Spl calibration

[Diesel]

I have a denon avr x2400h and i wanna calibrate my speakers can some one kinda walk me threw it iv never done used a spl meter iv always done it by ear or auto calibrate. I have a radio shack analog sound lever meter. I wanna set my speakers to 75db but where do i start my main volume level at befor i adjust my dbs? Bc my volume level is adjustable its not a set level. Thanks. 

[dtel]

I set the Db meter to slow c and set the receiver to put out the test tone with the main volume kind of low. Raise or lower the volume knob to get to your 75 Db once the test tone is playing. Now you should have something on the Tv or front of the receiver where you can see each channel to adjust individually.

 

Use the Db meter at your seating position to adjust each channel to the same volume, some lower some higher, whatever it takes. Each should be set to the same volume at listening position. This changes each channel volume level inside the receiver so when done the main volume does not change each channel's settings it stays set.

Don't worry to much about the sub if you get a funny reading, sometimes the sub can do this depending on the room, but try it.

 

It's really easy just a little hard to explain, hope this helps, OSD on screen display from the receiver to the Tv helps alot with this.

 

Setting like this with a db meter really makes everything sound better, it really can't be done by ear.

Almost forgot, Welcome

[Diesel]

But in the test tones dont you set all you db levels at default 0 then turn your volume up to a certian point then adjust your db level till your meter hits 75db i just need to know where do i start with the volume level.

[Zen Traveler]

1 hour ago, Diesel said:

I have a denon avr x2400h and i wanna calibrate my speakers can some one kinda walk me threw it iv never done used a spl meter iv always done it by ear or auto calibrate. I have a radio shack analog sound lever meter. I wanna set my speakers to 75db but where do i start my main volume level at befor i adjust my dbs? Bc my volume level is adjustable its not a set level. Thanks. 

Run Audyssey. 

[dtel]

If I understand this right...

 

I don't believe any of these adjustments will change your 0 setting on the receiver. (mine don't) I just use around that volume to get a good reading, it does not change the number displayed on you receiver.

The difference between channels will not be a big difference from each other so no large changes. You can not turn the receiver to 0 and turn each channel down enough to try to get to 75Db, that's probably to much to change, for no reason really.

 

Sorry if I am misunderstanding. 

6 minutes ago, Zen Traveler said:

Run Audyssey.

I have never done that myself, with last receiver and missing the mic for the receiver I use now, so I never bothered. I always liked the sound with just all the speakers balanced. I never did that somewhat because I don't like any of the sounds using the different DSP settings so I just run it straight in whatever the best format is.

 

It may sound better using Audyssey or something similar ? For me it's one of those "if you haven't heard you don't know what your missing" things, who knows.

[Zen Traveler]

40 minutes ago, dtel said:

I have never done that myself, with last receiver and missing the mic for the receiver I use now, so I never bothered. I always liked the sound with just all the speakers balanced. I never did that somewhat because I don't like any of the sounds using the different DSP settings so I just run it straight in whatever the best format is.

Sure. Nothing wrong with that if it's what you prefer. I liked the way my system sounded until I purchased an SPL meter and realized that I didn't turn it up higher than a particular  volume because it became "too loud." I also didn't realize at the time that I enjoyed the bass being higher than it should until I toned that down and found I was appreciating the midrange better and that I was actually missing things in soundtracks and music.

Quote

 

It may sound better using Audyssey or something similar ? For me it's one of those "if you haven't heard you don't know what your missing" things, who knows.

I agree. 

[dtel]

I usually just play it at whatever volume sounds good, it seems to change depending on the movie.

 I think your right about the bass thing I bet it's normal to like the sound of the bass a little high. The sub amp is not on the sub so it's easy to change, I know where to set it for music and a different setting for movies, different inputs so slightly different volumes. This setting is the correct volume for each, I just adjust if I want more or less. Like with some music like my favorite Reggae, it has exaggerated bass sometimes so I just adjust slightly.

 

OK I'm old, I like to know what's going on, to me this is normal, but very possibly not ? I don't even have to think about where to set it to get what I want, but it's used about 7-8 hours a day so I have alot of practice,  it's a habit now I guess. I'm not a gear person, make it play music, sound good and I walk away, unless Pandora stops the music and ask me if I am still listening, or to change a cd.

 

Maby I need to get the mic for the thing and see what it does, maby.

[Zen Traveler]

8 hours ago, dtel said:

I don't even have to think about where to set it to get what I want, but it's used about 7-8 hours a day so I have alot of practice,  it's a habit now I guess. I'm not a gear person, make it play music, sound good and I walk away, unless Pandora stops the music and ask me if I am still listening, or to change a cd.

 

I am with you dtel about not being a "gear person." That said, I don't play music all day and only listen at night, but pretty much every night for about 4 hours or so. I also don't listen to CDs and multichannel music is my go to source. Concerts, DVD-Audio, SACD, DTS disks and no streaming. The only thing I change is the volume and most sources seem pretty consistent. Insofar as Movies are concerned, we watch those between -3 to -6 on the MV after Audyssey calibration. There are some outliers, the most notable is my Talking Heads DVD "Stop making sense." It for some reason was recorded at a different level and while most Concert videos we play between -12 to -18 or so, it actually comes in at the "0" mark and I would be curious if others found this oddity as well? 

[dtel]

1 hour ago, Zen Traveler said:

Concerts, DVD-Audio, SACD, DTS disks and no streaming.

I like them also especially concert DVD's, sometime we listen in multi channel sometimes in 2 Ch. But I do like streaming music, you loose a little quality but it's like having a free warehouse full of music, it's very convenient for background music. Streaming is really not all that bad at all as far as quality goes, I was a little surprised how good it can be. I rarely sit down and critically listen, if so it's from a disc.

SACD and DVD-a, I only have a couple left, I had a universal player die a couple of years ago and decided not to replace it since it was hard to find any music on that format. I gave away what I started to collect except for a couple, now the new 4 K Br player I got plays them all and I only have a couple left, shot myself in the foot again. But I have to say some concerts DVD's have as good a quality as anything I have heard.

[Zen Traveler]

4 minutes ago, dtel said:

I had a universal player die a couple of years ago and decided not to replace it since it was hard to find any music on that format.

I can dig it. That said, I have both the Sony UHP-H1 and the Sony X-800 and both are great for DVD-As and SACDs. The latter plays 4K disks and the former upscales material to 4K. Afaik, both players can be had for under $150 whereas before the cheapest audio player I could find that wasn't discontinued was $500 from Oppo. 

[dtel]

I got this player to try some 4K UHD disc to see how they looked, it works out well because it seems to upscale normal DVD'S to a little better quality anyway. I know Oppo is good but to me not worth the difference, the latest player we got does great, even a noticeably improved the sound of any discs. But I know many people wouldn't even try it since it's under $200, me I'm cheap when I can be.

Just notice we almost have the same Tv Vizio m series, this is an example, I researched Tv's for over a month, couldn't find one good reason to by a TV with a different name brand costing almost twice as much when all the spec's and picture were as good or better on this Tv as any of the others costing twice as much.

[RoboKlipsch]

21 hours ago, Diesel said:

But in the test tones dont you set all you db levels at default 0 then turn your volume up to a certian point then adjust your db level till your meter hits 75db i just need to know where do i start with the volume level.

The advice provided is excellent.

 

Matching spl at the listening position for each speaker is one component of manually calibrating your system.  In a manual setup where 0 is max....it would be the max power thr avr can produce but not referenced to a particular spl level.  

 

Audyssey is a theater autocalibration and that is how you can set 0 to 75db. It measures your speakers in your room using your particular avr at the exact distance of your first measurement and sets 0 to 75db with a peak capability of 105db.  If you calibrate at 10 feet away and then recalibrate at 20 feet away everything is remeasured to match reference...and 20 feet uses double the avr power at least for the front channels.  But most avrs including your Denon allow you to turn it up past 0 to use all the avr power should you want to.  So nothing is left on the table...or the avr to be exact.  

 

Same for subs...they may well have a lot more capability than needed for calibration.  

 

You cant manually adjust what 0 is because its a reference standard that autocal determines.  So if you go manual and 0 is your systems max, what that db is will again vary depending upon all the factors of your setup.  

 

[dm465531]

Ok so read the thread but I have a question.  I have been running the calibration, onkyo's version, and then i go into the menu that allows you to adjust each speaker individually and I have my SPL meter and then I go through each channel and set them all to out put a volume of 75db at the MLP.  Is this how I am supposed to be doing it?  I do not mess with the volume knob at all, not even sure it can be messed with.  I have always wondered if I had been doing this correct or not. 

[CECAA850]

On 1/20/2018 at 1:17 AM, dtel said:

I usually just play it at whatever volume sounds good, it seems to change depending on the movie.

Exactly.  My system will get louder than you'd ever listen to for any length of time (while still remaining crystal clear and having more in the tank) and quieter than you can hear so I really don't care what level 0 is.

[CECAA850]

11 minutes ago, dm465531 said:

Ok so read the thread but I have a question.  I have been running the calibration, onkyo's version, and then i go into the menu that allows you to adjust each speaker individually and I have my SPL meter and then I go through each channel and set them all to out put a volume of 75db at the MLP.  Is this how I am supposed to be doing it?  I do not mess with the volume knob at all, not even sure it can be messed with.  I have always wondered if I had been doing this correct or not. 

Sounds right.

[RoboKlipsch]

Adding to cecs comment, theres nothing wrong at with rechecking the spl that autocal sets.

In fact, unless everyone has a perfect room, theres potentially some benefit to tweaking them based upon what you hear.

 

For example, most rooms arent treated with sound panels.  So even though the center channel maybe calibrated perfectly, in any given room turning up the center between 1 and 2 even 3db may help.  if surrounds arent perfectly placed i.e. maybe they are high up on the wall, or not in the ideal position angle to where you sit, turning them up or down a few db may create some real magic.  Personal taste also comes into play, where many people yurn up subs anywhere from 1 to 12db over reference.

 

How does someone "know" this?   Mostly just trying it.  Dont be shy to make your system sound the way you think is best.  You can always revert to the original settings.

 

Nothing is really wrong in this regard.  I would only caution not to tweak up or down any channel a lot at once.  Change it 1 maybe 2db max and listen for a while.  if a center or surrounds are too loud, you may not get the proper sweep effect when sound moves between channels.  turning subs up....very popular....can muddy the midbass or mask the midbass at the frequencies above where the sub crosses.

[dm465531]

On 1/19/2018 at 10:39 PM, dtel said:

I set the Db meter to slow c and set the receiver to put out the test tone with the main volume kind of low. Raise or lower the volume knob to get to your 75 Db once the test tone is playing. Now you should have something on the Tv or front of the receiver where you can see each channel to adjust individually.

 

Use the Db meter at your seating position to adjust each channel to the same volume, some lower some higher, whatever it takes. Each should be set to the same volume at listening position. This changes each channel volume level inside the receiver so when done the main volume does not change each channel's settings it stays set.

Don't worry to much about the sub if you get a funny reading, sometimes the sub can do this depending on the room, but try it.

 

It's really easy just a little hard to explain, hope this helps, OSD on screen display from the receiver to the Tv helps alot with this.

 

Setting like this with a db meter really makes everything sound better, it really can't be done by ear.

Almost forgot, Welcome

 

It was just after reading this I did not know if I was doing something wrong. When I tell the receiver to output a test tone the only way to increase the loudness of the test tone is to increase the level of that individual speaker.  

 

The above is saying to increase the volume of the avr and then adjust the loudness of each channel to get to 75db/channel.  I think we are both saying the same thing but when I read it I thought I was doing something wrong.

 

But again I could be out in left field picking daises.

[CECAA850]

2 minutes ago, dm465531 said:

When I tell the receiver to output a test tone the only way to increase the loudness of the test tone is to increase the level of that individual speaker.  

Correct, that's how you balance each speaker to the others.  Once you listen for a while you may feel the need to bump one up or down a little to suit your listening preference.  You can do that without having to get your meter out.

[dm465531]

Thanks.

[JohnA]

On 1/20/2018 at 12:08 AM, Diesel said:

But in the test tones don't you set all you db levels at default 0 then turn your volume up to a certain point then adjust your db level till your meter hits 75db i just need to know where do i start with the volume level.

 

No, and 75 db doesn't really matter/mean anything.  Sit in your listening position and turn on the test tones.  Adjust the volume so you don't go deaf, or hurt.  Adjust the RELATIVE levels of all of the channels to read the same.  This calibration can be done accurately anywhere from 60 to 120 dB, but your ears may not survive.  The level also has to be higher than ambient noise in your house.  Stay as close to 0 dB as practical (use a little minus if you have to) to preserve headroom in the preamp, as long as all channels are at the same level. 

 

I have La Scalas and Heresies.  There is 10 dB difference in their sensitivities.  On top of that, my rears are a little closer.  So, I have a different number for each rear and the center. 

 

Adjust the sub calibration to 3 or 5 dB higher than the mains.  The RS meter is less sensitive at low frequencies. For my setup, 5 extra db sounds good, 5 more is "impressive". 

 

Then, if you want the average level when playing a movie to be 75, you can use the meter to adjust the master/main volume to that level.  Movie theaters are supposed to be set at 85 dB.