Calibrated vs. Uncalibrated: how big is the difference? (1 Viewer)

[JayBrownII]

Just finished the last purchase for my HT setup - a cheap but nice Dayton 10" sub. I haven't done any calibration before, so I'm wondering - how big is the difference?? Sorry, this question might have been asked millions of times...
thanks all,
Jay
p.s.: Can I use a regular A/V cable with RCA terminal as the sub cable? What is the impedance required?

 

[Tony Genovese]

The difference could be huge, small or none. But you'll never know unless you calibrate.

 

[LaMarcus]

I couldn't imagine my ht without calibration...actually I could but it's a scary place that I never want to visit again.

 

[Brian Elwood]

I would say it's a big difference. I had a Yamaha sub - maybe a 6 incher - just a boomer and tried to blend it with my ears - sounded pretty good too.

I think purchased Avia and an SPL meter and went through the tests (you can also use the receiver if it has that mode).

After word - it sounded MUCH better - not sure WHAT changed and maybe it's just a placebo but it just blended and sounded like one unit instead of 6 units working trying to work together.

 

[Mike_J_Potter]

Agreed, after I calibrated it made the sub sound way better. Not to mention made the surround effects allot more pronounced. Also I see no problem with using a normal RCA cable for the sub. I used a cheap RCA I had extra laying around for the sub for awhile, before using a giftcard I had laying around to buy a sub cable and I can't tell the differnce betweem the cheap RCA and AR sub cable.

 

[Brian Fellmeth]

I have a dissenting view on this question. Unless your room is flat, you will get very different calibration results with different methods- depending on which portion of the deep bass spectrum is emphasized in the test tones and depending on the exact position of the SPL meter. Moving the meter 2 feet can result in a 10 dB change in the calibration level sometimes. So acheiving a true calibration is an elusive goal anyway (unless your room treated and/or your sub is equalized). Its simple really. If it sounds too loud, its too loud. If its too weak and wimpy, its too soft. So just set it somewhere between these two extremes and it will be fine.