How loud should my subwoofer be? (1 Viewer)

[David Ruiz]

Hi Guys,
I have Video Essentials, and it says to set the Subwoofer to 75 DB, but I have heard from a lot of people that whenever you watch a DTS movie, you have to set it at 85 DB...Is that true? At 85 DB, the bass because extremely distorted...can anyone tell me if DTS always has the bass 10 DB lower?

 

[Bruce N]

Hi David,
Yes, Video Essentials has already compensated for the difference. You do not need to raise the sub level for DTS.
Bruce
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"Why do I sense we've picked up another pathetic lifeform?"

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

I have heard from a lot of people that whenever you watch a DTS movie, you have to set it at 85 DB...Is that true? At 85 DB, the bass because extremely distorted...can anyone tell me if DTS always has the bass 10 DB lower?

The main answer to your question has already been provided. Set everything to 75dB when using Video Essentials and you're golden.
You may be confusing the different DTS levels with the LFE trim for music tracks. DTS movie soundtracks have the LFE level 10dB higher than the mains (again, don't worry about this as VE already compensates in their test tones). But for DTS music CDs the LFE is same as the main channels. DTS equipped receivers/processors have (or at least should have) an LFE trim function that lets you adjust from -10dB to 0dB to quickly accommodate this difference. Calibrate the system to 75dB all around with the trim set at 0dB. When you pop in a DTS music CD simply set the trim to -10dB for proper balance, then back to 0dB for movie playback.
Also note that if you use different calibration software you may have to adjust to a different overall level during calibration. For example, Avia's tones are such that you calibrate to 85dB instead of 75dB. This is not to say that your system will play 10dB louder with this calibration; Avia's tones are generated at a different level, so everything will still be the same at the end of the day.
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--Jay
"No one can hear when you're screaming in digital."
My Home Theatre Pictures...
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