Back Surround speakers

[skads_187]

hey guys, quick question, I have a 5.1 setup, with psb speakers, b15's in the back and a pioneer receiver. I find that the back speakers are extremely low. I have manually set them up as "small" speakers.

Should I run MCACC? will that solve the problem.
Or should I pick up the db's for those back two speakers? (and is it ok to pick up the db's as i have my center channel at + 2.5)

 

[chris357]

hey guys, quick question, I have a 5.1 setup, with psb speakers, b15's in the back and a pioneer receiver. I find that the back speakers are extremely low. I have manually set them up as "small" speakers.

Should I run MCACC? will that solve the problem.
Or should I pick up the db's for those back two speakers? (and is it ok to pick up the db's as i have my center channel at + 2.5)

you need to buy a radio shack (20-30 $) sound pressure meter and go into the set up and do the test tones and then adjust all the individual volumes to the same reading on your meter. from your listening position...

that should make a huge improvement

or if you are from the part of missouri(mizzura) that I'm from you just need to turn your speakers around

sorry I just had to try and be funny this morning

 

[skads_187]

would this be good enough?

http://www.thesource.ca/estore/product.aspx?language=en-CA&product=1219799&category=SoundMeters&catalog=Online&tab=1#more

Im from Canada, this is the company that bought over radio shack.
its 50$ CAD.

So just to understand correctly, if it reads the back speakers at 65db, do i then raise it to +25db?? thanks

 

[chris357]

would this be good enough?

http://www.thesource.ca/estore/product.aspx?language=en-CA&product=1219799&category=SoundMeters&catalog=Online&tab=1#more

Im from Canada, this is the company that bought over radio shack.
its 50$ CAD.

So just to understand correctly, if it reads the back speakers at 65db, do i then raise it to +25db?? thanks

yes that will be fine.. and yes you make all speakers the same level (sub woofer you set to taste)

in your set up you are only going up or down in +/- 1 intervals from the test patern it may only be a +/- 1 in the fronts to make them all equal but it may be more than that like 3 or 4 for the backs if they are that low.

 

[billy p]

would this be good enough?

http://www.thesource.ca/estore/product.aspx?language=en-CA&product=1219799&category=SoundMeters&catalog=Online&tab=1#more

Im from Canada, this is the company that bought over radio shack.
its 50$ CAD.

So just to understand correctly, if it reads the back speakers at 65db, do i then raise it to +25db?? thanks

It could be your fronts are set to high. I would get a SPL meter run my test tones and set all my speakers to 75dbs. In my situation, I lowerd the surrounds and raised up my fronts to achieve the desired 75db for all my speakers where I sit.

 

[skads_187]

what purpose does the pioneer mcacc serve then?
does it only adjust the speakers (small/large) and doesnt touch the db's?

also, last question, does it matter how how you set the db's (ie +30db)?

 

[lsiberian]

hey guys, quick question, I have a 5.1 setup, with psb speakers, b15's in the back and a pioneer receiver. I find that the back speakers are extremely low. I have manually set them up as "small" speakers.

Should I run MCACC? will that solve the problem.
Or should I pick up the db's for those back two speakers? (and is it ok to pick up the db's as i have my center channel at + 2.5)

Yes run MCACC.

Then manually adjust your crossovers as needed.

Most movies are 5.1 FYI.

 

[skads_187]

It could be your fronts are set to high. I would get a SPL meter run my test tones and set all my speakers to 75dbs. In my situation, I lowerd the surrounds and raised up my fronts to achieve the desired 75db for all my speakers where I sit.

so just to be sure, cause im really new at this. they should all be at the same db? and is 75 a good mark? thanks

 

[adwilk]

sorry I just had to try and be funny this morning

We'll let it slide this time, but we take our audio too seriously around here to consider making jokes. Consider this your warning.

And there's no "A" in MissourI

 

[skads_187]

ok, I ran the MCACC with the mic.
it gave me an error for the back two speakers. Someone had told me once on this forum to connect the back of speakers to SBL (surround back left) and SBR.
So I reconnected the speaker wires for the back speakers to SL and SR in the back of the receiver.
once i ran the MCACC again, the tests came back OK.
So my question is,
in a 5.1 setup, are the 2 back speakers supposed to be connected to SBL/SBR or SL/SR?

 

[skers_54]

ok, I ran the MCACC with the mic.
it gave me an error for the back two speakers. Someone had told me once on this forum to connect the back of speakers to SBL (surround back left) and SBR.
So I reconnected the speaker wires for the back speakers to SL and SR in the back of the receiver.
once i ran the MCACC again, the tests came back OK.
So my question is,
in a 5.1 setup, are the 2 back speakers supposed to be connected to SBL/SBR or SL/SR?

SL and SR. Those are the original surround channels in 5.1 audio. The SBL/SBR speakers are utilized in 7.1 setups only.

 

[skads_187]

wow i wish i had that info a year ago,
the difference i noticed now is that the symbol on the receiver shows dolby digital, before it would show dolby digital ex.

could this be one of the reasons the sound was so low?

 

[billy p]

so just to be sure, cause im really new at this. they should all be at the same db? and is 75 a good mark? thanks

If you're using a SPL its usually recommended. I don't believe your MCACC will do this and you'll need a spl metre to measure each speaker and you'll need to adjust the volume trim accordingly to get the desire 75db's.

 

[skads_187]

do you guys know where i can get one cheap online? that ships to Canada?
the ebay ones look overpriced.

 

[billy p]

do you guys know where i can get one cheap online? that ships to Canada?
the ebay ones look overpriced.

I have this one...
http://www.sonicboomaudio.com/cables-accessories-sound-calibration-c-6_18.html?zenid=092ab2e90890a027951eaedd7a0c97a8

but what do you consider cheap...

 

[mtrycrafts]

ok, I ran the MCACC with the mic.
it gave me an error for the back two speakers. Someone had told me once on this forum to connect the back of speakers to SBL (surround back left) and SBR.
So I reconnected the speaker wires for the back speakers to SL and SR in the back of the receiver.
once i ran the MCACC again, the tests came back OK.
So my question is,
in a 5.1 setup, are the 2 back speakers supposed to be connected to SBL/SBR or SL/SR?

In a 5.1 setup, you connect them to the SL/SR terminals. The other two are for the 7.1 setup.

At times, the auto calibration of a component is not accurate due to outside noises, etc. While you may have had the speakers on the wrong terminal, I would calibrate it using both methods and see how far off the auto calibration is from the manual. Let us know the outcome.