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Need advice / help with Home Theater Setup

post #1 of 9
12/21/09 at 11:19pm
Thread Starter 
I just begin building budget to moderate home theater and I bought following:

* Front (Left & Right) Polk Audio RTi8
* Center Polk Audio Csi5
* Back (Left and Right) Polk Audio Tsi100
* Subwoofer Polk Audio PSW125 (300 watt max)
* already have receiver Pioneer VSX-515 (7.1 capable) DTS Dolby II
* Room size 20' Lengh x 15' width

Other info:

* Sub is connected using digital coax cable from "Sub Out" into "LFE"
* Both floor speakers have two input connected with metal plate. I have left the metal plate in place and connected the speaker wires to bottom connections. Should not make the difference because of the plate.
* Volume level in receiver for front (Left & Right) & Subwoofer is +6db and center channel is +8db.


I am hoping someone can help me tweak the settings for my Pioneer VSX-515 receiver to utilize my Polk Audio speakers / Sub properly to get the best sound possible. Specifically, I like to know what and how to tweak following:

* to get the best voice from center and front possible to hear every word. I like to listen to dialogues. I am somewhat deaf and many times I cannot hear people speak when they speak softly or there are other noise surrounding it. (This is one reason I am building my own theater)

* I like to feel the thunder and vibration from subwoofer during proper scene, i.e., space shuttle taking off, bomb blast, fast speed train, etc.

I appreciate any help possible.

Regards,
Love_2_Crack
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post #2 of 9
12/22/09 at 5:28am
What are you doing for projector and screen?
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post #3 of 9
12/22/09 at 9:09am
Thread Starter 
Projector: Optoma HD65
Screen: Elite 120" Screen
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post #4 of 9
12/22/09 at 9:41am
Get an SPL meter and a calibration disc to properly setup your speaker levels. You may be surprised at the settings you need to achieve the proper results. From there, consider things like acoustic panels to help with reflections and/or bass traps.
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post #5 of 9
12/22/09 at 10:13pm
Thread Starter 
I do plan to put acoustic panels. However, I am not aware of what SPL Meter is or how to use? and I assume calibration disc comes with SPL Meter?

Thank you,
Love_2_Crack
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post #6 of 9
12/23/09 at 5:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Love_2_Crack View Post

I do plan to put acoustic panels. However, I am not aware of what SPL Meter is or how to use? and I assume calibration disc comes with SPL Meter?

Thank you,
Love_2_Crack

Not sure where you are located but you can get an SPL meter at Radio Shack. Get the analog one seen here: http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...LAID=107599065

As for a calibration disc I use this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00..._ya_oh_product It is for Blu Ray, but there is one available for DVD as well. There are instructions included on how to calibrate or you can follow some simple instructions found on the web.
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post #7 of 9
12/23/09 at 10:04am
Thread Starter 
This is awesome. I have Blu-Ray so that will be good. Thank you for all your help.

Regards,
Love_2_Crack
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post #8 of 9
1/3/10 at 10:49am
Use the tune up disks that were mentioned earlier. The problem is not so much setting up the volumes for each speaker using a SPL (sound level or decibel level meter), as it will be for adjusting the delay and the EQ settings. Here's a thought: go to your local sound equipment shop or Best Buy, etc. and purchase and return a Pioneer that has MCACC, other brands call it something like MOFED. They come with a microphone and a speaker set up wizard that will do all the adjusting for you. After running the set up, you can write down the configuration and return the receiver and adjust yours to the same settings. The MCACC system will be 10X more accurate then any manual set-up that you can do.
Sub woofer placement- very important-- and very often overlooked especially if your sub is front firing. Corners generally are not good (actually, corners are never good for any speaker). Put your sub where you will be sitting, play some tuning sounds on your system while crawling around the floor and find out where you sub sounds the clearest (not necessarily the loudest) and that's where you should put your sub. Depending on your equipment and the acoustical variables, it may make a big difference or maybe not.
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post #9 of 9
1/3/10 at 11:27am
do not purchase adn return i do not like that
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