what level did it set for the sub (and other speakers)?

Being a 10" sub and front tower speakers that are reasonably efficient...

The sub probably isn't keeping up with the towers.

Thanks for the replies on the sub woofer

We did use Audyssey.

Here's what happened... actual order of events.

We just finished the set up on the receiver and I was ready to test various video/audio media.

For no particular reason, we started with a music cd (AC/DC Rock or Bust)

I don't have a dedicated CD player, so we naturally used the Sony Blu-ray player.

It was here that we discovered little to no sound from the sub.


We wrote down the settings that Audyssey provided during the set up and then adjusted the speaker settings/crossover.

No matter what we did, we couldn't get the sub's level to something more acceptable. The volume was at max on the sub and the speaker settings were set at ridiculous settings, both high and low. Nothing worked. Even though I had the speakers set to small, we changed them to big, and still we didn't get any satisfaction.


Now comes the fun part... we also switched to Sat. radio and the same thing. Now I know that music can be less than stellar, especially the Sat radio, they tend to cut the low ends, etc.


Here is what I want to impress to people reading this post. The bass (sub) should have been blowing the windows out, with the crazy settings we tested, it din't come close.


Lastly, when we abandoned the test, we decide to press on and demo the 3D/TV settings. While sampling Godzilla in both 3D and regular Blu-ray (we did try both discs), we found the sub to be much much better, but the settings were much higher than you would expect.


I was able to demo this receiver and the same speakers in the store prior to purchase. The sub behaved "normal."


Since we are swapping out the receiver, they will also order another sub, just to be sure.


If anyone has any ideas, I would really appreciate them. I may be new to this forum, but I pretty good with my audio/video. i.e. I would know if the sub is performing well. After the install guys left, I used a variety of different sources for music, including different genres. The blu-ray (movies) all out performed the music, when it came to the sub.


Lastly, I'm aware that a lot of blu-ray movies, have a sub channel.


Thanks, for reading,

Rocco

First thing to try it turn off Audyssey. Let's make sure it is not making things worse (it can if it is setup improperly). Next, if you can get an SPL meter to manually set the levels that would be very helpful. If you don't want to spend any money on one (about $50 at Radio Shack), you can use an app for your smart phone. It won't be as accurate but it will at least get us in the ballpark.


Where is the sub placed in your room? The location of the sub has a HUGE impact on how it sounds. Also, you never mentioned how big your room is. It is possible the sub it not powerful enough for the space.

LoveHT said:

Thanks for the replies on the sub woofer

...


For no particular reason, we started with a music cd (AC/DC Rock or Bust)


...

Click to expand...

Not related but just as important


I have field level tickets to see AC/DC in New Jersey in August!!!!

Did they use a tripod for the mic, or set it on books/pillows?

Another thing to consider. Before the setup - what volume level did you have on the amp in the sub? If you turned the sub volume up too high, then the calibration will be lowering the sub signal coming from the receiver to match the rest of the system. This sub signal level will be then set very low - and sometimes won't be high enough to trip the auto-on signal level detector - thus your sub won't even be turning on.


I have set up quite a few systems - and usually start with the sub volume no higher than 50% of what is available. Then if I see that after calibration the sub doesn't seem to be coming on when I am expecting it too, then I lower the sub volume to 25% of what is available and re-calibrate the system. This will bring the signal level going to the sub up enough to trip the auto-on switch.

Great replies, thank you. Also, good deal on scoring AC/DC tickets.


First off, let me start this post by letting all of you know that, I went back to the store (Best Buy) and was able to see the settings in their Magnolia room. My sub def. has an issue. The sub itself was kicking at about 20% volume. Without even getting into the crossover settings, I know my sub isn't working correctly.


Please read all of the my posts before replying.

They are swapping out the Marantz receiver because it was powering off, and freezing during set-up. Not knowing if the amp is solely the problem, they are going to also bring in a new sub. So either way the problem should be solved. (we already ruled out a bad cable.)


We did have the sub volume around 1/3 of its volume level before we ran setup. We didn't go the route of putting a sound meter on it because you could immediately tell that something was wrong. Honestly it was that obvious.


In a previous post, I had asked about auto set-up -vs- a sound meter on each channel. The recommendation was to do both, and adjust from there. I still plan on going that route once my issues are resolved.


A word about Best Buy. Before anybody trashes the Geek Squad, I just want to go on record that I was provided fantastic customer service from start to finish. I may have gotten a better price somewhere else, but I think I would have had a harder time exchanging the equipment. I also like the idea that I'm shopping local in my community, that means a lot to me. So, even with my current problems, I'm still satisfied with the service but frustrated just the same.


In the end, it is not the installers fault, as they followed a good recipe for set-up and immediately realized that something was wrong. They tried all the suggestions that everyone here came up with. I guess it is better to have the issue now than later. Of course, no issue would have been better!


I will let you know as soon as it is resolved.