How loud is your sub calibrated? (1 Viewer)

[Mario_C]

I want to know how loud is your sub calibrated in respect to your main speakers (0dB, +3dB, +6dB). Why did you calibrate your sub to this level? Do you listen at reference levels?
I am just curious because recently I have read threads were it was recommended that you calibrate your sub to about -3dB in respect to your main speakers when using the Radio Shack SPL meter.
As for me I calibrate from -3dB to 0dB depending on what movie I am watching. For music I always calibrate to -3dB.
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[Mario_C]

.
In both cases your goal is to set all channels and the subwoofer noise to the same level.
Further though, we noticed that VE's sub noise was flat to 20Hz. AVIAs actually rolled off a little. Because the Radio Shack SPL meter rolls off as you get towards 20Hz, it is now our opinion that the subwoofer noise should be set a couple dB, as many as 3dB, lower than the main channel to be absolutely 100% correct.
Cheers and above all, happy listening!
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Brian Florian
Editor, Canada
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[FrankC]

I calibrated to +4-6 dB relative to the rest of the 5 channels in my setup (which are calibrated to 75 dB with Video Essentials). Why? 'Cuz that's what the SVS manual recommended and I liked the sound. It adds a little ooomph to most movie soundtracks. I usually back it up to +0-3 dB when listening to music.
I do not listen at reference levels: usually -5-10 dB quieter.
--f

 

[andyg]

I set the room to 75dB, but set the sub to 80dB. Why? Cause I like the extra push. I have experimented in my basement HT with position and levels, but I ended up with the sub a bit off center at the front of the room at 80dB. That location seemed to have the best linear sound when walking around the room.....
--Andy Garabedian

 

[Bruce Abar]

I like the same effect as Andy. I have my speakers set for 75db output, and the sub set at 85db. As long as your sub can take it, there is no harm in setting it higher then your other speakers.
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Bruce
www.dvdtracker.com/~bruceabar.asp

 

[Mario_C]

You guys calibrated your sub to +10dB. Thats about 13dB higher. Do you guys listen at reference levels? If you do you are asking your sub(s) to produce 128db or more if your speakers are set to small. Man thats a lot of bass.
I guess if you calibrate your sub at say +6dB and listen at -5 to -10 dB from reference, you would get reference level bass everytime you watch movies.
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[Mario_C]

quote: I calibrated to +4-6 dB relative to the rest of the 5 channels in my setup (which are calibrated to 75 dB with Video Essentials). Why? 'Cuz that's what the SVS manual recommended and I liked the sound. It adds a little ooomph to most movie soundtracks. I usually back [/quote]
Wouldn't then you have to calibrate to +1-3 dB if you are using the Radio Shack SPL meter since it off by About +3dB? Or is this +4-6dB using the Radio Shack SPL meter which would be +7-9dB?
I have to admit that before I bought a SPL meter I calibrated my sub by ear. I found that my sub was calibrated to +6db higher (+3 on the SPL meter) than my mains. This is where I liked it for movies but it sounded really bad on music. I just tothink that maybe here was somenthing wrong with me recever X/O. I just go from 0 to -3dB depending on what i am watching so my neighbors do not complain.
I can imagine what my neighbors would say if I calibrated my sub to +10dB and played TS2 or Titan AE at ref levels.
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[Edited last by Mario_C on July 31, 2001 at 02:25 AM]

 

[Steve_Ma]

Man, I was always messing with my sub's vol and ch levels based on different movies and music. That's what prompted me to finally get an SPL meter and calibrate! Maybe it's because my setup is used for 70% music, but I do not look for an x-tra anything from my sub. My goal is an acurate reproduction of the material. I set it to reference and forget about the ch/sub settings altogether. Again, maybe that's because I usually listen to music, but I'm happy with my HT performance as well and even hapier to NOT be messing with my setup every time I turn it on.
And no, I never listen at reference. I've gotten it there on occasion, but it's generally way to loud for me.
--S

 

[DanG]

I agree, after upgrading my surrounds for DVD-A and calibrating the sub to -2db below the mains, we played Lucky Man at -5db below reference level volume and got 106db on the SPL.
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[Jeremy Anderson]

With my old JVC receiver, I calibrated my sub 3db higher on the SPL meter (meaning roughly 6db higher than reference) with Avia. It was okay, because I listen at about -10 from reference. But I recently changed to an Onkyo 595, and found that it sounded better with the sub dead even with the mains. I then ran bass sweeps and recorded the SPL meter's reading at each level, then modified those values with the correction chart for the RatShack analog SPL. Luckily, I got a pretty flat response across the frequency range this way, so my sub's probably right at reference.

 

[Gruson]

Speakers are set to small and are calibrated at 75dbs. Sub is around 80dbs. I like the extra punch as well.
I only listen at reference level and my neighbors hate me, even though they are in a house about 20 feet away
It is loud, over 120dbs at times, and one neighbor even thought they had built a new airport around our neighborhood...hehehe.
Bass Shakers rock too.
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Equipment:
Mitsubishi 65907 65" HDTV ISFd Steve Martin
Yamaha RX-V1000 6.1
Paradigm PW2200
Paradigm Studio CC
Paradigm Studio 40s
CV LS-15s
CV LS-8s
Toshiba 6200 Progressive
Pioneer CLD704 LD
Aura Bass Shakers
1080i DirecTV

 

[Neil Joseph]

My speakers are all calibrated to 75dB except my sub, which is calibrated to 79dB. So my answer is +4dB. The Radio Shack meters have trouble measuring the low frequencies accurately. You need to compensate by adding a few dB's in order to get the "true" calibration.
Check here for the proper correction values for the RS SLM eg. If you are playing a 25Hz tone and the meter indicates 75dB, then you need to add 5dB to your result, hence 80dB.
If the Radio Shack meters were completely accurate with low frequencies, then they would simply be set to 75dB like the rest of your speakers.
orangeman
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Neil's H.T. Site
(plus large selection of H.T.Links and movie images)
[Edited last by Neil Joseph on July 31, 2001 at 01:37 PM]
[Edited last by Neil Joseph on July 31, 2001 at 01:41 PM]

 

[Jeremy Anderson]

Most subwoofer test tones are 20-100hz noise, making it difficult to figure how much of a correction you should use for the SPL meter. I don't have the website address handy, but someone in the past has figured that the SPL meter is off by 3db on 20-100hz noise (like Avia and VE use).
Of course, you can also figure this by using the aforementioned correction chart to add all the correction values from 20-100hz and take an average (which comes to +3.21db correction).
So TECHNICALLY, if you calibrate to 75hz, you should calibrate to 72hz on the sub to achieve reference levels. This is, of course, assuming the makers of Avia and VE didn't already account for this and raise the sub test tones by +3db... and I've never gotten a straight answer from anyone on that. Anyone know if VE and Avia's tones have already been corrected for this?

 

[Mario_C]

Jeremy:
Brian Florian of Serets of Home Theater and High Fidelity already mesured this using a very expensive RTA. Read the second post in this thread.
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[Jeremy Anderson]

Hey, it was right there in front of me as usual! Heh...