Quote:
Originally Posted by
caloyzki 
thank you so much. so after i run my audysy, should i tweak my fronts 60hz, center 60hz and surround 100hz? is that fine? and leave the LFE 120hz?
i only use my set up 99% for movies and 1% for music.
batpigworld.com should have everything you want to know about setting up the Denon's Audyssey configuration correctly. It's the resource I used.
I figured I would chime in with my long overdue mini-review of the Dayton Sub-1200 I have been running for a few months now.
Overall, my initial impression was one of disappointment, or at least the feeling of being underwhelmed. With time, though, I have come to realize that the source of my disappointment should probably have actually been a source of pleasant surprise. I'll explain.
My room is about 13x15x8 with no windows and fairly enclosed (two doorways, one of which seals off). My setup is Pioneers in front (FS51s/C21) and Energy Micros for surrounds. I would have strongly preferred to stick with an all Andrew Jones lineup, but with no ability to mount the BS21's on the wall, that was a non-starter for me. Since I had originally planned to use Micros for the whole setup, I already had them, and with their high WAF, I just used those. This was all replacing a H/K HKTS 14 5.1 set, albeit one I had not had setup in quite some time (and never at the new house).
I had watched several movies in the 5.0 setup prior to the arrival of the Dayton and was so impressed with the rich, full sound I already had from the Pioneers that I really did wonder how much a sub was going to help. When it arrived, I hooked it up and configured it using Audyssey on my Denon 1612. At first listen, my fears were confirmed as I could hear a difference, but it was only a very subtle difference. I thought maybe something wasn't configured or working right, but after checking all and tweaking some Audyssey settings, I realized everything was working just as it should. I would even turn the sub on and off during a movie just to make sure there really was a difference. Of course there was, although it was typically subtle. I was disappointed.
But with time, I realized something. It's not knocking my socks off every time it kicks in because it's not necessarily supposed to. It's supposed to add punch to the mix only when called for. And even when it does, it shouldn't be noticeable in and of itself as much as it should be blending seamlessly with the sound coming from the other speakers. I realized this is how it usually sounds at the movies. And all of this it has done wonderfully.
Now I have no doubt part of this seamless transition is due a) to Audyssey and b) to the quality of the FS51s (which continue to impress me), but when I purchased the Dayton, I never, ever expected "subtle" or "nuanced" to be a word I would use to describe it. Yet I do, and I use those terms as compliments. It is not a one note wonder that just plays some random bass to create some emphasis. It is never muddy. It blends in perfectly on music (and while I don't JUST listen to music on the system, per se, I do watch a fair amount of musical content). When it needs to provide some serious power (Avengers, for example), it does so effortlessly.
Now in the interest of full disclosure, I don't tend to go up terribly high in volume due to personal tastes (-10dB is about the highest I go), and so I realize this affects my perception (perhaps significantly) compared with what others would think. For me though, this sub was the absolute perfect match. It gives what it needs to when it needs to in a manner that is very clean to my ears. However, considering the overall subtlety of its addition, I think that if I had spent any more money than I did, I would have been very disappointed in the return on investment.
Moving forward, I do need perform a subwoofer crawl at some point (probably the summer), and I'm hoping this adds a little more "feel" to the speaker. I also am going to try to change out the Micros for a different wall mountable satellite with bigger drivers so the blend is a little better (once in a blue moon, I do hear the transition, likely due to the frequency hole that exists with the surrounds). Still, these are very minor quibbles from someone who is overall very happy with his purchase.
Lastly, the speaker really does look nice too. And my wife was happy that a cheap black Target end table we already had sitting around could be placed on the other side of the TV to provide a pretty good symmetry. I guess she didn't like my proposed solution to create symmetry
$150 is not all that much, to be honest, so why not? And no, I'm not being facetious - that's precisely how I started doing reviews. It might be worth a shot...
