3802 reference (1 Viewer)

[Jason Co]

Just wondering what all you 3802 owners have as a reference level.


J

 

[Yogi]

It depends on your room size, speaker sensitivity etc. One man'r reference doesn't mean a thing to another man. In my room and for my speakers it is set to -15. I am sure others will have it set different.

 

[Jason Co]

I guess the reason I ask is that I was reading a thread on peoples reaction to LOTR (Lord of the Rings). Everyone seemed to be listening to the movie at approx. 10-15db below reference. I had mine a bit above reference (-26 ref.). I realize everyone's reference level is different. I calibrated mine using the internal test tone at 75 with Axiom M50s for the fronts. I guess I just felt that that I had to turn up the volume a little louder than people were reporting. I am assuming that my room size (20x11 w/vaulted ceilings) probably had something to do with it.

J

 

[Yogi]

Actually good that you mentioned LOTR. I watched it yesterday on my 3802 and man did it sound awsome. Also I felt that the movie was mastered a little louder than the rest of the movies becos I had to turn down the volume. I couldn't go above -22 on this one. I didn't do any SPL measurements on this movie but thats the volume I listened to it at and it was plenty loud. So I was watching LOTR at -7 db below reference.

I dont understand why you had to watch it above reference. If everything was calibrated right you should also have had to turn down your volume by 5-6 db to stay at the same reference volume, that is if your copy, like the rest of us was mastered louder than other movies.

 

[Jason Co]

Yogi,
Actually I calibrated it twice. This makes me feel like I either have something incorrect with my setup, or I am calibrating it incorrectly. I set my SPL meter to 80 and calibrated each speaker to -5 on the meter. I am also calibrating using the internal test tones not with the calibration disk. This concerns me that I am not doing something correctly with the 3802.

J

 

[Chuck Kent]

A little info you guys might find interesting is that the 3802 can show the DD Dialog Normalization offset level. (Here is a great link about Link Removed )
While the movie/program is playing, press the Status button on the 3802's front panel. As you continue pressing, the receiver's display will show the current settings and program info. If the DD program DialNorm is anything other than -4, the readout will show what the amount of the offset is. For LOTR, mine showed an Offset of +4. Thus the higher volume levels everyone notices...

 

[Yogi]

Thank you Chuck for that info. didn't have a clue about that one.

 

[Jason Co]

Bump

 

[Earl Simpson]

Yep! The bass is house rumbling and I set mine at -32 in the middle of the DVD. Did anyone else notice very little loud material out of the rears and surrounds? It seems the fronts(center/left and right) were really loaded with all the loud material. Thanks for the tip on DVD calibration!!!
Ps/My fronts set to large=very large speakers and rears and surrounds to small. Could this make a huge difference in the volume of the rears?

 

[Chuck Kent]

Earl: Well, I don't think so. If everything is balanced on your level setup, and if the rear speakers cross over to the subwoofer pretty well, then I would think it all comes down to the movie mix.

In general, don't you find the vast majority of movies front-loaded mixes? While the use of surrounds has definitely picked up after true digital 5.1, the bulk of the action is upfront with the image.

 

[Yogi]

In general, don't you find the vast majority of movies front-loaded mixes? While the use of surrounds has definitely picked up after true digital 5.1, the bulk of the action is upfront with the image.

I totally agree to that one. Surrounds are only for effects and they only come on when there are special effects like shooting arrows and flying debris etc. The rest of the action stays up front with the picture.

 

[Jason Co]

Well I figured out (with a little help from Austin) that I had my system calibrated incorrectly. Busted out my Denon manual (believe that?) and started over. The sound was much better after I fixed my calibration. I also re-measured my speaker distances and moved my seating position back a little bit and it made all the difference in the world. I would be interested in hearing how other people calibrated their 3802 just in case someone made the same mistakes I did.
J