Avia and re-eq (1 Viewer)

[Jim_Lan]

I am getting ready to calibrate my system for the first time. My receiver has a CINEMA RE-EQ feature which if set on reduces some of the excessive brightness / harshness of film tracks. Should I have that on when I calibrate? Also there is a bass peak level setting. Should I do anything with that before I calibrate?

 

[TimTurtino]

A "bass-level peak"? From the cinema Re-eq feature you mention, I'm assuming your receiver is THX certified, and the only peak feature I know of associated w/ THX is the night mode feature that evens out peaks in Dolby Digital (for viewing at night). What receiver do you have?

Anyway, you should probably set whatever settings you'll use to listen to when you calibrate.

Me

 

[Jim_Lan]

Marantz 8200 receiver.. THX select certified... I think The bass peak setting is used to limit the the max output sent to speaker. Currently I do not have a sub so all bass goes to front speakers.. The other setting CINEMA- REEQ is suppose to be on when listening to Dolby Digital...

 

[Citizen87645]

I think a lot of people on this forum would dissuade you from using the Re-EQ function, especially for newer titles which are supposedly mixed for the smaller home theater environment (I believe this is called a "near field mix"). Re-EQ was designed to compensate for theater mixes, which tend to have more highs because of the larger environment, more bodies, etc.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Not at all. Still relatively few studios re-mix the tracks for the home, so if in doubt, usually applying RE-EQ is the necessary thing to do. There are many films out there that ARE already corrected, so that RE-EQ is not necessary, in which case you are correct. The only way to know is to do a little searching on a specific title. I do know that Mi Casa already does the eqing for the home, so their mixes (e.g. LOTR, and many others) do not need RE-EQ. Again, do a little research on particular films.

I'm not sure totally about the bass peak, but I think it limits the subwoofer output. I think that you can find the clipping point, or excursion limit, or otherwise loudness level that's the max your sub can handle, and set the peak there. This way, no matter how loud the signal, you can have your sub calibrated properly, with all the impact on most of the scenes, without worry of bottoming out your sub, etc. on those few, rare extremely loud booms and bangs. Otherwise, you would either have to lower the overall volume to protect the sub, or lower the sub setting overall, which may not be desireable. Unless you are dealing with a "fragile" or smaller sub, I would leave this off, or turned up all the way. This setting is different than night mode, not as Tim suggested. I am not sure, though, if it affects the bass going to the speakers. I would think not, but I dunno...