Need help with surr speakers

[TIbor]

Hi

I am new to this forum. Looks like a great place for good info. I am finishing off part of my basement to make it a more suitable Home theatre area. More about that later.

I currently have a Toshiba 36in HD FS Tv

Denon 1802 Rec

Toshiba Sd-3800 Prog Scan

Fronts Klipsch Rf-3II

Center Klipsch Rc-3II

Rear Klipsch SS-1

Sub Klipsch Ksw-12

Home Theatre POWERBAR 2100 with Clean Power Stage 2 v2.0

All wired with Monster Cable

Now the problem I am having is when setting up the sound levels for each speaker..( am using a Radio Shack sound Meter...trying to balance it about 75db and 85db for the sub)..My front left is at about +3 Center is +5 and the front right is +4. That seems ok, but my rears which are only 3 feet to the side of me are all the way up to +12. Is this normal? Is it possibly because they are not the exact same line as the rest of the speakers. So My question is my basement will be 14x24. Althought the viewing area is 14x12,other side when be for a pool table or something like that.

Am I better off buying the Rs-3II. Or buying a second sub, although it sounds good now.

Great forum!! I see alot of difference in opion about setting speaker size and such..I guess it comes down to personal pref

Thanks

[ygmn]

When you say +3 do you mean dB...and are you adjusting the level of each speaker using the pink noise test tone from the receiver or test DVD or CD?

You should set the output levels of the speakers to have about the same SPL from the main listening position......

Do you have Access to the AVIA home theater setup DVD or other HT setup DVD?

These would help

[TIbor]

Hi

I am refering to the pink noise setup, that allows you to increase or decrease each channels output(volume?)

I have Audio and video System enhancer by diskwasher digital..

It is pretty good I think.

Thanks

[TIbor]

Sorry I am referring to the recievers pink noise generator!

[ygmn]

Set the SPL where you sit...about head level.....

Set it to test tones...and set volume with either left and right main playing....set volume until you get the 75 or 85 dB you desire.....

then go through test sequence where each speaker is played by itself...then adjust balance for left and right to match up on dB scale...and adjust each speaker level until they are at the same level as mains....

Each surround should have adjustment on receiver for volume either by remote or some way...check the owners manual that came with it...

HTH

[dougdrake]

Tlbor - The SS-1 speakers are less efficient than the Reference speakers, so it is not surprising that you are at +12 to get them to balance with your mains. However, to avoid having them pegged with no further adjustment, I'd suggest you make your calibrations after you boost the main volume on your amplifier, and then crank down the mains/center to achieve 75db on the meter.

For example, you may turn up the amplifier volume knob, then set your mains to 75db which might be at -4 rather than +4. It's all relative -- just so that all speakers put out the same volume at any given volume setting on your receiver. You will want to make a note of where your volume knob is set when you achieve the 75db volume -- then when you want to listen to DVDs at "reference volume" return the amp volume knob to that setting.

DD

[TIbor]

Hi

Thanks for the replies. Your response to setting the channel volume is preety much How I did it. I think I will look into upgrading my ss-1 to the rs-3II.

Thanks

[DrWho]

this is how i would approach it...

set everything to the default settings and put in a CD and turn off the sub. turn the main volume up to a level that you will use most often. listen for a bit and get a feel for how things sound. then open up your settings and do the test tone generator with your spl meter and all that fancy stuff. it's usually best if you use your ears and your meter together to decide how much to boost each channel.

one thing to avoid is to keep adding to each channel. based on the settings you were running earlier, a better calibration would be more like:

FL: -4 C: -2 FR: -3

RL: +5 ___ RR: +5

basically try to keep all the numbers so they balance out around 0.

once you get all this set, turn on the subwoofer and adjust it's volume accordingly. 10db louder on the sub might be a bit loud, but it's for you to decide what sounds best to you.

then, put the spl meter down and start enjoying your system...if you find something a bit distracting or lacking, just adjust it accordingly.

also, don't forget to play around with large versus small speaker settings...bass management is important, but we can save that for another topic.

[TIbor]

Thanks for all the great replies!!