First time calibration with VE (newbie type questions - kinda long) (1 Viewer)

I don't expect a lot of feedback on this, but any input is appriciated. And yes, before you ask, I have read a lot on calibration, including this great thread:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uub/Forum14/HTML/039226.html)
What I did was place the Meter in the listening position, set the volume knob to 0db and proceeded to calibrate to 75db using VE (80-82db on the SUB). My end results are:
L/R: -1
C: -2
LSL: +2 (speaker little farther away then its counterpart)
RSR: -1
SUB : -8
Now, this really suprized me because before I had done this, I had all the speakers at 0, but my sub output was at +5! (+8 in DTS). I had no idea that i was listening to DVDs with the sub that loud. Of course I thought that I had done something wrong, so I calibrated again, but i got the same exact values.
Just for clarification, my mains are set to LARGE, the center to small, and the Sub to L/R + LFE.
Now my question is, does this sound right to you guys? Since this is my first time calibrating with VE, I'm not sure if I did this accuratly or what, or if there is something wrong with my speakers/dvd/receiver.
I played a couple of passes from some favourites (Toy Story 2, Mummy, Titan AE). And even though the bass is quieter, in Toy Story it still sounded very good. Actualy it has never sounded better and the bass is still there (i usualy listen to movies at -20)
Now, for DTS, what I thought of doing, was just to copy the same settings that I had for Dolby and test things there. I've always thought that DTS lacked bass compared to DD, and once again it showed itself. I had to boost the sub to +5 in DTS to get the same type of bass sound that I get in DD (I used the last chapter of mummy ue when the temple is crashing down to evaluate the bass levels in both DTS and DD). My receiver allows for -/+10 adjustments in all modes.
So my second question is, why is my DTS sound always lacking in bass? Even before I calibrated, I had to boost the sub level to get some unf. And in turn, how do you guys calibrate your DTS settings? Is there a DVD with DTS tones that can be used to calibrate DTS sound? Should I buy a new receiver? (although I am pleased with the AVR 110, lots of value for the money there. I'm thinking of upgrading it next year, maybe sooner.)
I'm going to live with these settings for a few days and play a few more titles in a "normal" listening week and see if I get used to these settings. I tend to have a ear for bass, but that value did shock me.
Thanks for any input and my apolagies for the long post.

John,
I'm not familiar with your receiver's bass and lfe management features, but can share my experiences with VE and AVIA calibration with a Yamaha RXV-795 and Sony 333ES.
Both receivers have both a subwoofer level setting and separate LFE level settings for DD and DTS.
What I did was set the subwoofer level with AVIA's sub test tones, which are not on the separate LFE channel-about 5 db higher than the other speakers (I like a little extra bass). Then on the LFE settings I selected 0db for Dolby Digital and +10db for DTS. This is because DVD DTS has the LFE channel recorded 10db lower than the LFE channel on a DD disc would be using the same sound mix. I've verified this with a couple of dvds that have both DD and DTS, Gladiator and Twister. DTS audio cds do not have the 10db lower LFE, so set the LFE at 0db for them.
So in short, try first setting the sub level for DD, then set the DTS 10DB higher, unless you have separate LFE level adjustments in which case you'd set the LFE level for DTS 10db higher than for DD.
------------------
Steve S.
I prefer not to push the subwoofers until they're properly run in.
[Edited last by Steve Schaffer on August 08, 2001 at 08:08 PM]

Steve,
I checked as you said and like I thought, I only have a S-W level adjustment. This level is the same even when I change the sub from LFE only or L/R + LFE.
One thing I did just try though, was run the LFE track in VE in a a-b loop. I then tried different combinations of LFE, L/R+LFE and NO SUB. (my mains are set to large) What I found was that when NO SUB was selected, I expected not to hear a thing. However, my mains were playing that track. When I set it to LFE the bass sound somewhat louder, then when in L/R+LFE.
Ok scratch that idea. I just read my manual, that's the correct behaviour. Unfortunatly it's getting late to calibrate again. I'll have to tomorrow.
Thanks

A lot of people will tell you that the mains should be set to small. For various reasons, and there are other threads to support this, if you look for them. It made sense to me so that`s what I`m doing. I`m a relative newbie as well.

Charbel,
Yes I have read that too. However, even though the difference in sound between large and small mains is very very small to notice, I like the sound of my mains set as large with my sub set to L/R+LFE. One thing that bothers me about that, is that I haven't been able to find out what the internal crossover is in the AVR110. It's not documented anywhere. If I had that information, it would be easier to determine if I indeed should run my speakers as large or small (imop).
Thanks for your sugestion.