New to the HT world, a couple questions about balance between front/back. (1 Viewer)

[Joe.K]

I'm not new at all in reguards to stereo, but it's been quite a few years since my car audio days, working for the 2 shops I was employed at through my college years. With that said, I went out a few years ago and bought a Bose AM15 set, then the widescreen a couple years later. Now that I have kids and I'm home alot more, I've become more intrested in home theatre.

I recently found out how bad Bose are for HT, so I bought my first true theatre, and it was all delivered yesterday, and 2 pieces today, and bought a couple pieces over the last 2 months.

Denon AVR-2805
Denon DVM-1815
Boston Acoustics CR75's
Boston Acoustics CRC
Paradigm Cinema ADP's
Paradigm PDR 10

I started setting it up, and am having real difficulity with the front to back balance. I don't know what it's supposed to sound like, I don't know what sounds right. I sort of need a jumping off point. I'm having alot of trouble balancing from front to back, how much bass, left to right, I really don't know what sounds correct in terms of balance. I'd appreciate any help I could get.

-- Joe

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Do you have an SPL meter? If not, find a radio shack and buy one, then utilize the test tones in your receiver (not the best method) or from a test disc such as Avia or DVE (preferred), and use that to get your channels equal in volume, and your sub dialed in.

There are some good explanations on this in the beginner's Primer and FAQ:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=120328

After you have Avia or DVE, you will then realize their 10x more important role in calibrating your video.

 

[John S]

You AVR has a test tone mode where it will give noise, and change from one channel to the next. If you do not have nor want to get an SPL meter, you simply try to match the volume by ear, so all channels are equal at the most primary viewing spot.

Best of luck. It becomes more difficult especially by ear when you do not have matching speakers in every location, but can ususally be done still to achieve acceptable results. The SPL meter is more accurate and makes it easier for sure.

 

[Joe.K]

That was my concern with going with Paradigm rear surrounds, Boston just didn't offer a comparable model in that price range, actully, no one did.

The AVR has the Auto-EQ feature, but everytime I use it, it seems to screw up. It sets everything to +12, and the sub to -5.5, for whatever reason.

Where can I find the demo discs?

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Avia or DVE can be ordered from numerous online retailers, and can be found at many a DVD store. Not sure about chains though.

 

[Ted Lee]

read the primer faq. there's a post by vince maskeeper that goes into good detail about the calibration dvd's.

 

[Mort Corey]

Odd that the 2805 auto setup is giving you such problems. I found it to be quite close...at least on the 3805. Are you using the Denon mic? Is it calculating distances correctly (except for the sub)? If you're using the Denon mic, and following the proper auto-calibrate procedures, and things are screwy....then you may have a problem with your receiver (at least that part of it and perhaps something else that hasn't shown itself)

Mort

 

[Tim Hoover]

It seems to me that the gain on the subwoofer itself may be set rather high, and the AVR is attempting to correct this by boosting everything else and lowering the sub pre-out gain. I'd lower the volume control on the subwoofer and retry the auto-calibration procedure and see if that gets the levels closer...