Room setup and EQ (1 Viewer)

[Michael Pompey]

I have a JVC RX-884VBK Home theatre Receiver. It's served me well for the past few years. I'm looking to replace it in the next couple of months with a better receiver, something with both DD EX and DTS ES. Lately I've been reading about receivers with the built in Auto Setup/ Room EQ function (Yamaha and Denon are two that come to mind.)

What exactly do these functions do? Is it worth having on a receiver? Is it the same as the setup I do with the SPL meter and matching audio levels of the speakers?

I know that the JVC RX-884VBK probably isn't medium level quality compared to the equipment you guys have experience with. I'm just looking for some suggestions on makes and models, and sources of info.

Thanks.

 

[ChadLB]

Denon, Pioneer, Yamaha, Onkyo now have auto eq setups. Pioneer has been doing it the longest.
Yamaha started with last years models, denon with there recent models and now Onkyo.
The Auto EQ is I think somewhat ? as many people say it helps with there systems and some are not sure.
I have a Pioneer 54tx and still need to play with the Auto eq thint....maybe this winter somemore.
They all offer a somewhat different version of the auto eq and like I said Pioneer has been doing it the longest. Does that mean that there setup is better....maybe?

 

[Alan Wise]

Michael,

Yes, the Auto Setup/EQ feature takes the place of what used to be done with the SPL meter.
It also sets the distance and delay for each speaker.
In case you haven't seen this in action before, you simply set the microphone at your prime listening position, and through a series of individual test tones, the receiver adjusts it's parameters accordingly.
This is the coolest thing thing since the advent of the pop up thermometer on turkeys.
Earlier this year I upgraded from a Yamaha RXV-640 receiver to a Denon AVR-3805 with this feature. I feel that this allowed me a much more accurate set up than I was able to obtain previously. However, there are those on this forum that are more proficient than I with an SPL meter. Add in the fact that I am not always the most patient of individuals, and you can understand why I like this feature.

I hope this helps.

Best Regards, Al. Wise

 

[PerryD]

I think (actually hoping) that the AutoEQ is more complex that what has been described. Since I don't currently have an equalizer in my system, using the SPL meter I only adjust overall volume to the pink noise test patterns. The new receivers, I believe have an 8 band equalizer that will adjust for room reflections and such, and will adjust the volume across the frequency spectrum at the listening point where the microphone is placed. Most people don't have acoustically designed home theater rooms, so AutoEQ would benefit everyone there.

 

[Doug Fogle]

A related question then:Are there any standalone auto eq options?I know of the SOS but that only corrects one freq. if I'm not mistaken?How about multiband auto EQ?

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Some auto-setup models only do the level and distance with no eq, so be careful when purchasing.

Anyone with a tape measure and a $35 Radio Shack spl meter and AVIA or VE can do distance and levels in about 20 minutes or so. The eq feature varies from model to model, some are 5 band graphic, some are 8 band parametric. Having had 1 of the former and 2 of the latter, I can say that in my experience they both do a nice job of compensating for speaker response and room acoustic variations.

 

[Doug Fogle]

any more info,Steve?What auto eq have you used? And do you think its slowly filtering down to other components?(like pre/pros?)

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I've used the auto eq on a Pioneer VSX-45tx (5 band graphic eq) and on the Yamaha RXV-1400 and Denon AVR 2805 (8 band parametric). All worked very nicely and resulted in a very noticeable improvement.

When I first used it on the Pioneer it actually sounded like a new set of speakers.

It's filtering down to lower priced receivers already, notably the Pioneer 1014 which can be had for under $400.

I don't know if high end pre-pro mfgs will be to quick to adopt it as most purists may tend to regard it as a gimmick on a par with dsp modes and such.

On the other hand many of the receivers that have the feature can do a creditable job as pre-pros using their line level outs to external amps.

 

[JohnnyC]

Cool, You are in the line which caused me to subscribed.
I have a Integra (onkyo) 7.1 and want to upgrade to soemthing better. I am looking at the yamaha 2400, but am not sure. at a grand, I want soemthing to serve me a long time to come.