Do most of you have your subs set @ 79db? (1 Viewer)

[DaleI]

Do most of you have your sub set at 79db (4db over what Avia/VE suggest)?
I have mine at 77db. I heard too much bass during music portions of a movie's soundtrack when I had it at 79db. Titanic's closing credits (Celine Dion's song) had way too much bass at 79db, for example. I guess it's all a matter of taste/room configuration. Explosions sound better I suppose at 79 but at the expense of some soundtracks. So I compromised at 77.

 

[Ryan Schnacke]

I set mine 2dB hot. That's equivalent to your 77dB. But that is not corrected for meter error. So really it is about 4 or 5 dB hot.

 

[John Gates]

I set mine about 5 db hot, and that tends to be good for LFE and music in movies with my setup. When I am listening to 2-channel music, I back the sub down to "even" with the mains. More than 5 DB and music sounds unbalanced and kind of annoying.
John
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Onkyo 787
Mains: nOrh SM 6.9 (shipping NOW)
Center: nOrh marble 4.0
Surrounds: nOrh wood 4.0
Rear Center: nOrh prism 4.1
Subwoofers: 2 x SVS 20-39 CS w/Fidek Amp
Pics: http://www.geocities.com/givinit2him/

 

[Jeremy Anderson]

I set my sub to 75db with Avia, which is actually about 78db (like the previous post said, due to the SPL meter's +3 exaggeration of the low frequency test tone). My normal listening level is -5 from reference.
It really depends on how loud you usually listen. If you're using it mostly at lower volume levels, it does help to bump the sub level up.
But there's no real "right way." It's really a matter of personal preference.

 

[Neil Joseph]

I have mine set to 78dB.
orangeman
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[Mario_C]

I have mine calibrated to 72dB with the radio shack Meter. That is equivalent to 75dB, so my speakers are sub are properly balanced for music and movies. I watch movies at -5db and back down to -10db when the movie gets really loud.

 

[jonathanR]

Hmmmm I set my single svs-20-39cs to about 82-83 db and all other speakers to 75db in my 1650cuft. area using the video essentials and the RS spl meter. I love bass and use my home theater for about 90% movies to 10% music.
Could this be the reason why my svs bottoms out? The svs sub has only bottomed out on (2)dvds,[THE HAUNTING(dts)]......the scene where it knock her off the bed and [FIGHT CLUB]......the airplane crash. Havn't had any trouble with TOY STORY2 like other members.
Sorry for going off topic. I also have an audiosource sw-15, hooked to my same system....that never bottoms out, and is set at 82 db. Is this because the audiosource dosen't go as low as my svs and at that hard of SPL.......during those scenes??? Sorry just curious.
John
p.s. can anyone shed some light?

 

[Patrick Sun]

JonathanR, your Audiosource sub most likely has a limiter that won't allow the sub's driver to play the sub-20Hz LFE signal/material, so it doesn't bottom out at high volumes.
And yes, you are probably 4dB too "hot" for your SVS. Try 75-77dB for the sub (keeping the rest at 75dB) and see if you still get the SVS to bottom out on those nasty sub-20Hz bass scenes in dts The Haunting, and Fight Club.
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[SVS-Ron]

I just posted the below elsewhere, but I seems to fit here too:
The very different sorts of influences and recording practices (not to mention personal taste and how we humans seem to enjoy movies and particularly powerful, clean bass) is exactly the reason why I recommend folks find receivers that allow different memory settings for each listening "mode".
My 'ol POS Denon receiver (I say that in a warm and friendly way, but it doesn't even have DTS on it, it's so old)allows for a different bass calibration (each speaker can be saved differently actually) for EACH mode. So for DD I can set my full system to 75dB and my subs to 80dB (typical for me). With SVS's anyway (I know many subs will NOT sound good that "hot" due to various reasons) this still yields natural bass in all subtle areas of movies, but will kick the $%()#@%$_) out of you and your guests when the Ice Fields of Titan AE start ripping apart.
Most importantly, when I switch to "Stereo" or "Direct" I can alternatively have my sub set much lower, automatically, or off even if I want to hear my mains with NO subwoofer output (mains are set to large yet Denon defaults to a "bass to both" mode for stereo sources).
The bottom line is that the fairly common feature of memory settings for your "listening modes" can allow very quick calibration changes that best match the different bass in different types of listening. I wouldn't buy a receiver that did NOT have this feature, it's so important.
For my own purposes, setting my subs to the same levels of my mains never gives me the full kick for movies I've come to enjoy, even at reference level. "Hot" subs are the way to go IMO; just make sure your sub stays "linear" as the volume goes up, and you have PLENTY of headroom so that you are not overwhelmed with THD or 40Hz bass because limiters are cutting out everything below that.
Ron
P.S. Jonathan, Patrik nailed it. Your Audiosource doesn't even TRY to reproduce all that bass. Frequency filters and amp limiters are cuttting in and forcing your sub to back off, even if you don't. You could calibrate it 10dBs higher and it still probably wouldn't bottom. Of course you wouldn't hear the bass you should either. Such limiters cut off massive amounts of bass you only notice when you finally get a sub that doesn't do that!
Take a look at the bass of the two movies you cite in our FAQs section ( http://www.svsubwoofers.com/faqs.htm#moviedemos ) and you might see just why they are a challenge to any sub. You really should back off a dB or two, find a better location for the sub (that alone can give you +3 to +6dB more bass if you have it in a particularly bad location now) OR get a second sub. If you like your bass at Dolby's reference level the additional headroom and clarity you'll experience with a second sub co-located with the first will astound you. No more bottoming on the most challenging movies (unless you really go hot on them), and ease of impact where perhaps a single sub is straining now. I know the SVS beats your old sub coming and going, but imagine a second SVS for a moment ;^)
Or..."BE the sub" Jonathan.
[Edited last by SVS-Ron on September 28, 2001 at 09:16 AM]

 

[Ray R]

Have you ever measured how flat your sub's frequency response is? Peaks in response can make a sub sound over powering with music.
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HT pictures
[Edited last by Ray R on September 28, 2001 at 09:39 AM]

 

[jonathanR]

Ron & Patrick:
Thanks for your analysis, learned alot from the graphs, I've only been into home theater for a couple of years I knew there had to be some sort of limiter on the audiosource, just wasn't sure. Well I guess I'll have to back off on the dbs for the svs till I can afford another 20-39. The one I have now is in a corner.
Have any other members had problems during those (2) scenes/dvds.......or am I the only one running it at 4-5dbs too hot? LOL. I even passed the TITIAN AE dvd with no sweat.......just the HAUNTING & F.C. gave me fits. Thanks for the replys guys.
John
*** and Ron stop tempting me with a second sub.........errrr....i might have to give in......*** LOL.

 

[Matt Parsons]

I have my 20-39 set to 82db for DD w/VE
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[Chris White]

Although I wouldn't suggest that one setting is right for everyone, there is only one way to reproduce the sound as it was recorded, and that is to match the sub output to the output of the other speakers. If you set your sub output even 3dB louder than your mains, it may actually be 6 dB higher since the SPL meter is inaccurate at low frequencies. At 6 dB difference you have effectively doubled the acoustic energy. Would you want your left main 6 dB louder than your right main?
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http://www.bus.ucf.edu/cwhite/theater/theater.htm

 

[Lewis Besze]

Have you ever measured how flat your sub's frequency response is? Peaks in response can make a sub sound over powering with music.

An exellent point!
It's really hard to stamp some subjective sticker to the sound based on levels only without knowing the accoustic properties of the room,and it's interaction with the sub in it.
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"You Hungarians always disagree"

 

[SVS-Ron]

Not the same thing at all Chris.
Apples and oranges, almost literally.
The idea that the "correct" way to have your sub is equal to the mains is as old as the hills, and only applicable if you happen to like it that way.
Saying it's akin to having your left speaker 5dB higher than the left is misleading at best. Room reactions, one's preference in movies, the sort of sub you have, the listening level you typically use, the number and location of various seats in your HT, and the sort of living arrangement you have can all greatly affect what's "right".
I've listened to maybe hundreds of subs in scores of rooms and have yet to find a magic setting that works for all. If you have a sub that is capable of very clean bass, with very linear response at high SPLs, and one that can go very low then I defy anyone to say that a "flat" setting is the way to go for most circumstances.
It's a point of departure, and nothing more.
Ron

 

[EricK]

79db for the Sub...
75db for the L,C,R, LS, RS...as per Surround Professional magazine...
There was a huge debate on here about SUBwoofer settings quite some time ago....you might be able to do a search or check the archives.
Eric.
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[Jordan Jensen]

75 db on my 5 and 81 db on my .1, which is an SVS 20-39/Samson 700. I have another 20-39 scheduled to arrive on Monday, so I will re-adjust and go from there. I am somewhat limited to 2 locations in my family room for the 20-39's, so I have played around with phasing(180 only)more than location.
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[Zacha R]

69dB

 

[John Morris]

I calibrate my SVS Ultra at the same levels as my other speakers. I leave it there for music playback. But, then I notch it up 2 notches on my sub amp when I am watching an action movie. When I listen to music, I began to notice that when my Ultra was up 2 notches, I heard the thump every time the vocalist bumped their mike during their singing. In most cases, without a sub like the SVS Ultra, it wouldn't have bothered me. But, I figured that the recording producer didn't think anyone would ever listen to their CD through a speaker that could reproduce sub 20Hz thumps and so they never filtered them out of the final product? Anyway, try it and see... it is very bothersome. Last time I noticed this was during the live benefit for the NY victims telecast last week. That concert seemed to thump on every "P" consonant.
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merc
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[DaleI]

Thanks for all the input; it helps.