sound in mains lower than other speakers (1 Viewer)

[allan espinoza]

i recently purchased a yamaha htr-5540 as a beginner to start me of on my obsession, just one problem, the sound out from my mains seems to lower than the other channel. i have everything connected right as i know my way around but when i press the test button to test the speakers the sound is lower on the left and right mains and the sound is louder on the center and surrounds. why? im using bose 301 speakers for my mains bose vcs-10 for my center and bose 161 for my surrounds. could it be that my mains are too weak or could be damaged in some way that makes it sound any lower :frowning: i hear no distortion so i dont think it could be it and on the receiver there is no option for turning up the main speakers only for center and surrounds. it still sounds great dont get me wrong but i was just wandering its normal or am i missing out on much improved sound please help ive tried everything and read the manual and no luck thanks for all your help
p.s. new to this forum, great info loving it already

 

[John Garcia]

I'm going to guess that you do not own an SPL meter. The point of the pink noise test tones is so you can adjust the levels of your speakers to compensate for room effect, sensitivity, etc... I don't understand why you wouldn't be able to adjust each speaker individually. What listening mode are you in? Consider picking up the Sound & Vision Home Theater Tune up DVD or Avia for more comprehensive calibration material.
Then get rid of the Bose.

 

[allan espinoza]

i think ill do that but why do u suggest to get of bose speakers?

 

[VinhT]

Allan,

All you have to do is check your manual again, and look specifically for a way to adjust the level of each channel. I get the feeling that perhaps you were modifying the setting on the receiver that denotes how many speakers you have (like, mains only, or mains and surrounds, but no center, etc.) What's happening is that your mains are probably a bit less sensitive than your other speakers (or it could be location), so you need to adjust their output level on your receiver. You could increase the level of the mains by a few decibels or lower all of the other channels. Technically, this should be done with a sound pressure level meter and a calibration DVD, not the receiver's test tones. However, if you cannot afford that type of equipment, I suppose you could do it by ear and still be content with your home theater performance.

 

[Gerard Martin]

Allan
To correct this see if you can find an
SPL meter, go to your receivers set-up
menu under speaker, main level, set level
to normal adjust main speakers with receivers test tone to 75db on SPL using your volume control knob then adjust
your center, and surrounds to
75db as indicated by owners manual this should balance your speakers. Good luck.

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Allan,
Here are a few entries in our FAQ AND PRIMER which might help you:
Home Theater Means Accuracy & Calibration by Jay Mitchosky
A Quick Overview of Home Theater Calibration by Vince Maskeeper
Isn't Bose the best? by Jeffrey Forner
And here are two pages about Bose which you might find interesting:
http://www.intellexual.net/boseframes.html
http://home.earthlink.net/~busenitz/bs.html
-Vince