New Poster Just Bought Marantz 6011 Help Please Setting Up

[Jamester23]

Hi all,

Only my second post on the boards. So, take it easy on me as I'm trying to learn as a beginner audiophile.

So I bought the 6011 today (thanks to all on my last thread that supplied advice. It replaced an older Denon 4310CI. For my room, I only have two B&W 283s2's the matching center and a Velodyne SW. I don't have rear speakers existingly due to the size of my room and I haven't wanted to get divorced yet. I will at some point add some form of wireless rears and maybe highs.

Ok, so my question is, as I only have the three front speakers and the one sub:

What mode should I listen to tv in?

What should the amp setting be?

I had someone tell me I should no matter what set my speakers to small and let the SW handle the bass is that correct?

Here;s the question that will aggrivate the audiophile because I don't know. On the back of my speakers I still have the braids plate between the top and botton connectors. Should I biwire them and what difference will I see? Again, looking to learn here so I appreciate any step by step guidance and supporting reasons I can get.

Thanks so much, trying to build a good system with your help.

 

[lovinthehd]

The mode is somewhat dependent on the source's format; much of the tv I watch is in Dolby Digital 5.1 but some is in stereo only; you can upmix or downmix as you see fit, it's a matter of preference.

You mean the amp assign settings?

Yes, if using a sub generally you want to set speakers to small (if you don't all the sub will get is the LFE content, i.e. sources with ".1" channel content).

Biwiring is a waste of time/wire in my opinion but knock yourself out. Same for passive bi-amping with your receiver.

Might want to review these articles http://www.audioholics.com/home-theater-connection/basic-home-theater-setup-guide and/or http://www.audioholics.com/home-theater-calibration/a-v-receiver-setup-crossover-distance-level-eq

I believe your avr's on-screen setup guide and Audyssey should get you going pretty well, altho you may need to change your speakers to small depending on how the unit reads your in-room f3 (-3dB measure at 40hz generally) for your speakers. Really shouldn't be all that different from your old Denon....

 

[yepimonfire]

If in 5.1 just listen in dolby digital mode. If in stereo Dolby surround to get your center channel. Your receiver might also have a surround emulator for two or 3ch setups, you can try it and see if you like it or not.

Make sure you set up your cable box to output dolby digital, most of them are set to output PCM by default, which is down mixed to 2ch by default. As for speaker setup, set them all to small. 80hz is a good crossover point but you need to make sure your speakers are actually capable of 80hz. For example, my L/R and surrounds are all capable of 50hz -3dB, they're set to 80hz because my sub is much better at reproducing stuff below 80hz without distortion than my speakers. My center channel is only capable of 85hz, so I set that to 90 hz.

Just look up the specs for each of your speakers and be sure to set the crossover at least 10hz above their low end response. Try to avoid crossover points higher than 100hz if you can though, since it will reveal the location of the sub.

It's also important to properly set the distance of each speaker relative to the MLP. Audyssey should do this for you. I personally am not a fan of automatic room correction, but since you're a newbie it's probably best for you. Just double check the distances.

When using audyssey, you want the first measurement to be taken directly in the center, even if the seating is off center. Place it in line with the center channel. The other measurements should stick to about 3 feet from the first measurement. Make sure after you run the Cal you disable dynamic eq to check the results.

As for biwiring, it does nothing except waste wire. Passive biamping might have minor benefits with respect to intermodulation distortion, and it does increase the total available power to your speakers. To be quite honest though your center channel probably needs more help than the mains, since it carries over 60% of the soundtrack. Either way, biamping won't hurt anything and you've got the free amps to do it so feel free to experiment.



I find a manual calibration gives much better results though, and requires nothing more than a tape measure, REW, and cheap spl meter. The receiver should have manual EQ settings. Most spl meters are accurate on the low end, and quite frankly applying eq to high frequencies is a waste of time. If you're ever interested in manual calibration feel free to PM me.

Have you considered mounting surrounds on the wall? Why would it need to be wireless? Heights could also be wall mounted above your fronts.

Sent from my SM-G360T1 using Tapatalk

 

[Jamester23]

If in 5.1 just listen in dolby digital mode. If in stereo Dolby surround to get your center channel. Your receiver might also have a surround emulator for two or 3ch setups, you can try it and see if you like it or not.

Make sure you set up your cable box to output dolby digital, most of them are set to output PCM by default, which is down mixed to 2ch by default. As for speaker setup, set them all to small. 80hz is a good crossover point but you need to make sure your speakers are actually capable of 80hz. For example, my L/R and surrounds are all capable of 50hz -3dB, they're set to 80hz because my sub is much better at reproducing stuff below 80hz without distortion than my speakers. My center channel is only capable of 85hz, so I set that to 90 hz.

Just look up the specs for each of your speakers and be sure to set the crossover at least 10hz above their low end response. Try to avoid crossover points higher than 100hz if you can though, since it will reveal the location of the sub.

It's also important to properly set the distance of each speaker relative to the MLP. Audyssey should do this for you. I personally am not a fan of automatic room correction, but since you're a newbie it's probably best for you. Just double check the distances.

When using audyssey, you want the first measurement to be taken directly in the center, even if the seating is off center. Place it in line with the center channel. The other measurements should stick to about 3 feet from the first measurement. Make sure after you run the Cal you disable dynamic eq to check the results.

As for biwiring, it does nothing except waste wire. Passive biamping might have minor benefits with respect to intermodulation distortion, and it does increase the total available power to your speakers. To be quite honest though your center channel probably needs more help than the mains, since it carries over 60% of the soundtrack. Either way, biamping won't hurt anything and you've got the free amps to do it so feel free to experiment.



I find a manual calibration gives much better results though, and requires nothing more than a tape measure, REW, and cheap spl meter. The receiver should have manual EQ settings. Most spl meters are accurate on the low end, and quite frankly applying eq to high frequencies is a waste of time. If you're ever interested in manual calibration feel free to PM me.

Have you considered mounting surrounds on the wall? Why would it need to be wireless? Heights could also be wall mounted above your fronts.

Sent from my SM-G360T1 using Tapatalk

Wow. Great response. I'm very confused though. Here are my L&R speakers. http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Speakers/Home_Audio/600_Series/683.html

Here is my Sub. https://www.crutchfield.com/S-8s9BX8U6Ioe/p_2323750RB/Velodyne-DLS-3750R-Black.html

Has also all this stuff on the back. What should that be set to. http://velodyneacoustics.com/dls-3750r.html

Low pass crossover should be what?

High Pass Crossover should be at 80Hz?

Phase should be at what?

Any help would be awesome!

 

[Pogre]

Wow. Great response. I'm very confused though. Here are my L&R speakers. http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Speakers/Home_Audio/600_Series/683.html

Here is my Sub. https://www.crutchfield.com/S-8s9BX8U6Ioe/p_2323750RB/Velodyne-DLS-3750R-Black.html

Has also all this stuff on the back. What should that be set to. http://velodyneacoustics.com/dls-3750r.html

Low pass crossover should be what?

High Pass Crossover should be at 80Hz?

Phase should be at what?

Any help would be awesome!

Did you read the articles HD linked you? They do a pretty good job of explaining these things. I think this is the back of your sub?

The only thing you need to worry about is "LFE IN". You run the RCA cable from lfe out, or sub out from your receiver to the LFE IN on the back of your sub. 80hz is the recommended crossover for most, but you can experiment. I'm talking about the crossover setting in your avr, not the back of your sub. I did notice the "direct" setting on one of the dials. I believe that bypasses your sub's low pass filter so your avr sets the filters instead, that's where you want it.

Yes, having the speakers all set to small will let your avr do all the crossover work. Most of the rest of the connections and switches on your sub are if you're using the high level connections and running your main speakers through the sub, using its high pass filter instead of your avr. I would much rather let the avr handle all that.

 

[lovinthehd]

When using your avr for bass management you generally want to take the sub's low pass filter out of the way (you can combine the filter from the avr with the subs but not generally recommended) sometimes plugging into the LFE input does this automatically, but to be sure dial it up to max value.

Unless you have your speakers connected to your sub the high pass filter isn't relevant, in your case the avr's crossover setting will take care of the high pass filter for your speakers.

Try phase first at 0 then 180, whichever gives you stronger bass.

Try these articles http://www.audioholics.com/subwoofer-setup

 

[yepimonfire]

Wow. Great response. I'm very confused though. Here are my L&R speakers. http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Speakers/Home_Audio/600_Series/683.html

Here is my Sub. https://www.crutchfield.com/S-8s9BX8U6Ioe/p_2323750RB/Velodyne-DLS-3750R-Black.html

Has also all this stuff on the back. What should that be set to. http://velodyneacoustics.com/dls-3750r.html

Low pass crossover should be what?

High Pass Crossover should be at 80Hz?

Phase should be at what?

Any help would be awesome!

Phase should be at 0. The distance setting in your avr will handle the phase. As previously mentioned, use the LFE input and let the avr handle it. The b&w has a -3dB response of 52hz, so I would set the crossover at no less than 60hz. What center channel?

For manual calibration, use a tape measure and measure the distance from each speaker to the main seat and set that in the AVR. If the main seat is off center, measure from the center point. Look for an spl meter on amazon that does c weighting. Set it to C weighted slow and set it at ear height at the center main seat. If the avr has a relative volume control (measured in -dB) calibrate all speakers to play at 75dB. If it's just a regular volume control, just calibrate them to the same level. For manual EQ of the low frequencies, hook the avr up to a laptop and download room eq wizard, grab a male to male 3.5mm cable and hook it up to the microphone input. Hit measure on rew and measure with the spl meter at the main listening position from 0-200hz. Apply psychoacoustic smoothing to the graph. You will find one or two frequencies are likely louder than the rest, this is due to room modes, adjust the eq in the avr to flatten them out and remeasure. I will post pics after work for a better explanation.

You could just use audyssey and leave it with whatever it sets it as, but honestly I've always had bad luck with automatic room correction. Could just be me, or it could just be others not noticing it, but it always shows up in measurements as screwed up.

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[Jamester23]

Thanks everyone. I ran the audyssey setup. It set my speakers to large. From what I;ve heard no matter how big the speakers are, I should always set my fronts to small and let the sub handle the bass south of 80. Is that accurate or should I just leave the odyssey settings as large in front?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Yes. Set them to small. Leave the distance settings too, as that's an indication of how the sound is actually getting to the LP. Actual distances don't have much relevance. Unless they're grossly off, then take a look, or rerun audyssey.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yes. Set them to small. Leave the distance settings too, as that's an indication of how the sound is actually getting to the LP. Actual distances don't have much relevance. Unless they're grossly off, then take a look, or rerun audyssey.

Just to add, Audyssey will likely be very close on the speaker distances (delay) to actual if not spot on, but the sub can vary quite a bit due to the additional processing time in the sub's amp.

After Audyssey just change speakers to small, perhaps raise (but not lower) the crossover values suggested by the program.

 

[Jamester23]

Just to add, Audyssey will likely be very close on the speaker distances (delay) to actual if not spot on, but the sub can vary quite a bit due to the additional processing time in the sub's amp.

After Audyssey just change speakers to small, perhaps raise (but not lower) the crossover values suggested by the program.

Thanks. I set my low pas crossover on sub as high as it will go based on the one response's feedback. Adjusted the speakers to small. I still don;t know what to set the crossover in the Marantz to. http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Speakers/Home_Audio/600_Series/683.html Those are my speakers. Can someone tell me please?

Thanks for all the help!

 

[Jamester23]

Another question. Now video. My Tv is Samsung UN65Ks8000F.

I know the Marantz has oodles of video Processing ability. What should I set what to in order to ensure I get the best picture on my TV? Before the purchase, I had the TV set to some of the suggested online settings in movie mode. However, I'm now thinking that since I have the Marantz, maybe I should set the TV to it's native settings and do something with he Marantz? I've kept from even sticking my toe in this pool until someone that knows better than me makes a recommendation.

 

[lovinthehd]

Thanks. I set my low pas crossover on sub as high as it will go based on the one response's feedback. Adjusted the speakers to small. I still don;t know what to set the crossover in the Marantz to. http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Speakers/Home_Audio/600_Series/683.html Those are my speakers. Can someone tell me please?

Thanks for all the help!

I' d start with 80hz, try settings above and below, too. It's a preference thing.

 

[lovinthehd]

Another question. Now video. My Tv is Samsung UN65Ks8000F.

I know the Marantz has oodles of video Processing ability. What should I set what to in order to ensure I get the best picture on my TV? Before the purchase, I had the TV set to some of the suggested online settings in movie mode. However, I'm now thinking that since I have the Marantz, maybe I should set the TV to it's native settings and do something with he Marantz? I've kept from even sticking my toe in this pool until someone that knows better than me makes a recommendation.

Your tv may well be the better processor, try both.

 

[Jamester23]

Could there be something in the Marantz's 4k upscaling that is now causing the ball in sporting events when in action to be blurry? I can't seem to fix it.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Agree. 80hz is a good starting point, and may very well be where you end up leaving it too.
For video, the usual recommendation is to set the Marantz to "pass through". The avr processor may be very good but it's just one more thing adding to the equation that's not generally helpful.
Movie mode is also a good general recommendation, and also buy a calibration disk like spears and munsil or Disney WOW and calibrate the display yourself.(while in movie mode) It won't be like an ISF calibration but it will be pretty damn good. Did you have blurring issues before? Check the "motion" settings. My distain for LCD tv's revolves largely around that issue. Some are better than others at balancing "blur" with soap opera look.

 

[yepimonfire]

I would still double check the sub. Listen to some music with a familiar bass line, if it sounds like there's a hole in the bass recheck the distance. There have been several times audyssey or dcac has set my sub to something like 20' when I'm seated 8' away and it was obvious from listening and measurements it was out of phase with the rest of the speakers.

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[lovinthehd]

I would still double check the sub. Listen to some music with a familiar bass line, if it sounds like there's a hole in the bass recheck the distance. There have been several times audyssey or dcac has set my sub to something like 20' when I'm seated 8' away and it was obvious from listening and measurements it was out of phase with the rest of the speakers.

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Double check to what? Actual distance or a better phase setting? Has no direct relationship to actual distance when it comes to the sub due to the additional processing in the circuit.

 

[yepimonfire]

Double check to what? Actual distance or a better phase setting? Has no direct relationship to actual distance when it comes to the sub due to the additional processing in the circuit.

I've had audessy set my sub distance to double what it was, measurements via rew showed the phase of the sub was flipped 180 degrees and obviously it sounded hollow and thin. I just don't trust auto correction because it's never gotten it right.

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[lovinthehd]

I've had audessy set my sub distance to double what it was, measurements via rew showed the phase of the sub was flipped 180 degrees and obviously it sounded hollow and thin. I just don't trust auto correction because it's never gotten it right.

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Actual distance isn't particularly meaningful was the point.