Hi, I know that for TVs, recommended display settings vary from set to set. My question is, if there is a general recommended setting(s) for the built in speakers for a TV in terms of the, what, 5-6 different frequencies (or whatever they're called?)?

I'd appreciate help on this, or at least being pointed to a very very simple resource on the web. I'm not setting up any external speakers or whatnot, I just need some half-decent settings to maximize the output from the (admittedly not that great) TV speakers.

Thanks.

Your tv has an audio equalizer?

Yep, it's got an equalizer in it, at the following frequencies:

120, 500, 1500, 5000, 10,000

Going by your response, is it abnormal for a TV to have a built-in equalizer?

I've owned a couple of TVs that had equalizers, BBE, "enhanced" sound, and other useless stuff.

Set the equalizer to what ever sounds good to you. Built-in TV speakers are usually pretty limited in what they can do. They are by no means high fidelity and are too small to give you true bass. No amount of boost will overcome the limits of physics. But small amounts of equalization may make the sound better for you.

Dude, I'm not INTERESTED in randomly playing with the settings, since I'd like to get something in the "official correct" for movies/tv shows whatever. I'm going for as much accuracy AS POSSIBLE. If someone CHOOSES to help me out, IF they think it's possible, I'd appreciate it. I KNOW things vary between sound/audio systems, but my hope was that there are GENERAL ranges that those particular frequencies I listed that sound the most accurate.

My question is, if there is a general recommended setting(s) for the built in speakers for a TV in terms of the, what, 5-6 different frequencies (or whatever they're called?)?



No, of course not. The TV is going to sound different in every room you put it in.

as trekguy MENTIONS...set the controls ANY way YOU want.

Dude... leave them flat. If you don't LIKE the way your TV's speakers sound with a flat setting, adjust accordingly for YOUR room and YOUR tastes. Why NOT randomly play with the settings? It's not like you're listening through a high-end audio system! It's TV speakers! ;)

*Sigh* Okay, let me put it this way:

Is there an absolute RECOMMENDED value for these settings.

I don't want hippy-crap about "setting it the way best for my blah blah" I want one person to give me a "yes" or "no" answer. One word. Okay? Nothing else in the response except for an affermative or negative.

No! Have fun and enjoy! From the hippy-crap man.

set all the frequencies to 0 which is default. there is no official setting for equalizers, before the movie or music was recorded, it has already been equalized in the studio.

Based upon the relatively poor frequency response of most televisions, the old 'smiley face' setup might work. Since the low and high frequencies are typically filtered by the cheap television speaker adjust the equalizer to something like a 'smiley face' and listen to the difference.

Based upon the relatively poor frequency response of most televisions, the old 'smiley face' setup might work. Since the low and high frequencies are typically filtered by the cheap television speaker adjust the equalizer to something like a 'smiley face' and listen to the difference.

Dude, you broke the rules. It was supposed to be only a yes or no answer, or the "official correct" settings for the best sound in every situation. ;) :rolleyes: :p

chinaboy1021 and AV Doogie, I appreciate your responses. Seriously I really do. As to the Smiley thing, that's difficult as instead of the have a cursor in the middle of a bunch of bars, I have a solid bar going across, like on an excel spread sheet. Still, I should be able to eye-ball it to the "smiley" thing.

I'll try it late tonight, and let you know how it sounds to my ear. I need to dig through my CDs for a particuarly high-quality song to test it on (and possibly make adjustments for).

Dude? Dude: usage ranges from a tyro in the West to a comrade, associate or friend. I first heard it as surfer idiot speak :cool: and I wouldn't normally use it. But you know about exceptions and rules.

So Dude, have you got it now? :rolleyes:

http://ldc.upenn.edu/myl/llog/BollingDude.gif

shadowdude....

I'm hurt that you didn't recognize the response(s) I provided which was similar to the others that you mentioned (in bold text). The phrase "leave them flat" is the same as "0".

So now that you are trying to spank me, allow me to ask this:

Are you seriously considering listening to CD's through your TV? Please say it's not true! :)

No, I just figure it's easier to "test" the system using a high-quality song instead of using a random movie scene that may not have "clear" sound for maximum, er, not accuracy, but sounding good; I, of course, listen to music using a low end, crappy CD-player ;)

Well... your best bet is to watch a movie on DVD and "play" with the settings. "Music" CD's have/use different equaliztions of are not intended for "TV's".

For that matter, any "movie" on HBO, Cinemax, or VOD would be a better source to set properly than a CD.

BTW... I'd personally be MORE concerned with the video settings than "TV sound". ;)

There are no recommended settings other than flat (0).

If you want something better, then get the Room EQ Wizard and a measurement microphone, plug it all into your computer, and measure the frequency response of your room. Then adjust the EQ based on what you see in that frequency response.

When I tune up my TV speakers (I know, impressive, right?) tonight, what's a DVD with good audio quality I can use?

HD movies I have include Batman Begins, Superman Returns, King Kong, The Thing, Smallville S5

SD movies: Oh, tons, In the Mouth of Madness, er, too many to list, so throw out a name and I'll use it if I have it.

Any/all of them... SD/HD doesn't matter, you're still listening in "stereo" on the TV's speakers. All your "equalizer" is providing a more flexible bass/treble adjustment(s).
Instead of two... threre are five.

*Sigh* Okay, let me put it this way:

Is there an absolute RECOMMENDED value for these settings.

I don't want hippy-crap about "setting it the way best for my blah blah" I want one person to give me a "yes" or "no" answer. One word. Okay? Nothing else in the response except for an affermative or negative.
One word: ZERO!

Now, to *explain* the one word answer, let me use a few more words. The most "accurate" output is the one with the same volume output at all frequencies. This would be the one with all the graphic equalizer settings at "zero". This means they have zero boost and zero cut. All frequencies are being output at equal volume level, (theoretically, within the limitations of the speakers/amps in the TV).

However, you don't necessarily *hear* all frequencies at equal volume due to the influence of your room on the sound. Your room can increase the volume levels at some frequencies and decrease them at other frequencies. An "equalizer" attempts to "equalize" the sound at different frequencies based on the room acoustics. This is why everyone was telling you to play with it to make it sound as good as possible IN YOUR ROOM!

Having said all that, you only have a "graphic" equalizer, not a "parametric" equalizer. IOW, your equalizer has fixed frequency filters. Also the slopes of the filter are not adjustable. Therefore, if you have a peak at 250 Hz, you can't do *anything* about it because the center frequencies of your filters are nowhere close to this frequency, (you have filters at 120 and 500 Hz). You would need an adjustable (parametric) equalizer to be able to impact a 250 Hz peak.

The fact of the matter is that a graphic equalizer like the one in your TV is nothing more than a glorified set of tone controls. The most "accurate" setting is to set them all to zero. If you don't like that sound, then the problem is your room. The best that anyone on this forum can tell you is to play around with the "tone" controls until you find a sound that is pleasing in your room.

If you truly want more precise control over the frequency response of your TV/room, you need a true parametric equalizer, although I don't think anyone makes one suitable for TV speakers.

Bottom line, get a real sound system and shut the TV speakers off.

Craig

Bottom line, get a real sound system and shut the TV speakers off.
I don't have the money for "a real sound system", hence asking this whole thread in the first place.

I don't want hippy-crap about "setting it the way best for my blah blah" I want one person to give me a "yes" or "no" answer. One word. Okay?

Does goaway count as one word?

Dude, I apologize if I came off as obnoxious, but people weren't giving me the answer I hoped for; yes or no. Since the equalizers have frequency listings, I didn't know if there were optimal balances proportional to the other frequencies.

Dude, you broke the rules. It was supposed to be only a yes or no answer, or the "official correct" settings for the best sound in every situation. ;) :rolleyes: :p


OK, I will go to jail now and never return :D

ShadowDude... here's some material for you to read:
http://www.ethanwiner.com/equalizers.html
http://www.soundinstitute.com/article_detail.cfm/ID/110