Manual Speaker Calibration

[manvill76]

I have just received my Yamaha RX V673 AV Receiver. After setting it up I calibrate my speakers using the YPAO but i did not like the result.

How I can calibrate my speakers manually using my Radio Shack SPL meter on the Yamaha RX V673 ? I did not find the volume for each speakers on the receiver for adjustment of the sound level.

Thanks.

 

[Swerd]

I have just received my Yamaha RX V673 AV Receiver. After setting it up I calibrate my speakers using the YPAO but i did not like the result.

How I can calibrate my speakers manually using my Radio Shack SPL meter on the Yamaha RX V673 ? I did not find the volume for each speakers on the receiver for adjustment of the sound level.

You must go into the receiver's setup menu to make these settings. I haven't looked at the owner's manual for your receiver, but you will be asked several things like these below:

What speakers are you using? Left front, Right front, Center, various rear speakers, subwoofer, etc.

Are the speakers Large (full audio range) or Small (subject to the receiver's user-adjustable bass management high pass filter). You may have to do some trial and error with the high pass frequency setting for small speakers before you like the sound.

How far away is each speaker from a central listening position? Use a tape measure and round off to the nearest whole foot. Not all speakers will be the same distance away, and sound travels through air at about 1 foot per millisecond, so this matters. By telling the receiver each distance, you can let the sound from all speakers arrive simultaneously at the central listening position. This helps focus the audio image in surround sound. I think many people skip this step but they shouldn't. It's easy and can make an important difference.

Adjust the individual volume for each speaker with your SPL meter at the central listening position. The receiver generates a pink noise test tone and you adjust the relative volume levels for each speaker, one by one, as you read the level on your meter.

 

[gmichael]

What was it about the YPAO that you didn't like? I have found that it does a good job with the distances and level, but don't like the EQ settings. So I run the YPAO, and then set the EQ to flat.

 

[Pyrrho]

gmichael has asked the right question first: what is it about the YPAO settings that you do not like? Were you careful to follow the directions on microphone placement in the manual? You might want to run it again, carefully following the directions, to see if you get a better result.

YPAO usually does a good job of setting distances (aka delays) and levels, but with at least some versions of YPAO, it is not good at picking the size of the speakers (aka bass management crossover frequency to subwoofer). Fortunately, that is easy to do manually in the setup menu. Consult the manual if you have trouble figuring that out (and if you lost your manual, you can download one from Yamaha with free registration with their site).

If you are going to set the levels manually (which I do not recommend), you will need an SPL meter to get it as good as YPAO can do it.

Of course, it may be that you are wanting the levels wrong for some reason, and that means that you will not like the way YPAO does it, as it sets the levels pretty well right.

 

[twoeyedbob]

When i'm watching/listening to a film or music,i very rarely do it with an spl meter...usually my ears suffice
I persevered with my ypao setting's for a month..before coming to the conclusion they were just wrong...
Due to an accoustic anomaly the rh front was 2 or 3 db too high
With ypao setting's
I've just retuned by ear ..it's an ongoing process
The sub's distance and crossover was also way off .
If it sounds right...it is right

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk 2

 

[gmichael]

Have you had your ears checked lately? You may have an issue on one side. That said, if your ears are off a bit, then doing it by ear may be the best way for you to get it right, for you.

 

[twoeyedbob]

Afaik my ears are ok....front right spkr has alot of reflective
Surfaces nearby which ypao doesnt seem to take into account,
Although it did occasionally tell me the phase on that spkr was wrong (which it wasn't)
The sound was always pulled over to the right..
Front left was almost unheard most of the time

Once i get some curtains up (for accoustic purposes) i'll run it again and see what happens

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk 2

 

[j_garcia]

I've done many systems by ear and it almost always is not the same as calibrated, so by ear while it may be personal preference based on the individual's taste, nobody's ears are as "accurate" as a meter. It is best to start with a proper calibration and then tweak it from there to your liking, AFTER you've lived with it calibrated (manual) for a while. My EQ said my mains were out of phase too but they definitely are not.

 

[twoeyedbob]

That's exactly what i did....in theory it should be infallible
But when i'm listening to stuff where i know the left and right should be producing exactly the same sound...and the right side is obviously making more sound..
Something's not right

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk 2

 

[j_garcia]

See what the curtains do for you. If that doesn't fix it, sounds like some repositioning of the speakers might be needed.

 

[twoeyedbob]

As it stands ..l and r are both pointed directly at the listening position...having gradually been toed in from pointing straight ahead
It seems my leather couch's big fat flat armrest is creating
What sounds like(test tone) a second rh spkr..
So it's not louder ..as such...just more ...if that makes sense

I could try moving my sub over to the left and create a second phantom over there.....
Anyway it's all fun ,trying to sort it out...damn ..have to watch another film tonight...pesky phantoms
Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk 2

 

[English210]

I don't like YPAO either. It shows all speakers but one out of phase, and they're not...if it can't get that right how can I trust anything else.

 

[Grador]

I don't like YPAO either. It shows all speakers but one out of phase, and they're not...if it can't get that right how can I trust anything else.

Distance and level are a bit easier to do than phase, trust it for those. This isn't really an excuse, it should get this right [and YPAO got it wrong for me as well].

Except for subwoofer, ignore everything it has to say about subwoofers.