6.1 rear surround volume drop? (1 Viewer)

[GaryCo]

I just received my outlaw 1050 and after getting everything set and calibrated w/ VE and

spl meter i plugged in TPM, my first experience with 6.1 and it was great. But i had a

nagging feeling that the surround level dropped in the side speakers , is this my imagination running wild or

when the 1050 pulls out the rear channel matrix does the volume of the rear sides drop?

I am going to play some more tomm, but was turning to the gang for help. I probably will boost the rear surrounds a couple of db when in 6.1 mode. Any comments/experience

Thanks

 

[Len Cheong]

What kind of speaker cables do you have for your rear speakers? Sometimes using very thin wire for long distances can drop the amp power by 25%.

 

[GaryCo]

I have monster cable all around, it is older and is nice size so i should be in good shape.

Could the sensitivity of the two speakers make a difference? I have Paradigm 40 in the front, 91db and infinity in the rear , model rs 1000 89db and 6 ohm.

I will have more time to tweak later, i just did a quick check and in the 6.1 mode the rears drop like 8 db with the sound meter on the THX set up. I will try VE later.

 

[Andriy Zolotoiy]

Yes, it is the issue. Me and other people noticed the same effect. Currently, I'm using decoders in RP-91, so problem went away.

 

[GaryCo]

I am confused is the problem the speakers or the DVD player?

 

[Larry Chanin]

Originally posted by GaryCo:[/I]
I just received my outlaw 1050 and after getting everything set and calibrated w/ VE and spl meter i plugged in TPM, my first experience with 6.1 and it was great. But i had a
nagging feeling that the surround level dropped in the side speakers , is this my imagination running wild or when the 1050 pulls out the rear channel matrix does the volume of the rear sides drop?
I am going to play some more tomm, but was turning to the gang for help. I probably will boost the rear surrounds a couple of db when in 6.1 mode. Any comments/experience
Thanks]Quote:

I've only have a 6.1 system now, but I noticed as I suceeded in dialing-in my system, that there doesn't seem to be as much sound coming from my side surrounds, but nevertheless my system has ever sounded better.
Larry

 

[Len Cheong]

Your speaker system should be timbre matched in some way. Front 3 are most crucial. The rear center should have similar specs to your front center. Given the specs you told me, since your rear center is less sensitive that may be the reason it's not "standing out" enough. 2 db/watt sensitivity is a big difference. If you can't match the make, match the sensitivity at least.

 

[GaryCo]

Len - my rear speaker does stand out that's not a problem, its the surrounds that are lower in sound. The front 3 are timbre matched.

Larry - that pretty much sums up what i am hearing. During TPM , the rear was active and the sides were also, just not as loud as the rear. When i calibrated the system w/ 5.1 everything was set to reference, when i switched to 6.1 the sides dropped and so did the rear, not as much though. I assume that is your experience,also?

Interesting, i will have to do some more research and reading on the 6.1 systems as well as play some more DD EX movies and listen to them. BTW, my 8 year old daughter how much better the movie sounded last nite. Daddy's little girl!

 

[Larry Chanin]

Originally posed by GaryCo:[/I]
Larry - that pretty much sums up what i am hearing. During TPM , the rear was active and the sides were also, just not as loud as the rear. When i calibrated the system w/ 5.1 everything was set to reference, when i switched to 6.1 the sides dropped and so did the rear, not as much though. I assume that is your experience,also?]Quote:

Since your receiver is not THX certified I assume you mean that you were using a THX movie audio calibration test. If you were using a THX Optimode disc, that could be a source of a problem. I noticed that I got very differenct results when compared to Video Essentials. According to tests conducted by SMR Home Theatre Video - Audio Magazine, the THX Optimode calibration disc can be off by as much as 10 dB. THX has since corrected this and their new calibration discs are called THX Optimizer.
THX Optimode Audio Calibration The Trials and Tribulations...
Larry

 

[GaryCo]

I am quite chagrined, I did not toggle through the surr trim to set each individual rear speaker, hence i was only adjusting one rear, the right stayed constant along with the rear center. I balanced them on the 1050 test tones, and with the THX optimizer on TPM w/ adjustments set everything to within 2-3 db of fronts, i may boost the rear, it seems that the problem my be solved. Looks like i will have to adjust levels for 5.1 and 6.1

Time to test it with some movies.

thanks