How loud is your sub?

[jay21112]

When you setup your system and level match all your speakers, how loud above the other speakers do you set your sub?

I think from the listening position I level matched all my speakers to 75 db, and then when it came to the sub, I set it to 75 db average (because it jumps around a lot on the meter).

I went to IMAX last night for the new Transformers and there is no way that the sub volume is level matched to the speaker volume.

So, how many db's louder at listening position do you put your subs?

 

[Adam]

I leave mine level-matched with the other speakers. I run the auto setup routine on my Pioneer receiver and leave the settings alone.

It all comes down to how you like it the best, though. If it sounds better to you with the sub running a bit louder, then that's the ticket. It's all about personal preference, IMO.

 

[Alex2507]

So, how many db's louder at listening position do you put your subs?

Our threshold for being able to hear LF is kind of high so when listening to music at low volume (70 db) I might have the sub at +3. At moderate levels (78 db) I might turn it down so it's even with the other speakers and at reference levels (85 db) I generally find I need to turn it down to -3 because I can just hear the bass better once it gets above and away from that threshold.

At first I tried to find a perfect place to sort of set it and forget it but after I spent a whole mess of time paying attention to what I was listening to and trying to understand what I was hearing these preferences emerged.

 

[MidnightSensi2]

My subwoofers are about level with my mains.

I used to run them much greater, but later found that what was missing for that impact wasn't bass but rather lower midrange, which comes from your mains. No subwoofer 'punches,' they aren't designed to, the 'punch' is more like 500Hz. So, perhaps in the IMAX the reason you felt the subwoofers were run much higher was simply because the mains were keeping up with the subs. Most home theaters have subwoofers way too powerful to balance with their mains, and so you end up with this drone. Then to compensate, they add more bass, which makes it worse - when the real solution was to get some bigger mains.

The real solution is to level the subwoofers with your mains, and then just turn the volume up. The problem is most mains can't keep up with the subwoofers when their level matched, so people turn the mains down and the subs up...hence the crazy spiral in the wrong direction.

Subwoofers have a job of providing the foundation, but really the lower midrange mixed with the LFE is what makes the explosion sound like your house is going to fall apart.

 

[Sounds Good]

The real solution is to level the subwoofers with your mains, and then just turn the volume up. The problem is most mains can't keep up with the subwoofers when their level matched, so people turn the mains down and the subs up...hence the crazy spiral in the wrong direction.

Great info. Ill defiantly be keeping this in mind when I set up for my new sub this week. Ive been studying the AVSForum Audyssey setup guide in preparation... It has you run the initial setup, then before you save the settings write down what levels Audyessy detected for your sub compared to your mains, then adjust the sub level on the sub itself and rerun the tones until you get the same level on your mains as your sub...

sounds tedious but I am sure the payoff is worth it...

 

[bikdav]

I listen to a lot of pipe organ music. After hearing some monster pipe organs live in my local area many times over, I came across these thoughts about my system. I like the subwoofer somewhat louder than the sound level meter and the "rulebook" suggests.

 

[Gavilan355]

I have my sub up +7 from all my other speakers. and it really shake up the place.

 

[j_garcia]

The real solution is to level the subwoofers with your mains, and then just turn the volume up. The problem is most mains can't keep up with the subwoofers when their level matched, so people turn the mains down and the subs up...hence the crazy spiral in the wrong direction.

Case in point :

I have my sub up +7 from all my other speakers. and it really shake up the place.

I tend to run mine 1-2dB hot for "quiet" listening levels and zero calibrated for louder levels, where it becomes more balanced out.

 

[3db]

I run my sub a little hot during movies, 1 or 2 db higher than my mains regardless of volume. For music, I play my towers full range and leave the sub off.

 

[timoteo]

Wow i find it very interesting that so many of you run your subs equal to or higher in dB than your mains. When i run YPAO it sets my subs 3dB lower than my mains & i go in to lower them 3 more dB. So as of now my mains are at 0dB & my subs are at -6dB. I got pretty much similar settings with my previous Denon with Audessey. Maybe it is because i have dual subs which would make sense. Since 2 subs in similar location do bump up the output by at least 3dB if not up to 6dB. But even at the settings i have them at there are still some movies (ie. Tron) that require me to lower the subs a couple because of the exagerated LFE.

Remember thougb that everyones rooms are different & there are a lot of variables including personal prefference. So as mentioned before, if running your sub a little hot sounds good to you then have at it as long as your not pushing it into clipping or too much distortion which many people do.

 

[jay21112]

Wow i find it very interesting that so many of you run your subs equal to or higher in dB than your mains. When i run YPAO it sets my subs 3dB lower than my mains & i go in to lower them 3 more dB. So as of now my mains are at 0dB & my subs are at -6dB. I got pretty much similar settings with my previous Denon with Audessey. Maybe it is because i have dual subs which would make sense. Since 2 subs in similar location do bump up the output by at least 3dB if not up to 6dB. But even at the settings i have them at there are still some movies (ie. Tron) that require me to lower the subs a couple because of the exagerated LFE.

Remember thougb that everyones rooms are different & there are a lot of variables including personal prefference. So as mentioned before, if running your sub a little hot sounds good to you then have at it as long as your not pushing it into clipping or too much distortion which many people do.

Hi, I think you're thinking about this the wrong way.

When I say I want to put my subs a little higher than my mains, I mean that I would calibrate everything using a SPL meter to 75 DB, and then I would go bump up my subs a little bit in volume to read like 78 DB or 80 DB on the SPL meter.

HOWEVER, in the Receiver's audio calibration screen, my mains are still set at like -2DB and my subs set at like -6DB (to start.....and -5DB after bumping them up).

So, no matter what, through the audio calibration screen, my subs are set less than my mains. It's the actual output that I'm talking about.

I'm talking actual noise output as measured by a SPL meter, and that after hearing IMAX, I'm figuring that the sub SPL must be set higher than the other speakers to give that impact feeling. (Except MidnightSensi2 is saying that the bass feeling actually comes from the mains....so I should actually increase the bass coming from my mains if I want to feel that impact).

 

[lsiberian]

My subwoofers are about level with my mains.

I used to run them much greater, but later found that what was missing for that impact wasn't bass but rather lower midrange, which comes from your mains. No subwoofer 'punches,' they aren't designed to, the 'punch' is more like 500Hz. So, perhaps in the IMAX the reason you felt the subwoofers were run much higher was simply because the mains were keeping up with the subs. Most home theaters have subwoofers way too powerful to balance with their mains, and so you end up with this drone. Then to compensate, they add more bass, which makes it worse - when the real solution was to get some bigger mains.

The real solution is to level the subwoofers with your mains, and then just turn the volume up. The problem is most mains can't keep up with the subwoofers when their level matched, so people turn the mains down and the subs up...hence the crazy spiral in the wrong direction.

Subwoofers have a job of providing the foundation, but really the lower midrange mixed with the LFE is what makes the explosion sound like your house is going to fall apart.

This is definitely the issue with running a sub hot. If you have the right kind of sub for your room in the right place you will not need to run it hot(not cheap). If you have a lower cost sub running it hot can help it sound better.

 

[cerwinmad]

midnight sensei has it in one, got my VE-12 CV's for this reason, the towers have a 12inch driver and really punch, my sub is just there to fill out the bottom end, although i do love the bass. have had a few people say i dont need the sub.

 

[danglerb]

I do a rough set with a mic and meter and setup DVD, live with it a week or so, then adjust to suit my taste and "work" with movies.