"Official" Audyssey thread (FAQ in post #1) - Page 1939

Sometimes more is less and less is more

The 818 does not have sub EQ for multiple subs where the 4311 does.

Understood.  My situation is similar.

Originally Posted by SoundofMind:

"To my ear, Flat can sound a bit too boosted in the high end to me, at times lending a slightly harsh quality. I have just hit the sixty mark fellows and unfortunately I have some documented hearing loss in high freqs (no doubt from rockin my Strat on my Fender Twin in my misspent youth). Thus I use Flat for certain CDs that benefit, to my ear on that day at that volume, from the high-end boost to bring out detail otherwise lost to me."
Good point. That's the typical everyday simplistic way I think of it :
"Hmmm...this music should be livelier, it sounds a bit dull, not a lot of detail-mebbe I'll "boost the highs" with Flat."
Should be "...mebbe I'll "restore the highs" the Std curve cuts by using Flat".

Thats what I hear.

I don't see myself upgrading to 2 subs in the near future and if I do by then I would most likely upgrade receiver too because it would be outdated.

The tx nr818 has THX. Call me crazy maybe it is because of the label and THX mode but I would like THX on board maybe because I have never owned a THX receiver.

According to the Denon website the 4311 is discontinued. I notice with Denon you need to shell out a lot of cash in order to get XT32 compared to Onkyo brand.

I would think living anywhere with a 15-yr old except in a mansion would be claustrophobic ... or even terminal.

I don't know if we can consider Onkyo's 818 part of the XX08 lineup as it only debuted with the XX10 models. The 4311 IS discontinued, but still available at numerous places online for anywhere between $1300-$1600. The 818 is available for $1000 or less. The advantages of the 4311:
1) been out for a while and no reports of critical failures (there were some blue rain reports but those seem to have disappearrd)
2) ability to EQ 2 subs separately and have individual gain and delay settings
3) ability to upgrade to Audyssey XT32 Pro

818 is the cheapest way to get XT32 at the moment, but as Theresa mentioned, it may or may not develop an HDMI board problem down the road.

BTW, hardware, firmware, 'inputs' and aged wood LOL!!! What's going on?


Max

No - the 4311 is XT32 equipped out of the box. Are you perhaps thinking of Audyssey Pro, which does require additional investment?

 

Pre-Christmas euphoria?  :)

 

(It's Jeff who's got aged wood isn’t it? )

I'm guessing that he just meant that in the current respective lineups, the cheapest XT32 model is quite a bit more in the Denon lineup than the cheapest XT32 equipped offering in Onkyo's current lineup.


Max

 

Ah yes, gotcha!  4311, if still available, is a real bargain. In the UK they don't seem to understand it's now a superseded model and they’re still selling them for close on the original price. 

 

I like the 818 and at well under a grand it's a good buy, but the 4311 offers so much more - a full implementation of XT32 for one thing. Ability to add extra amps for 11.2 for another. And of course it's also Pro-ready. Er, why am I telling you this?  You just posted the same info - LOL. My fingers have taken over where my brain left off...;)

accessories4less is selling refurbed units with 1 yr warranty for eleven-fifty.

Thanks all! Good to know that it treat each speaker individually. I will be playing with that for the next week for sure!

+1.

Meantime, please allow me to add a bit more on the background. As regards the internal test tones it's not that MultEQ is turned off. It's because the AVR has the test noise in a block that comes after MultEQ and so it doesn't see the filters. Audyssey has asked for this many times, but it's apparently too complicated for the AVR makers to make the change in the architecture. The internal test tones don't see the filters so you will get the same answer with Audyssey on and off.

There are external/independent CDs/DVDs for testing. If you are absolutely certain that the external CD/DVD was properly recorded (there are some that are not--particularly DVDs that have messed up the dialnorm setting), then that's the way to go. Because of this uncertainty, however, Audyssey always recommends to go with the internal test tone if you want to check.

Will do individual gain and delay, but EQs both subs together (not separately).

Does it actually ping both subs simultaneously? I thought it pinged the subs individually?


Max

on the first measurement position, it pings each sub individually first to set distance + level, and then pings them together to calculate EQ filters. For every position after the first, it will ping them together (since after the 1st position it's only adding data to the EQ filter calculation).

I might consider the 4311. It mentions on the site something about disengaging the internal amp. Can someone explain what that's all about?

I had asked about the test tones due to the differences in how the tones sounded on identical speakers but in different positions -- and the fact that the filters are not applied explains why they sounded so different. I will use a DVD that had test tones to see what is going on.

Thanks for the responses!

 

The tones will sound different even on identical speakers because of their differing position in the room and your own different position in relation to them (eg rear surrounds are behind your head). This is normal and to be expected. Some of the speakers may be closer to a wall or corner than others, some will be at different heights to others and this will alter their tonal characteristics. You won't learn anything constructive in this regard by using an external set of tones off a disc as opposed to the internal tones of your AVR. Where an external set of tones can be useful is if you want to measure the response independently (eg with REW or OmniMic) taking account of the Audyssey processing. Bottom line - if the test tones sound different when played through the various speakers, don't worry about it. (Incidentally, the tones will sound different even from one speaker if you turn your head left and right while playing a test tone).

 

If you are using the 4311 as a prepro with external amplification, the 4311 allows you to physically disconnect the internal amps (usually they just sit there doing nothing even though they are 'on'). 'Audiophiles' might believe there is a difference in the final SQ if the internal amps can be switched off - probably, the theory goes, because of reduced noise interference or something. In reality it seems to me highly unlikely anyone would be able to hear a difference, but it can do no harm so it's not a bad thing per se.

 

Incidentally, the 4311, IMO, makes a terrific 'prepro' regardless of what we might think of that feature - it has XT32, properly configurable dual sub outlets, a great overall spec and - the icing on the cake - it is Audyssey Pro ready too. All for just over a grand.

For Audyssey pre pro someone has to go over your house and pay for it right?

 

That is one way - via a professional installer - but you can buy the Audyssey Pro kit and do it yourself if you wish. Many of us in this thread have done just that.

 

For more info, check out the Audyssey Pro Installer Kit FAQ, linked below in my sig.

And it has that killer look on the top of the front panel with that little "curvyness" (is there such a word?) tha was given up by Denon for the 2012 and 2013 models showing a kinda flat face from a side view.

P.s. Sorry if the above sentence seems a bit clumsy. You try to describe what I tried to describe in any foreign language that is not English.

For equalization, it sends the same signal to both subs and measures their interaction, just as you will be listening to them. It does, but only for calibration (levels & distances).

I want to invest maybe on the 4311 but I'm only interested on the xt32 simply because I don't have room for more than a 5.1 set up. I won't be using more than one sub. On the other hand I would like to maybe consider the 818 because of the xt32 and thx. Other than that the 818 has no other use for my set up. What to do??