You are not 'taking away the amp power' - you're not changing the 'amp power' at all in fact. The knob on the sub is a gain control not a volume control. It means that the sub amp will still reach its maximum power, but from a smaller input voltage that's all.
Using the tripod stand on the seats is not very reliable. Invest in a decent low profile boom mic stand and you can use it for Audyssey as well as with a mic and some software to optimize your sub locations and overall SQ. Another thing you could do to eliminate the seat back issue is recline the seats since a lot of listeners will probably sit this way during a movie anyway. I would definitely try to determine your personal preference (sitting up or lying down) and run Audyssey at that ear height. Of course, if you split time 50/50 then just average the two. I can't tell you how much it pains me to see this AWESOME setup and not have any idea how your room is affecting the SQ. Based on the pics, you have an ideal setup for some acoustical room treatments (e.g. corner bass traps and first reflection panels at a minimum) so do yourself a favor and get some measuring gear. You'll be glad you did it given how much you've already invested in your setup (in TIME and money).
A few observations. Not a good idea to have the room in a different state for measuring as it is for listening (eg the fabric covers on the chairs). Bad idea to place the mic stand on the furniture. Very bad idea in fact. Can the surrounds/rear surrounds 'see' the mic? If not, raise the mic above the seat backs. It is more important to have line of sight than to have the mic at ear height if you have to choose. Mic should really be 12 inches from back of seat not 6. In step 8, what is this 'waiting 5 minutes' step for?
If you click the links in my sig, you can read my Audyssey FAQ and 101 for many more useful tips about Audyssey best practice, put together over many months/years from the combined experiences of contributors to the 60,000 post Audyssey thread here.
You have such a potentially wonderful room, it would be a shame to compromise it with less than great Audyssey techniques.
BTW, how is your room acoustically treated and what did you use to determine the type, amount and placement of the treatments? Do you have REW or OmniMic etc?
It's important to remember that Audyssey has to give a simple and clear set of instructions that will work for the majority of users, and that they are always conscious of trying to get the best result for a group of listeners. Many of us Audyssey fans in the Audyssey and Pro threads have found better results (based on measurements as well as listening) can be obtained with non-standard mic placement - especially where there is only one listener or where only one listener is 'critical'. In the latter case, a tight 'group' of measurements around the MLP can be beneficial, at the expense of the SQ in other seats.
It's not a great idea to have the mic on the chair - it can be difficult to orientate it exactly vertically, and it is not the most stable platform for measuring. A boom mic stand for less than $30 is a much better tool than a tripod for this purpose. Pop across to the Audyssey thread - there are 60,000 posts of great info there, the most relevant of which are distilled into the FAQ and the 101, along with much advice garnered directly from Audyssey.
It's one way to do it and it does no harm - but it isn't necessary to leave the room and Audyssey tests for ambient noise and if the S/N ratio is poor it raises the level of the test chirps to get well above the noise floor. It does this three times and then craps out with a warning if it cannot get a proper S/N ratio for the test. Bottom line - if the measurements run, the calibration is good.
It is not considered a good thing to have the room in one state for measuring and another for listening. If you measure with the absorbent material in place, you really should listen with it in place. Audyssey will have calibrated taking account of the absorbent material, but it won’t be there when you are listening. There's no need to do t that way - pull the mic 12 inches clear of the back of the chair instead and raise it above the back of the chair if it cannot 'see' the rear surrounds or surrounds.
They are not helping get a 'more accurate' result if the cal is made in circumstances not pertinent when listening though. Or if the mic is not stable enough during measuring. Believe me, you are far from Audyssey-anal (yet) :)
True. Although one would hope the off-axis performance of speakers used by most of those in this thread is rather better than that.
This is way OT for the SubM thread so I won't comment any more on Audyssey here - but you would be very welcome in the Audyssey thread!
What he is after though is a nice sounding room ;)
Using the tripod stand on the seats is not very reliable. Invest in a decent low profile boom mic stand and you can use it for Audyssey as well as with a mic and some software to optimize your sub locations and overall SQ. Another thing you could do to eliminate the seat back issue is recline the seats since a lot of listeners will probably sit this way during a movie anyway. I would definitely try to determine your personal preference (sitting up or lying down) and run Audyssey at that ear height. Of course, if you split time 50/50 then just average the two. I can't tell you how much it pains me to see this AWESOME setup and not have any idea how your room is affecting the SQ. Based on the pics, you have an ideal setup for some acoustical room treatments (e.g. corner bass traps and first reflection panels at a minimum) so do yourself a favor and get some measuring gear. You'll be glad you did it given how much you've already invested in your setup (in TIME and money).
+1
Would you like to bring this to the Audyssey thread? I am really conscious of how far OT we are getting.
Briefly, think of the wavelengths of the frequencies likely to reflect off a leather chair...
