Question- Subwoofer Volume setup (1 Viewer)

[DavidLW]

The consensus of this thread seems to side with leaving the AVR LFE at "0" and turning up the sub control.

I wouldn't worry too much about no longer being in "reference" with regards to Avia and a SLP meter. I find that test, demo and reference disc are a good way to establish a starting point, but this is not often the best setting (unless you like to stare at test patterns and listen to test tones all day long). Play your movies and music and use your eyes and ears to adjust your system to the way you like it.

I'm not sure if your system allows it but the quality and quantity of bass can also be modified by adjusting the crossover slope and crossover points between the sub(s)and front speakers.

 

[Edward J M]

Since the ear is less sensitive to bass frequencies, calibrating the sub by ear often results in a hot level.

That is not a problem at lower volumes, but as you approach Dolby Reference Level, it is a good idea to know where the sub level is with respect to the other channels. The higher you push the overall volume level, the closer to a flat sub calibration you will likely need in order to prevent overloading and damaging the sub.

Only the very best systems with obscene amounts of bass headroom can push Reference Level with the sub(s) running hot.

Of course the ultimate judge is your ears as DavidLW wisely states. But no matter where you settle for a sub level, it's still nice to know what it is in objective terms.

Avia is true Dolby Digital and therefore allows the surround speaker in question to contribute bass to the subwoofer tone.

I have found that the amount of bass each surround speaker contributes to the sub tone is highly dependent on its room location, its inherent bass capabilities, and the xo you have selected.

For example, my left main is several dB higher than any other channel on the subwoofer tone. If I was unfortunate enough to select the left main for sub calibration, it would result in undercalibration of the sub.

The best way to check all of the differences in the surround channels is to power down the subwoofer and run the Avia sub test tone for each channel and note the results.

If you like your bass hot, pick the surround channel that has the lowest reading with the sub powered down and then use it to calibrate the subwoofer.