listening to music, pure (direct) vs stereo plus subwoofer

[bradymartin]

hmm i like the extra bass in bypass L/R, sounds good.

does bypass roll off the treble though?

flat doesnt and thats why i like it

 

[lovinthehd]

hmm i like the extra bass in bypass L/R, sounds good.

does bypass roll off the treble though?

flat doesnt and thats why i like it

Not sure how you're getting extra bass in bypass L/R....you setting to large and using LFE+Main or something? Bypass L/R means your L/R speakers are not eq'd by Audyssey. Here's Audyssey's take:

"Some manufacturers have decided to implement a Bypass L/R (or Front) setting. This uses the MultEQ filters that were calculated for the entire listening area, but it does not apply any filtering to the front left and right loudspeakers. The average measured response from the front left and right loudspeakers is used as the target curve for the remaining loudspeakers in the system. The subwoofer in this case is equalized to flat as is the case for all the settings described above. This is not a setting recommended by Audyssey."

 

[bradymartin]

more bass than flat for sure.

so i guess front and left is playing direct, if audyssey arent eqing them in flat, makes sense.

speakers set to 80, just lfe

 

[lovinthehd]

more bass than flat for sure.

so i guess front and left is playing direct, if audyssey arent eqing them in flat, makes sense.

speakers set to 80, just lfe

Or is it that Audyssey Bypass L/R is still using the high end rolloff rather than flat curve which may make the bass a bit more prominent? I don't know that I've seen exactly what Denon has indicated what they do with Bypass L/R particularly. Many do use it though...I use it sometimes, just depends on the material.

 

[bradymartin]

that makes sense also,

for music i think im going to turn audyssey off.
no manipulation of the music that way

 

[KEW]

hmm i like the extra bass in bypass L/R, sounds good.

does bypass roll off the treble though?

flat doesnt and thats why i like it

Bypass L/R retains the Audyssey EQ for the sub only.

The benefit of roomEQ for bass are indisputable (though most would prefer the option of also EQ'ing the mains up to the Schrodinger frequency for their room).
Thus, it makes total sense that the bass would sound better.

Whether it is perceived as an increase or decrease of bass depends on the room and how Audyssey reacts to it.

Also our perceptions are not always what we might measure with instruments.

For example, it could be that w/o EQ you have a strong peak in your room at 80Hz. Eliminating that peak can reveal a lot of other bass content that was previously obscured such that your main perception after EQ is more bass, even though those other frequencies were there (albeit masked by the 80Hz peak) all along. I'm NOT saying that is the case here. I have no idea. I only want to make the point that our perceptions don't always reflect total reality. It is a safe bet that if it sounds better there was an improvement, but we can sometimes infer the wrong cause for that improvement.

Bypass would only roll off the treble by undoing Audyssey. So if Audyssey increased the treble, then Bypass would undo that increase.

 

[lovinthehd]

Bypass L/R retains the Audyssey EQ for the sub only.

.

You mean in stereo mode?

 

[KEW]

You mean in stereo mode?

Uh, I never associated it with a specific mode, but you are probably right. Stereo Mode is where I use it, it works this way in Stereo Mode, but I have no idea if that is a requirement!

 

[lovinthehd]

Uh, I never associated it with a specific mode, but you are probably right. Stereo Mode is where I use it, it works this way in Stereo Mode, but I have no idea if that is a requirement!

Did you read what Chris K @ Audyssey had to say that I quoted earlier? If only doing 2.1 yes, it should work the way you said....I was wondering if you meant that in general earlier...

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Uh, I never associated it with a specific mode, but you are probably right. Stereo Mode is where I use it, it works this way in Stereo Mode, but I have no idea if that is a requirement!

If you use Direct or PD, you can’t get any Audyssey at all (sub included).

So you have to use Stereo mode.

I use Stereo mode + Audyssey Bypass L/R + Dynamic EQ.

 

[bradymartin]

If you use Direct or PD, you can’t get any Audyssey at all (sub included).

So you have to use Stereo mode.

I use Stereo mode + Audyssey Bypass L/R + Dynamic EQ.

i think thats what i settled on now. i liked flat but bypass sounds fuller with more bass. i dont think the highs are rolled off.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

i think thats what i settled on now. i liked flat but bypass sounds fuller with more bass. i dont think the highs are rolled off.

Your assessment is correct. Audyssey Dynamic EQ does not roll off the treble. That’s the way I like it - mid-bass boost and no treble roll-off.

I’ve tried different settings, and that is the best for me.

As I’ve said before, one other thing to experiment with is manually increasing the Speaker Channel Levels of all speakers.

The magnitude of Dynamic EQ increases as you increase the Speaker Channel Levels (Trim Levels). The opposite is also true.

 

[bradymartin]

i like my tower speakers alot. i could change crossover to 60 instead of 80 and that wont really affect leaving audyssey at bypass l/r and denon eq on? this just for music listening.
i use flat for movies. and 80 crossovers

klipsch rp280
hsu vtf2 mk5
not home to try but im curious

 

[lovinthehd]

If you change crossover from 60 to 80, if what was originally suggested by Audyssey was 60 and you're raising it to 80, that's ok. With Audyssey you can always raise the crossover from the suggested crossover, but lowering it leaves a potential filter gap so may not be desirable, and Audyssey IIRC doesn't recommend it, try these....https://audyssey.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/212341263-Crossover-points-selected-by-Audyssey-setup and https://audyssey.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/212342423-Changing-the-cross-over-settings-after-running-Audyssey

I like my towers a lot but always cross them at least at 100, 110 currently (they're recommended as large so it doesn't matter in that sense). I have very capable subs, though, and without localization issues so may not work especially with a single sub. I prefer the subs handle that range as they're the more capable component in that range. It's still just preference, tho. I might like pure direct at higher volumes, but may prefer Audyssey engaged for lower volumes to take advantage of DynamicEQ/RLO settings....I also like to matrix 2ch into 7ch for some music, or even a 5.1 disc to 7ch. Do what you like.

As far as doing Audyssey in the Bypass L/R mode, for 2.1, just the sub gets eq'd (generally the better thing to get eq'd due Schroeder frequency and all anyways, rather than upper frequency range eq). Denon's eq is outside of Audyssey engagement, think it's called Graphic EQ mode on my Denon (and using it negates Audyssey anyways).

 

[bradymartin]

i think i remember audyssey setting my towers to large. i always had them small at 80. so i take it if i set them to 60 crossover, it wont mess with audyssey settings?

ive tried direct in low volume, at 50, and bypass l/r, def more bass that way.

 

[lovinthehd]

Well technically Audyssey didn't, your avr manufacturer did (Audyssey's position is if using a sub you should use the bass management). But if the recommendation for your speakers was large/full range then you can set the crossover wherever you like and Audyssey will cover it.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I set my subwoofer crossover to 120Hz.

My RBH SV-831 will play down to 50 Hz @ -3dB.