Everything updated to Reference....Now what receiver???

[troy2003]

Yes, and actually the XPA-3 was designed for this. Would give you 200 watts for your left, right, and center and your AVR should have plenty of power for the surrounds and rear surrounds. I think it's about 150$ more than the UPA-500 is, but for your needs, maybe a better value. If you plan listening to a lot of music, I definitely would really consider the XPA-3.

Derrick brings up a good point. You may want to do some research on the UPA vs XPA amps running Klipsch. I was somewhat under the impression that it won't make a huge difference when it comes to Klipsch because their speakers are so sensitive. Also keep in mind if you do get it and don't notice the difference you were looking for, Emotiva has a great return policy and just excellent customer service in general.

Good deal, I use it more for movies and my fiance more for music. However I really dont want my fronts and center to drown out my 4 surrounds during movies, but i guess this is where Audyssey comes in to not allow that to happen. Again thanks for all the info guys and I will be looking over the Emotiva website alot in the next month but im already sold it is now just a matter of what will suit my needs best. At 150 extra for the XPA-3 I may just go that route, do it right the first time is always the best rule of thumb.

[troy2003]

Well the 717 came in, I have run Audyssey on 2 different occasions and it seems it is setting my speaker levels super super low!!!!. Im seeing -9.5 dB for my mains and in general across the board my center, surrounds and rear surrounds are all in the negative dB range. So with this being the case when watching a movie i notice my volume is running 75-80% to max, this just doesnt seem right with a much better equipped receiver and such efficient speakers???? [*-)] .Any idea what would be a good manual crossover point for my mains, center, surrounds and rear surrounds?? Also when listening to music any low tones (bass notes) are virtually non existent from my rf-82's and sub????, I have alot to learn and i am super confused.

[troy2003]

"The crossover on the sub should be set to bypass, off, or maximum frequency so it does not intefere with the bass management of the AVR."

I saw this on AVS forum, is this true do I basically want my sub non existent during audyssey calibration so all speakers get set to the proper level? But I still cannot see this affecting the dB level that the speakers perform at, in other words I cannot see that changing the fact that I will still have to crank the AVR to 75-80% volume level.

[tmassey]

Yeah you shouldn't have to turn it up that much. It seems others have had this problem as well with Audyssey. Be sure if your sub has a manual volume, that it is not set all the way up. Make sure all your speakers are wired correctly. For crossovers, I would probably start at 120 on your speakers and if possible, defeat the crossover on your sub by turning it all the way up and allow your receiver to handle it.

There is also a small chance that with the new receiver, you simply are not used to the sound. When I got my Emotiva UMC-1, I initially thought it was lacking on bass but then found out the receiver I had previously to it had way too much bass. The UMC-1 now sounds a lot more natural to me and the Pioneer I used to have sounds way too bass heavy. So I would check all the cables and the sub volume and rerun audyssey and if everything seems like it is set up correctly, give it a few days of listening.

[tmassey]

I saw this on AVS forum, is this true do I basically want my sub non existent during audyssey calibration so all speakers get set to the proper level?

It has the potential to confuse Audyssey. If it's sending a 100 hz signal to the sub but the sub's crossover is set to 80 hz, it won't play that tone so depending on how Audyssey handles this sort of thing, it will try to turn the gain way up in that frequency range or drop the crossover setting to lower than it should be and your speakers would be forced to pick up the extra slack. Your speakers will usually really start to struggle around that range and you will be missing out on a lot of sound.

[troy2003]

Good deal, I will give this a run this evening and see where I stand. I read somewhere also when Audyssey calibrates to a certain crossover that it will not drop any lower than that crossover level even if you manually adjust it, is this true? Either way I am going to run Audyssey again with the subwoofer settings you mentioned and leave it just like that. Now once that is done, with my speaker dB levels being calibrated so so low is it ok to adjust them all up equally about 2 or 3 dB? (since Audyssey is setting my front to -9.5, just seems super low!! and I hear nothing with the volume from 0 all the way to 33), I ask because I did that last night and I only had to have my AVR volume level about half way to listen to a movie at a good loud movie listening level. Thanks for all of this info tmassey you have been a huge knowledge source to raise my ignorance level!!, lol.

[MechMan]

Should be perfectly fine to raise all speakers up by the same db amount. I leave mine where it was set and just turn it up when needed. Won't hurt anything.

I have the 818 and sticking with the calibrated settings sounds awesome to me. I thought the sub was a bit weak at first but now it seems to be smoother (or I'm just getting used to the sound)

Listening at reference level is quite amazing...not for the people upstairs though []

[troy2003]

Should be perfectly fine to raise all speakers up by the same db amount. I leave mine where it was set and just turn it up when needed. Won't hurt anything.

I have the 818 and sticking with the calibrated settings sounds awesome to me. I thought the sub was a bit weak at first but now it seems to be smoother (or I'm just getting used to the sound)

Listening at reference level is quite amazing...not for the people upstairs though

I may only bump a dB, two only if i feel the need. What volume level are you at on your 818 at reference level? Im typically seeing 72-72.5. I know there are different variants being different speakers and whatever else differs between our home theatres but maybe this will give me an idea since the 717 and 818 are cut from the same mold.

[MechMan]

I'll try to check again tonight. It actually showed up on the osd THX REF when I hit it.

[troy2003]

I may not be used to the receiver as tmassey said, seems to be the case. After some reading some people listen to reference at 85!!!!, and at 72.5 im shaking the walls and i Hear everything hanging on the walls buzzing during an action scene. It just seems that during music I have no low tone substance and to get any low tone the volume has to go to a point where the high frequencies get unbareable....Ill figure it out in time, it seems from my research and reading that people go on damn near two year journeys with a new AVR receiver before the feel comfortable with knowing its capabilities

[derrickdj1]

Remember the volume scale is based on a log. scale. The sub should not call attention to itself when you are in the room if it is integrated with the main speakers. If the Hi's are shrill, the EQ on the trebel may needs to come down.

[troy2003]

Remember the volume scale is based on a log. scale. The sub should not call attention to itself when you are in the room if it is integrated with the main speakers. If the Hi's are shrill, the EQ on the trebel may needs to come down.

Im sorry Derrick im not sure i follow you on the log scale, i attempted google but nothing, lol. Also by call attention do you mean an overwhelming presence of low tones?

[tmassey]

I wouldn't take the actual volume number others have and directly compare it to yours, even if it's the exact same model. There are a lot of settings that can directly change this as well as room dimensions, not to mention some speakers sensitivity will be much higher than others.

There is also the possibility that your receiver is picking up a lot more detail because it was a huge upgrade. This detail shines more clearly in the upper end and starts to get a little lost on the lower frequency sounds, even with a low volume. So even though your lower end maybe does sound better now than it did with your old receiver, to you it actually sounds worse because everything else now sounds a lot better? This again just goes back to getting used to the new sound.

I don't quite understand what you mean when you say substance. If you are not talking about detail as much as you are just the boominess of the bass, you might have to tweak your crossovers a little and let your sub handle more of the lower end. I believe the output on your speakers really starts to drop around 120hz - 80hz depending on your room dimensions and it could help to have your sub make up more of that. Audyssey usually handles the crossovers pretty well, but if you are setting them manually, it might be putting a strain on your receiver trying to keep up in those areas.

[troy2003]

By substance i mean the lower register, so yea the bass tones. Im just going to run Audyssey one last time tonight with the sub frequency at max or bypass off and let the setup run to see what comes of this. After that im just going to raise my dB levels by maybe 2 dB's all the way around and tweak the sub settings to match the receiver crossover frequency so it smooths things out. Im sure after I do this I will be happy, I definately notice the quality difference in hearing things that where never heard before so im happy and I will get everything setup that way and let my ear get used to the new sounds!!!. Thanks a million guys!!

[MechMan]

Set your sub at 120 during Audyssey test. And make sure room is DEAD quiet, try to avoid walking around the room as well. I even shut off the furnace while the test was running.

Good luck

[troy2003]

Set your sub at 120 during Audyssey test. And make sure room is DEAD quiet, try to avoid walking around the room as well. I even shut off the furnace while the test was running.

Good luck

Any good rule of thumb for gain setting?

[tmassey]

I definately notice the quality difference in hearing things that where never heard before so im happy and I will get everything setup that way and let my ear get used to the new sounds!

As far as receivers go, that is incredible! When an upgrade is in order, they usually offer the smallest amount of performance vs price.

[MechMan]

Any good rule of thumb for gain setting?

Do you mean the subs gain? If so my unit tells me to turn it up to 75db , and it shows up on the osd.

[Youthman]

I typically have the gain on my sub at 1/2 volume and it offers more than enough impact for my room.

[troy2003]

I typically have the gain on my sub at 1/2 volume and it offers more than enough impact for my room.

Yea after re-running Audyssey again last night everything sounds amazing, my sub is a touch below half on the gain now ive just got to figure out what frequency to set it to so the bass isnt too sharp and has a smoother tone to it.