[TTA89]

I spent 3 hours rewiring and moving things around last night since I added a Sirius Home Reciever and wanted to hide the wiring better although there is so much of it that without a dedicated closet I dunno what else you can do. Guys with Dedicated rooms I bow down


Anyways, I figured I would finally get around to setting the speaker levels again. I started by listening to some music and Movies at the levels that are comfortable for me and then ran the Test Tones at the same volume. The Left Speaker turned out to be 68dbs so I calibrated the rest to that. They were all very close except the center going -4.0 but I think that because I told the reciever it was further away than the left and rights.


Everything was great till I got to the sub which at the level I had been listening at came up as 55dbs (60 Xover if that matters) I started raising it up and the walls started shaking. This can't be right, do you guys really listen to the sub at such high volumes?


Also, any idea why my center channel sounds different than the left and right when doing the tones?


I watched the Redsox make the Yankee fans Cry and could hear alot more surround type crowd effects, maybe because I turned it up a little to hear the announcers since I turned down the center channel a little. I liked it either way

 

[colinsm]

Quote:

Originally posted by TTA89 Everything was great till I got to the sub which at the level I had been listening at came up as 55dbs (60 Xover if that matters) I started raising it up and the walls started shaking. This can't be right, do you guys really listen to the sub at such high volumes?

There is a correction table for using the radio shack spl at certain frequencies. That might account for your results:

http://www.danmarx.org/audioinnovation/rsmeter.html

 

[Peter_Klim]

So when it says:

"10hz........+20db"


That means you must subtract 20 dbs from your reading?


Is the correction listed it for the anloag and/or digital RS meter?

 

[TTA89]

Well I have no idea what frequency the test tones are but assuming there is a zero correction factor for the 5 speakers and assuming the tone for the sub is 25-40hz that would only be 2.5-5.0db off, meaning I should be looking for somewhere around 65-66 on the meter which still seemed WAY too loud. Thats 10db above where its currently at but maybe I am just used to listening too it low. When its turned up it sounds fake, the bass is way overpowering anything else although it could be the room as well.


Ahh what do I know.

 

[colinsm]

Quote:

Originally posted by Peter_Klim So when it says: "10hz........+20db" That means you must subtract 20 dbs from your reading? Is the correction listed it for the anloag and/or digital RS meter?

Well I just assumed that if it says +20db you would add 20db to the reading but I'm not certain.


I believe that table is for both meters. Again not sure.

 

[sivadselim]

Quote:

Originally posted by TTA89 They were all very close except the center going -4.0 but I think that because I told the reciever it was further away than the left and rights. Also, any idea why my center channel sounds different than the left and right when doing the tones?

well, that distance setting will only affect the delay, not the volume. there are several reasons why the center channel level may be different than the fronts, though. one you mentioned is distance, although in your case you said that yours was further away than the fronts. but center channel speakers are often more efficient than their L&R counterparts, especially in the range of the test tones. plus it's positioned completely differently in the room, so room acoustics can play a huge factor. the whole reason we calibrate is to compensate for all these factors.


also, at what angle are you pointing your meter? the results, especially for the center channel speaker can be fairly sensitive to this angle.



Quote:

Originally posted by TTA89 Everything was great till I got to the sub which at the level I had been listening at came up as 55dbs (60 Xover if that matters) I started raising it up and the walls started shaking. This can't be right, do you guys really listen to the sub at such high volumes?

which test tones are you using to calibrate? do you have a calibration disc or are they being generated internally?

 

[sivadselim]

Quote:

That means you must subtract 20 dbs from your reading?

no, you add that to your reading.


the correction factor during sub calibration is usually around 3dB, but is dependent upon the exact nature of your test tones. most people use the 3dB figure. so, if you calibrate your sub to the same exact level (the reading on the meter) as your speakers, it will be ~3dB hot.


be aware that some test tones may already be encoded (in the case of internal ones) or recorded (external tones) to compensate for the meter disparity.

 

[DMF]

Quote:

Originally posted by TTA89 Everything was great till I got to the sub which at the level I had been listening at came up as 55dbs (60 Xover if that matters) I started raising it up and the walls started shaking. This can't be right, do you guys really listen to the sub at such high volumes?

A little of this might be due to the correction factor, but most is the dreaded room modes. Much of the energy in the test tones is "averaged out" by nulls, and the walls are shaking because the room is resonating at its natural frequency.


In low frequency land, you can't set the levels properly by pink noise. You have to do more elaborate work like characterizing the frequency response of the room and the listener and sub location in it. Then you can apply room treatments to tame the resonances, and move the sub to a location that doesn't excite them so much. But it's not a simple process.


Easiest way to do it is with the Mark I Earball. Set the sub volume where you can hear rhe lows, but not so high that they stand out or cause the sub to fart. Good luck.