Got an AVR, chose my speakers. Help me make it sound good!

[rbf1138]

With my JBL Studio 530s on the way, I figure it's time to get down to asking how I should properly setup my system to ensure I'm getting the best sound possible.

I now have a Marantz SR6008 receiver (which I'm still trying to get my head around, regarding Audessey and various settings like "Pure," "Direct" "Music" etc.) and I'm trying to understand when to use certain presets,etc. I also have Kimber Kable 4VS speaker cables, terminated as banana plugs.

First question is, do I really need a subwoofer? I have a Velodyne Max EQ-8, and I guess it's fine, I just always felt I was fiddling with the settings (phase, volume, crossover) never really knowing if it's set correctly or not. Some songs sound good with it, and then another song, album, artist will play and it'll be too boomy, too loud, etc. How do I set it up to be universally "correct?" when my new speakers arrive?

Following that, if I am indeed going to use the subwoofer, do I use it's auto-EQ room correction before I run Audessey via my receiver? Is there a crossover to set it to knowing I'm pairing it with the 530s?

Any guidance and help on making sure my system is configured correctly would be most appreciated!

 

[ATLAudio]

A few tips to get you started.

Hook up your sub to the AVR. Run the crossover on the sub to it's max setting so that it's not being used. Your receiver does a much better job at this. Run the gain on the sub at 2 oclock. Place the sub in a corner if possible. It doesn't need to be pointed at you either. Forget about the EQ on the sub, turn it off, Audyssey blows it out of the water.

Run Audyssey with your sub hooked up, and calibrate your room. If Audyseey runs your speakers at 'large' change them all to small. Make sure all speakers have the crossover set to 80hz.

Direct, and pure direct disengage the sub, and 'music' is stereo with Audyssey calibration and uses the sub, which should be advised most of the time.

 

[rbf1138]

A few tips to get you started.

Hook up your sub to the AVR. Run the crossover on the sub to it's max setting so that it's not being used. Your receiver does a much better job at this. Run the gain on the sub at 2 oclock. Place the sub in a corner if possible. It doesn't need to be pointed at you either. Forget about the EQ on the sub, turn it off, Audyssey blows it out of the water.

Run Audyssey with your sub hooked up, and calibrate your room. If Audyseey runs your speakers at 'large' change them all to small. Make sure all speakers have the crossover set to 80hz.

Direct, and pure direct disengage the sub, and 'music' is stereo with Audyssey calibration and uses the sub, which should be advised most of the time.

Thanks! Some of that makes sense but I'll have to take a closer look at the back of my sub when I get home. Also, what about the phase setting on it? I know there are four options.

You wouldn't happen to be in Atlanta, would you?

 

[ATLAudio]

Set the phase to 0. Basically all of these settings are done by Audyssey, but a lot better. Turn all settings to off, and the gain to 2 oclock, and you're done with the sub.

Yes I'm in ATL.

Just follow the AVR instructions for setting up Audyssey. Everything else should make more sense as you go along.

 

[rbf1138]

So I'll set the Crossover knob on the back of the sub to "Direct" and when you say gain you mean volume? The volume control is digital only, and goes from 1-80.

 

[ATLAudio]

Yeah, set it to direct. Your AVR will handle the crossover duties. Yeah, set the volume to 60.

When you run Audyssey it will set the line out volume feeding your sub from either -12 to +12. Let me know what it sets it at.

 

[rbf1138]

Back with some numbers.

Levels:
Front L is - 2.5db
Front R is -3.0db
Sub is -12.0db

Subwoofer mode is LFE and LPF for LFE is 120hz

Front crossovers were set to 110Hz by Audessey. Keep in mind I'm using $80 Micca bookshelf speakers until the Studio 530s come. I changed that setting to 80hz (can only do increments of 10, so it's either 80 or 90).

Dynamic EQ is set to On, Dynamic volume set to Medium.

M-Dax Mode is set on Low.

Anything I should be changing here? Thanks again for all your help.

 

[PENG]

Back with some numbers.

Levels:
Front L is - 2.5db
Front R is -3.0db
Sub is -12.0db

Subwoofer mode is LFE and LPF for LFE is 120hz

Front crossovers were set to 110Hz by Audessey. Keep in mind I'm using $80 Micca bookshelf speakers until the Studio 530s come. I changed that setting to 80hz (can only do increments of 10, so it's either 80 or 90).

Dynamic EQ is set to On, Dynamic volume set to Medium.

M-Dax Mode is set on Low.

Anything I should be changing here? Thanks again for all your help.

I would like to add a few points.

1) Read the instruction on the Audyssey website carefully and follow it to the letter before running it. Audyssey's instructions are more informative and better than those in the AVR manual's.
2) Typically manufacturers of AVRs and Audyssey would recommend setting the subwoofer volume to mid point, so it yours go from 0-80 try 40 first and reduce or increase it from there if necessary. I always end up having to set mine to 10:00 am position or slightly lower, in order to have hit 0 to -5 targeted by Audyssey but YMMV. If you are getting -12 after running Audyssey, you definitely should lower the sub volume and run Audyssey again, after reading their website's instructions carefully and fully.
3) Turn dynamic volume off unless your neighbors complain.

By the way, you can have output to the subwoofer even in Direct or Pure Direct if you configure the subwoofer to LFE+Main. Please refer to the instruction manual page 178 and 217.

 

[PENG]

Direct, and pure direct disengage the sub, and 'music' is stereo with Audyssey calibration and uses the sub, which should be advised most of the time.

It depends, the SR6008 can output to subwoofer in Direct and Pure Direct if set to LFE+Main. Some like it, some don't.

 

[ATLAudio]

Your sub is too loud. Instead of 60, let's turn it down to 40, and run audyssey again.

110 hz is perfect for your micas, keep it there on those until your big guys get in.

Turn dynamic vol off unless you need it. It's a setting to keep noise levels from peaking too high and disturbing others.

Try dynamic eq on and off and see what you like. For me it's too boomy and makes my sub just barely localized which is a no go. I leave it off.

Leave max at low.

 

[rbf1138]

Ok, just got my JBL Studio 530s hooked up. Initially, they don't sound like enormously better than the $80 Micca's...but anyway, I ran the initial speaker setup on the receiver and it auto-set the front speakers to Large which I changed to small. It also set them as full range but I changed the crossover to 80hz.

The subwoofer offset was -10.5db, with the volume on the subwoofer itself at 30 out of 80.

Subwoofer mode was set to LFE, and LPF for LFE is at 120hz.

In Speakers/Amp Assign, the Assign Mode defaulted to ZONE2. Is that weird? Is this something that doesn't concern me because I only have a single room setup, or should this actually be set to something else?

Here's a picture of my setup/room:

http://s7.photobucket.com/user/jordn613/media/IMG_0720 - Copy.jpg.html

 

[zieglj01]

I would set the amp assign to main

 

[Dr. Bob]

Maybe I can jump into this thread. I just got my refurbished Marantz 5008 and ran Audyssey to set it up. Everything seems to be working, but I'm confused about how to change the settings.

How do I change the crossovers, levels, etc.? If I go into "Setup", it starts back at the beginning with Audyssey setup. If I change settings under "Manual Setup", does it also change the Audyssey settings?

 

[PENG]

Maybe I can jump into this thread. I just got my refurbished Marantz 5008 and ran Audyssey to set it up. Everything seems to be working, but I'm confused about how to change the settings.

How do I change the crossovers, levels, etc.? If I go into "Setup", it starts back at the beginning with Audyssey setup. If I change settings under "Manual Setup", does it also change the Audyssey settings?

Those are not exactly Audyssey settings but are the AVR's settings. For example, you can change the crossover frequencies and Audyssey will still apply the same EQ filters regardless.

 

[Dr. Bob]

Thanks, PENG. So when I turn Audyssey off, it still keeps using the same crossovers and level settings, right? Does it also keep the distance information, or is that only relevant for Audyssey?

 

[PENG]

Thanks, PENG. So when I turn Audyssey off, it still keeps using the same crossovers and level settings, right? Does it also keep the distance information, or is that only relevant for Audyssey?

It keeps the information and at least some of them, such as levels and crossover settings should still be relevant.