In-wall rear surround recommendations

[ryanosaur]

I just bought a 15' and 25' Monoprice cable for my subwoofer crawl test. They do seem like nice cables. I don't think I like the thought of wireless.

Back on my computer. Here is the linky for the specific one I recommend:

Monoprice 25ft High-quality Coaxial Audio/Video RCA CL2 Rated Cable - RG6/U 75ohm (for S/PDIF, Digital Coax, Subwoofer & Composite Video) - Monoprice.com

This Digital Coax Cable is made from premium quality RG-6/U with double copper braid shielding to prevent signal degradation caused by EMI and RFI interference. This cable is ideal for conducting S/PD

www.monoprice.com

It is CL2 rated, so you can run it in-wall, too.

 

[mossman77]

Back on my computer. Here is the linky for the specific one I recommend:

Monoprice 25ft High-quality Coaxial Audio/Video RCA CL2 Rated Cable - RG6/U 75ohm (for S/PDIF, Digital Coax, Subwoofer & Composite Video) - Monoprice.com

This Digital Coax Cable is made from premium quality RG-6/U with double copper braid shielding to prevent signal degradation caused by EMI and RFI interference. This cable is ideal for conducting S/PD

www.monoprice.com

It is CL2 rated, so you can run it in-wall, too.

Cool, thanks. I was mistaken...the ones I have are Mediabridge Ultra.

 

[ryanosaur]

Cool, thanks. I was mistaken...the ones I have are Mediabridge Ultra.

If you read their specs carefully, they use a Copper-Clad Steel conductor in their cables. Steel is a very poor conductor. To be fair, for a low-voltage signal like an LFE pre-out signal, its probably fine. Especially at shorter distances. I would still opt for better cabling than MediaBridge or Amazon Choice offers. The devil is in the details.

 

[Pogre]

I'll find out soon enough. I'll be ordering them today.

Any issues with running a regular 50' subwoofer cable to the sub upstairs, or is there an in-wall cable more conducive to long runs?

I was in a bit of a rush this morning when I replied. I am stoked for you tho! You're on the journey now!

 

[mossman77]

If you read their specs carefully, they use a Copper-Clad Steel conductor in their cables. Steel is a very poor conductor. To be fair, for a low-voltage signal like an LFE pre-out signal, its probably fine. Especially at shorter distances. I would still opt for better cabling than MediaBridge or Amazon Choice offers. The devil is in the details.

I bought them specifically for the subwoofer crawl and because they were cheap. I'll invest in better cables when it comes time to hook everything up permanently.

 

[mossman77]

I was in a bit of a rush this morning when I replied. I am stoked for you tho! You're on the journey now!

Me too!

 

[mossman77]

I got my miniDSP and Umik-1 and have REW installed. When setting levels before taking measurements, I'm guessing I need to set the levels of my speakers individually to 85dB using the pink noise prior to taking measurements? For example, front left speaker only, then sub1 only, then sub2 only? Alternatively, couldn't I run Audyssey with just these three channels connected and let it adjust the levels for me then use the main volume to bring the system level up to 85dB collectively? Or am I only doing the subs with no other speakers connected since I only have the 2x4 HD? I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions. I should probably start posting on AVNirvana huh?

 

[ryanosaur]

Just a reminder: check out the vid I posted earlier for a quick REW lesson if you haven’t watched it.

In-wall rear surround recommendations

Yeah, minidsp is the best option. Although @ryanosaur posted a new one from parts express that looks cool. The audyssey app MIGHT be able to help but @Pogre I think is the only one who tried to very what he did with the curve editor.

forums.audioholics.com

Poes is a very knowledgeable guy and we are fortunate to have him participating here!

 

[Pogre]

I got my miniDSP and Umik-1 and have REW installed. When setting levels before taking measurements, I'm guessing I need to set the levels of my speakers individually to 85dB using the pink noise prior to taking measurements? For example, front left speaker only, then sub1 only, then sub2 only? Alternatively, couldn't I run Audyssey with just these three channels connected and let it adjust the levels for me then use the main volume to bring the system level up to 85dB collectively? Or am I only doing the subs with no other speakers connected since I only have the 2x4 HD? I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions. I should probably start posting on AVNirvana huh?

The mic and REW are tools that will show you what's going on. Get down to brass tacks I run Audyssey then go in after and tweak with the Mini.

Not a bad idea to get familiar with things before you do any tweaking. Do some sweeps and understand what you're looking at (tho you sound like you might have a head start over most). I've taken before and after Audyssey sweeps just to see what all Audyssey did. Try a tweak and do another sweep so you can see how that affects fr.

 

[mossman77]

The mic and REW are tools that will show you what's going on. Get down to brass tacks I run Audyssey then go in after and tweak with the Mini.

Not a bad idea to get familiar with things before you do any tweaking. Do some sweeps and understand what you're looking at (tho you sound like you might have a head start over most). I've taken before and after Audyssey sweeps just to see what all Audyssey did. Try a tweak and do another sweep so you can see how that affects fr.

Okay. Just waiting on a laptop to get started.

 

[Pogre]

Okay. Just waiting on a laptop to get started.

I still trust Audyssey for distancing and level matching. That's something I've never even double checked with REW tho, but things sound good so it never occurred to me. My main focus has always been getting a great response with my subs and front 2 so that's where my focus has always been.

*Edit: Make sure you dl a calibration file for your mic. There are 2 different calibrations iirc. Should be available from the site. You'll need to punch some numbers in off the label on the mic and use the 90 degree file.

 

[mossman77]

I still trust Audyssey for distancing and level matching. That's something I've never even double checked with REW tho, but things sound good so it never occurred to me. My main focus has always been getting a great response with my subs and front 2 so that's where my focus has always been.

*Edit: Make sure you dl a calibration file for your mic. There are 2 different calibrations iirc. Should be available from the site. You'll need to punch some numbers in off the label on the mic and use the 90 degree file.

Yep. I already loaded the cal file. I'm using the 90 degree one.

I planned on level matching the subs using REW's SPL meter feature (play pink noise and setting each sub individually to 70dB for a collective SPL of 75dB or so), running a few sweeps to see what I'm dealing with, playing with phase and Q on the subs to try and flatten the response as much as possible, then use the miniDSP to correct as much it can, then finally letting Audyssey do its thing. I realize there are multiple approaches, but this is what currently makes sense to me based on my understanding at this point in time.

 

[Pogre]

Yep. I already loaded the cal file. I'm using the 90 degree one.

I planned on level matching the subs using REW's SPL meter feature (play pink noise and setting each sub individually to 70dB for a collective SPL of 75dB or so), running a few sweeps to see what I'm dealing with, playing with phase and Q on the subs to try and flatten the response as much as possible, then use the miniDSP to correct as much it can, then finally letting Audyssey do its thing. I realize there are multiple approaches, but this is what currently makes sense to me based on my understanding at this point in time.

Nothing wrong with that. Probably a good exercise to get you familiar with the program.

Yes there are multiple different approaches and some experimentation isn't a bad thing.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Yep. I already loaded the cal file. I'm using the 90 degree one.

I planned on level matching the subs using REW's SPL meter feature (play pink noise and setting each sub individually to 70dB for a collective SPL of 75dB or so), running a few sweeps to see what I'm dealing with, playing with phase and Q on the subs to try and flatten the response as much as possible, then use the miniDSP to correct as much it can, then finally letting Audyssey do its thing. I realize there are multiple approaches, but this is what currently makes sense to me based on my understanding at this point in time.

1 2 3 goooooo!!!!!!

 

[mossman77]

Granted I'm just getting into this, but a lot of what this guy is saying doesn't seem right to me. He discusses the procedure for gain matching subs prior to using REW, but he says to move each sub into the same position when doing so. What's the point of doing this if you're going to put your subs back where they were for the REW measurements? Don't you want to level match the subs with them located in their permanent positions? In other words, you want to take into account the effects of the room because this is essentially what you're trying to compensate for in your susequent EQ adjustments. Am I wrong?

@ryanosaur, I'll be watching the video you linked to shortly.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Short version, no. Don’t gain match them. They have to be identical anyway to do that.

Level match always. IMO....

 

[ryanosaur]

I agree with Bill, here. Even with identical subs, I would set SPLs from each location to match at your LP and go from there.

 

[mossman77]

I have everything setup (experimenting with my Klipsch Sub-10). For some reason there is no audio passing through the miniDSP, so I had to bypass it for now while playing around with REW. Not sure what the issue is. I can connect, make changes, etc, but no sound. I had my sub connected and powered on during the setup process and heard a loud thump at some point, so I hope I didn't screw something up (e.g. blow a channel).

Here is a sweep of the Klipsch Sub-10:

PortedSubFrontLeft_1.jpg

drive.google.com

 

[mossman77]

I tried different inputs/outputs, reset to factory defaults, powered off/on, played with levels, turned receiver all the way up, and still cannot get audio through the DSP. The only time I get a hint of sound is when I click on/off the main mute button at the top right of the window. When doing so, I get a subtle thump out of the sub. Seems like I may have a faulty unit.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Do you have the in/out turned on? Also, you have to turn off the bypass for....damn brain fart, it’ll come to me.

Room EQ Wizard (REW)

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