Subwoofer Levels - Gain (1 Viewer)

[Chris Ryan]

Hi:

Is it better to have the gain on each sub set to max and then calibrate it with DVD test tones?

P.S. I have Def Tech BP 2000's and an Infinity Intermezzo 1.6s

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Chris Tsutsui]

Some will say so, but I really don't think it matters that much whether you turn down the receiver level or the amp gain to calibrate.

 

[Mike Sloan]

find a happy medium on both.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Some magazine did a test and found that the LFE port on many receivers, including flagship models, put out a large amount (1-5%) of distortion when the LFE level is turned up.

Now they have been doing this for years and ... nobody noticed. This is because your ears are not that sensitive to subwoofer frequencies and you hear a lot of reflected sub sounds. This totally swamps any distortion the LFE port might produce.

But...if you try to follow audiophile guidelines, then leave the LFE output on your receiver turned way down, say within the lowest 3 settings. Then use the volume/intensity control on the sub to level adjust.

I dont think you would notice any difference either way, but sometimes all the little things add up.

Hope this helps.

 

[John Garcia]

What I do is about 1/2 on the sub, then calibrate via receiver. That gives me in the neigborhood of 50% headroom on the sub (you don't turn your receiver to 100% and trim speaker levels with their individual adjustments do you?), and I have room to adjust each afterwards.

 

[Mike Sloan]

Bob, When you stated LFE...did you mean Sub output? I have been told that DTS music CDs require the DTS LFE pad to be reduced 10dB because music didn't comply with the SMPTE standard. DTS and DD movie soundtracks require the LFE pad to be at +10....or the highest position, regardless of the numbers they use to label them for movies.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

did you mean Sub output

Yes, the "LFE OUT" or "SUB OUT" setting that controls the level on the RCA jack for your subwoofer.

My Yamaha DSP-A1 has the LFE output going from -10 to zero. At about -6 the test showed about 2% distortion and it grew dramatically as the setting went up. So I set my subwoofer/LFE output to -6 and did all my level adusting with the intensity knob on the sub. (Having a camera tripod to hold the SPL meter is a godsend for this).