Audyssey

[matt houser]

should I be using any of the audyssey features, I did run the audyssey setup

 

[speakerman39]

should I be using any of the audyssey features, I did run the audyssey setup

Matt, which AVR are you using? It looks very similar to mine as I have a Marantz SR6009 AVR. Mine has the Multi EQ XT. Just curious is all. Have not messed with mine much just yet. However, that is going to change real soon.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[matt houser]

I just purchased the Denon x3100w

 

[KEW]

Not sure which features you mean, but generally yes to Dynamic EQ and no to Dynamic Volume.
I usually run the Reference level offset at 10dB.

 

[tyhjaarpa]

I myself dont use dynamic eq nor dynamic volume. I suppose it is more of preference what settings to use, you should try what sounds best to you. MultEQ XT I believe I have set as Flat, if I remember those menus correctly as they are pretty close to same on Marantz.

 

[KEW]

The intent of Dynamic EQ is to compensate for the loudness contour when you turn the volume down.
As you can see, you detect 1000Hz at 80dB as being the same loudness as 118dB at 20Hz for a delta of 38dB; however, you detect 1000Hz at 20dB as being the same loudness as 90dB at 20Hz for a delta of 70dB. Essentially, our hearing is less sensitive to low frequencies as the volume goes down. The intent of Dynamic EQ is to compensate for that by boosting the bass and (to a lesser extent) the treble.

You may or may not like the effect, but you need to understand what it does to properly evaluate it's effectiveness in your system and for your listening habits.

 

[Locoweed]

Try everything & see what sounds best to you. After doing that I turned Audyssey off. Your experience may be different.

 

[fuzz092888]

The intent of Dynamic EQ is to compensate for the loudness contour when you turn the volume down.
As you can see, you detect 1000Hz at 80dB as being the same loudness as 118dB at 20Hz for a delta of 38dB; however, you detect 1000Hz at 20dB as being the same loudness as 90dB at 20Hz for a delta of 70dB. Essentially, our hearing is less sensitive to low frequencies as the volume goes down. The intent of Dynamic EQ is to compensate for that by boosting the bass and (to a lesser extent) the treble.

You may or may not like the effect, but you need to understand what it does to properly evaluate it's effectiveness in your system and for your listening habits.

Count me as one who does not use dynamic EQ. In terms of movies it does not, IMO, replicate what the movie sounds like at reference playback and to my ears makes TV and netflix almost unwatchable. The surround speakers are suddenly too loud all the time, which obscures what's coming out of the front sound stage. YMMV

A lot of guys around here like it, but I would experiment with it on and off. That and dynamic volume are always off for me, with the standard Audyssey curve. From something Dr. Mark said awhile back, i actually switched from the Audyssey flat to regular Audyssey curves.

 

[KEW]

Count me as one who does not use dynamic EQ. In terms of movies it does not, IMO, replicate what the movie sounds like at reference playback and to my ears makes TV and netflix almost unwatchable. The surround speakers are suddenly too loud all the time, which obscures what's coming out of the front sound stage. YMMV

A lot of guys around here like it, but I would experiment with it on and off. That and dynamic volume are always off for me, with the standard Audyssey curve. From something Dr. Mark said awhile back, i actually switched from the Audyssey flat to regular Audyssey curves.

Interesting! I listen to so little HT that I have never thought to compare it with the surrounds engaged!
That is really strange that it would emphasize the surrounds. Sounds like a design glitch.
In theory, at reference levels it should do absolutely nothing to color your sound, assuming you have no "reference level offset" assigned...at least that is my understanding!

I also run the Audyssey flat curve.

 

[fuzz092888]

Interesting! I listen to so little HT that I have never thought to compare it with the surrounds engaged!
That is really strange that it would emphasize the surrounds. Sounds like a design glitch.
In theory, at reference levels it should do absolutely nothing to color your sound, assuming you have no "reference level offset" assigned...at least that is my understanding!

I also run the Audyssey flat curve.

From the Audyssey website

Audyssey Dynamic EQ™ adjusts the frequency response and surround volume levels moment-by-moment.

Part of the dynamic EQ design is to boost the surrounds. This is to make it seem like you're getting the same amount of material from the soundtrack delivered to you, just at a lower volume. IMO the result is mediocre at best, unlistenable at worst. I love movie soundtracks and scores, effects included, and to my ears dynamic EQ falls well short of the actual soundtrack at reference level. The whole point of reference level is so that you hear what the sound engineer heard and wanted you to hear and with that proper balance. I think dynamic EQ too often throws that balance way out of whack.

I may be misquoting Dr. Mark, but IIRC he said that the Audyssey flat curve does not accurately reflect real world sound and while he is no fan of the Audyssey curve per se, it more closely resembles how things should sound. Again, IIRC the Audyssey curve tapers the high frequency response down a bit, which is supposed to happen with high frequencies as distance from the source of the sound increases. Audyssey flat keeps the FR flat at your seat, which creates an imbalance and slightly unnatural sound.

Now the Audyssey curve may also do other stuff that he may not like, but from my own measurements it has never created any other unnecessary bumps or dips to the FR other than the slight taper of the high end. I think my hearing tops out in the 18,000 range and I couldn't say definitively that I hear a significant difference between Audyssey and no Audyssey for the majority of material after proper placement and all the stuff I go through to get the bass the way I want it. Now between Audyssey and Audyssey flat, I think I hear more of a difference and it steers me towards the Audyssey curve. For instance, I think the ripping paper on the Linkwitz CD sounds more natural with the normal Audyssey curve rather than the flat. As does the train whistle and some of the other real world examples.

 

[herbu]

should I be using any of the audyssey features, I did run the audyssey setup

matt, you can see from the answers that Audyssey is largely a tool for preference. There are a couple things Audyssey setup does that you should do, and should leave alone.

First, it detects the distance of each speaker from your listening seat(s). If your seat was perfectly centered and equadistant from each speaker, this would not be necessary. But few rooms are set up like that. Audyssey detects these distances and actually adjusts/delays the signal from your receiver to each appropriate speaker so your ears hear them as intended in the recording.

This setting shows in Audyssey as the distance from your seat to each speaker. Once it is set, leave it alone.

Audyssey also makes sure each speaker is in phase, (ie. you didn't reverse the wires to one or more speakers). Once the phase is set, leave it alone.

Beyond these 2 things, everything else is preference. A lot is relative to the volume of individual speakers. A lot is relative to tone, (ie. emphasizing or muting some frequencies under some conditions). But they all boil down to what sounds best to you.

My suggestion is to leave the first 2 things alone, and play with the other things to see what you like.

 

[PENG]

Count me as one who does not use dynamic EQ. In terms of movies it does not, IMO, replicate what the movie sounds like at reference playback and to my ears makes TV and netflix almost unwatchable. The surround speakers are suddenly too loud all the time, which obscures what's coming out of the front sound stage. YMMV

A lot of guys around here like it, but I would experiment with it on and off. That and dynamic volume are always off for me, with the standard Audyssey curve. From something Dr. Mark said awhile back, i actually switched from the Audyssey flat to regular Audyssey curves.

Good thing you included YMMV. I found XT could do no better than manual setup judging by my own ears and later back up by REW plots. However, I am very happy with XT32/SubEQHT, you probably remember seeing REW plots I posted before. That is also back up by my own hearing, it really has done a great job for me whether I engage DEQ or not. It also hardly change the higher frequency band, other than smoothing it by a couple dB here there. So YMMV for sure, we just don't know why it works for some and not the other.

Too bad Dr.Kyriakakis don't seem to answer email personally any more these days.