Audessey Speaker Calibration System

[zappa883]

Thought I'd ask if anyone can provide some thoughts or opinions on the Audessey Speaker Calibration system. Spent a few hours over the weekend with a tri-pod and the works. NOT impressed with the automatic results or the decisions that Audessey has made on my behalf, Of course I can bypass but has anyone else had any issues with Audessey, is it BS ?

[Mr. RF62]

Yea,I have monkey'd around with that mayself lately and am not happy with what they want me to do but has been a decent guidline as far as distance and any phase issues. They really go hard on the bass in my setup, not that there is any lack of. But it also lets me know what I can do with my system/setup and with changing the internal EQ.

[zappa883]

In your case did it restrict or limit DB/Volume levels ? Did with mine to the point of where I wasn't even able to properly audition the new setting especially on Satelite. Didn't bother pursuing and just went back to manual once I review the settings and adjusted same.

I agree with the settings for distances etc. it was very accurate in that department.

[Mr. RF62]

Yes, it did zappa. What it seems to do is(in my case) decrese the levels down so that when you have the volume at reference (0 on the display) then it outputs the actual output at 75dB which is reference level. What I did before running it was write down what my settings were just in case it messed them up. Then I was able to put my levels back where I had them and as far as reference level goes, I don't have to turn it up so high to achieve what is reference level. But I did take in that if my front left was playing louder than my front right, I adjusted for that compensation as I have a speaker that is near a wall so its prolly affecting that level. Not much though.

[rgdawsonco]

Yes, I have a couple Denon AVR's that have Audessey. I will probably not ever get a receiver without it. I think it is fantastic.

However...

My Denon 3310 has MultiEQ, Dynamic Volume, and Dynamic EQ. MultiEQ is the equalizer part, Dynamic EQ is a volume dependent EQ adjustment based on human perception at different volume levels, and Dynamic Volume attemps to maintain volume consistency across program sources and within program material.

I keep Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume turned off. While Dynamic EQ is great and probably the best implementation of its kind, I find I don't consistently like it on. It works great for low volume listening, which I rearely do. So I just keep it off.

Dynamic volume adjusts the volume and the net result is that "0 dB" is adjusted to a much lower volume level than otherwise. This is no big deal since it is just an arbitrary number display change. Your not really losing anything. But you feel like you are. Anyway, I just keep it off.

Now Multi EQ adjusts your speakers in combination with the rooms contribution to their response. This part of Audessey is fabulous. It has made a dramatic improvement in all the systems I have used it on. But I have gotten crappy measurements before by being careless in the automatic setup. For example, USE A TRIPOD. Turn off the furnace/AC. Turn off the dishwasher. Disable the garage door. Make sure everyone is quiet while it goes through its measurements, or better yet do it with the house empty. You get the idea.

[ZombieWoof]

I let it setup & then tweak from there as my onk will save the tweak settings

BUt he's right it's Gotta be quite or yer wasting yer time when doing setup !

[Mr. RF62]

Hopefully someone can help me figure out Audyssey Dynamic EQ. It seems to add lots of bass and boost to the sound, I'm fine with that, but, what does it do? Technically speaking, what x-over does it use, what is the EQ settings when turned on, levels, etc.?. Does anyone know for sure?

[ZombieWoof]

reda all about it here !

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1071259

[Mr. RF62]

Thank you, so there isn't a "technical" way to see what it does.

[ZombieWoof]

Thank you, so there isn't a "technical" way to see what it does.

what ever it does it well But i find I tweak it alittle on the Sub's crenter when it's done !

[Rudy81]

It took me a while to get it right, but now I cannot live without it. It does work very well on my Integra DHC 9.9 with my Khorns and 7.1 HT.

My experiece is that the calibration system is extremely accurate. I have used a totally separate mic and software to check the results in my room.

However, the system is very sensitive to how you place the mic. As an example, I initially placed the mic at 'ear' level, which for the Khorns is well below the tweeters. Concequently, Audyssey boosted my highs way out of proportion to where they should be. I was able to get some help on the problem from the huge AVSForum Audyssey thread. In fact the Audyssey designers answered some of my questions and helped troubleshoot the problems.

I too wish the system would tell me more about what it did to the system. What I do know is that it properly corrects for room anomalies and any problems with your speakers. I highly recommend you download, reand and implement the Audyssey setup guide posted in the AVSForum. It is very helpful.

Don't give up too quickly on Audyssey and find a way to measure what it did to your system. There are a few low cost room measurement system out there like REW (Room EQ Wizard) software, which is free. You only need a mic, phantom power source and a tripod and you are good to go.