tweaking...where to begin. (1 Viewer)

[SteveADavis]

How do I go about trying to tweak everything. I'm on my first HT that's worth anything and am completely lost. Any good guides or someone willing to spend a little time with me on this. It would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Shawn Bridges]

Being a newbie I don't know a lot but based on the info in the beginners guide on the forum, go with AVIA guide to home theater. While I do not have my full system yet I did pick this up to calibrate my video and WOW what a difference!

A strange thing in my quest to find AVIA locally; Every store that sells HTs in my area had no idea what I was talking about when I asked if they carried the AVIA GtoHT. I finally found it in Sam Goodys on a rack titled Accessories.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

I strongly recommend the Radio Shack SPL meter and the Avia, VE or Sound and Vision calibration disks. These two items will be the most dramatic change to your system, both audio and video. Before doing any "tweaks", do something do get your system calibrated to standards.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Moving to tweaks.

 

[SteveADavis]

Thanks for your replies. The remote that came with my receiver has an SPL meter inside that automatically adjusts everything. It's a HK AVR 325. How well does this work? Also, I was looking at video essentials and the sound & vision HT tune up. Would you recommend avia over those?

 

[David W Johnson]

The Harmon Kardon automatic calibration feature is pretty darn good. It's one of those more exotic features in electronics that does what it's advertised to do. However, your subwoofer levels might be a bit high if you rely completely on the Harmon Kardon calibration feature, but for the most part, it does a better job than what you can do alone just using your ears.

You might want to do an initial tweak using the Harman Kardon remote and then make micro-adjustments afterwards with the assistance of a calibration DVD like AVIA.

David

 

[SteveADavis]

I've never had it run the test tone on the sub? Am I doing something wrong?

 

[Albert Damico]

In tweaking your HT system don't overlook calibrating your TV!. The Video Essentials disk is a very good tool IMO that allows you to set blacks, brightness levels, etc. The sound is very important, but so is the picture. Don't leave the factory levels on your TV, they are almost surely incorrect.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

While you can use Avia to adjust your display, wait on the speaker level adjusting.

There is lots of advice on speaker positioning, angles, etc. Play around with this first, then use an SPL meter to level adjust as the final step.

HTF Primer & FAQ

Some very common tweeks include:

- putting feet under the center speaker
- pulling L/R speakers into the room
- playing with subwoofer positions
- getting a bass test CD and charting your room response
- putting a "mask" around the TV to black out everything but the video

etc.

Do some reading in the Speakers and Subwoofer fourm and you will find lots of discussions.


PS: Each of these tweeks help a bit, and often the result is better than the sum of the parts. But make sure you have fun with them rather than obsess over getting them right or doing it all. This is a hobby and it should be fun.