Where is my surround sound?

Have you run the MACC auto-setup? It will set the levels of all your speakers so that they are equal at the listening position. This will solve your problem.

Craig

The right level for your speakers is when they are all at the same loudness.

You really need a sound level meter to test this. I'm sure your reciever has a test tone. This will send a sound to each speaker, one after another. Make sure each speaker is the same loudness.

As far as the right number setting, it can be all over the place. My center channel is currently -4 and my surrounds are +4 and +5. But this will be different on every system and room so don't just use these numbers.

Yes, the MCACC uses the included mic. Set it as close to ear level at your listening position as possible. Using a tripod is sometimes helpful.

Why would the "installer" not use the MCACC? It does more than a simple level adjustment. It also sets speaker distances, sizes and crossovers. It checks the reverberant sound field and adjusts the output to minimize the impact:
http://www.pioneer.co.uk/files/eur/MCACC/index.html

I would write down all the settings the "installer" came up with, then run MCACC. If you don't like the settings it comes up with, you can always go back to the installers settings.

Craig

Some folks don't like the MCACC settings. That's why I suggested you retain the installer settings, so you can go back to them if you don't like what MCACC comes up with. If people don't like the MCACC settings, the thing they usually don't care for is the EQ settings. Therefore, the other option is to keep all the settings for levels, distances crossovers, etc., but to turn off the EQ.

Also, be sure to check the speaker size settings. Sometimes it will set speakers to "Large" that really should be set to "Small". Report back with what it comes up with and we can help you optimize the settings.

Craig

One other thing... the subwoofer distance may be different than the "actual" distance. MCACC actually measures the "acoustic" distance of the subwoofer. This distance is sometimes longer than the actual distance because of the Bass Management processing and any filters used in the subwoofer amplifier. The processing in these systems takes some time (milliseconds) and that time needs to be factored into the distance setting. If MCACC calculates a distance longer than the actual distance, keep it.

Craig

I have a VSX81 and the sound is great. I have my PS3 set to bitstream and all speakers work fine.

sigh...PS3 should have latest firmware and be set to PCM. This is the ONLY way to hear TrueHD and DTS-HD soundtracks. If you have a BD30, why are you even using the PS3 for blu-ray???

Fit2Run,
I have a totally different question for you. What acoustical treatments have you done for this room? It is the most important part of the sound you are going to get in that or any room.
I agree with all the other info you have recieved but if you try all of it and still don't like the sound look to your treatments.

Not all 5.1 disks will deliver sound images to the rear surround speakers. Look on the back of the BR jewel box the disk came in and read what codecs or surround processes the disk was recorded in. The front soundstage does 80% of the work. Your not going to get continuous sound thru the rears. That would be more like 5.1 stereo, a DSP mode.

Are we supposed to magically help you over the internet somehow? The MCACC readings look reasonable, I don't know what else you expect us to comment on?

Surrounds aren't supposed to be constantly blaring in your ear "hey look, you've got surround".

Honestly, I'd stick to whatever your Pioneer auto-setup feature dictates. It seems to me that you're not 100% sure of what kind of sound you SHOULD be getting, but have a perception of what you thought it was.

These auto-setups are not half bad most times, so you can be sure you're not missing out

I mean, let's not forget your speakers are not all identical, which would definitely affect the over coherence of the surround sound experience

Rynberg, your comment is uncalled for. He's trying to figure this out so give advice or don't but let's not berate the guy.
To the OP, I'd suggest getting a sound level meter from Radio Shack and set your speakers manually. I'm not a fan of the auto calibration. Once you have the meter do a search on here and there is a lot of information that will help. You want all the speakers to have the same level on a test tone. Your sub should be the same level but the meters from Radio Shack are slightly off and you have to adjust them for that. I'd leave the distances where they are it, sounds like your setup did well with it. Also there is a thread on here about great movies for surround sound try some of those movies. I hated Casino Royale so haven't watched it on DVD to tell you if it's a good one or not. Not all movies have great surround effects. Others will chime in on that issue I'm sure.
But as rynberg stated your surrounds won't be blaring sound out at all times, only when needed. Surround is very subtle and a well set up system is great when the movie has a good surround track. Best of luck

You beat me to it. I think you need a different movie as I stated above. I know Cars was pretty good and The Incredibles is excellent. Also try Transformers.

In the past, I was not thrilled with any of the EQ modes on auto-cal setups either. However, I found that the ones I tried, YPAO & MCACC, did a pretty good job at setting levels and distances. They would do just as good a job as an RS SPL meter, and no correction tables for meter adjustment were required. Also, the distance settings are more accurate than a simple tape-measurement, for the reasons I described in post #9 above.

They would often get the speaker sizes incorrect, setting many speakers as "large" that should correctly be set as "small", but that was easy to correct. Just re-set them to "small" and pick an appropriate crossover. However, I never liked what any of them did with Auto-EQ. They would screw up the imaging or the dialogue and I always preferred the EQ's set to "Off".

I now have an Onkyo 885 pre/pro with Audyssey MultEQ XT. It is a much better "auto-EQ" than any of the others I have tried. It seems to correct the FR without impacting the imaging. It also nailed the level and distance settings. It incorrectly found my Atlantic Technology 8200e's as "Full Range", but I simply reset them to an 80 Hz crossover.

The MCACC has a room correction EQ, which I suggest the OP try both On and Off. If he's like me, he'll prefer it Off, but it's possible, in his room, he may like it. However, the rest of the settings seem appropriate.

And McCall is absolutely correct that room treatments will be the best improvement the OP can make.

Craig

I think the Ultimate surround test on Blu-ray would be the movie WAR if you have or have considered getting it. Phenominal use of surrounds in this...2 others would be Black Hawk Down and Tears of the Sun. These movies will let you know if your surround is working properly and from there just knowing that all movies are not created equal in the surround department. Some movies just have bland and less than adequate soundtracks....even on BD. Check out the Sticky thread in the BD Software section for a list of some of the best soundtracks in addition to the ones I have mentioned.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=918734

Craig, I defer to your knowledge as you have way more experience than I. I know mine is terrible. I have the Yamaha htr-6090 and I don't know if it's the receiver or the horrible accoustics in my room, but the auto-cal is terrible. I've used 2 different mics and same thing.
Fit2run, I hope you've gotten enough info to get you started. I agree that the rears are not as important to be timbre matched. For what it's worth I've never understood people that chime in a discussion just to be confrontational. Most on here are helpful and informative. Although they will bust your b@lls on occasion.

Audyssey does similar thing where it adjusts everything down.

You should adjust all these settings manually using you lowest adjustment (R) as the base. Thus you should end up with the following:

L= -1 dB (10-9)
C= -1 dB (10-9)
R= 0 dB (9-9)
SR= -1 dB (10-9)
SL= -1 dB (10-9)
SW= -.5 dB (9.5-9)

The only thing this will do is change the Master Volume Setting for Reference Level. However, it won't hurt anything either.

Craig

Edit: There is one other thing it *could* do. If the subwoofer is not receiving a strong enough signal to activate it's Auto-On function, raising all the levels like what was suggested can help with that. Of course, the same thing could be accomplished by lowering the level of the subwoofer amp before calibration. This will force the receiver to send it a stronger signal.