3805 and RoomEQ

[BJP]

I know you need the mic for the Denon 3805 for the auto setup, but is the mic needed for the room eq? Or is it processed in the receiver based on the speaker size, distance etc? My point is should I just buy a meter or go for the mic?

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

I know you need the mic for the Denon 3805 for the auto setup, but is the mic needed for the room eq? Or is it processed in the receiver based on the speaker size, distance etc? My point is should I just buy a meter or go for the mic?

You need the mic. The mic is easier, but sometimes it's a bit off. It's perfect to start out with, then "tweak" it to your liking.

 

[BJP]

Thanks for the info Buckeyefan 1, I'm lazy so I'll go with the mic .

 

[Duffinator]

Where to buy the Mic

Does anybody know where to get the mic online? What's the going price? I haven't messed with the EQ but am now ready to do so. Any tips in that regard are appreciated.

 

[chas_w]

Crutchfield carries it for $65

 

[Johnny Canuck]

My 2 cents on the Denon set up microphone:

Waste of $85.

The only thing it's good for is if you want to use your EQ in the "Normal" setting. As Gene or Clint (not sure which one)stated in their 3805 review, the receiver sounds best with "EQ OFF" . I agree. "Front" and "Flat" do not sound as good either. If you are going to use the EQ at all, set it to "Manual" and adjust accordingly while listening. Each source sounds different...whether it is a CD, a movie, or digital cable music. I have to adjust the sub with all to my taste so what good is the EQ???

As for distance, a good ol' fashion tape measure is the best for that.

The set up mic had my towers at full +12 and my sub at -5.5. My ears like +10.5 or 11 and a sub volume of +3.0- +5.0 depending on the source. It was WAY off. It also said my fronts, centre and rears were all LARGE when everyone knows they should all be on SMALL.

I bought the set up Mic for piece of mind and it sounded cool to have it at the time. I am not cheap. It just sits there in my drawer. I am serious. Don't waste your time.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

I've never used the mic. I trust my ears, and a tape measure. It did take me weeks to get it right, but it was worth the experimentation. I find you get better sound with adjusting the degree of the front speakers, as well as room acoustics. JC is right. Use a cd, and adjust the eq while listening. It's very straight forward.

 

[Johnny Canuck]

Hey Buckeye....a little off topic but:

are you a Blue Jackets fan? Us Canucks are big hockey fans...when they areren't striking or locked out.

JC

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Hey Buckeye....a little off topic but:

are you a Blue Jackets fan? Us Canucks are big hockey fans...when they areren't striking or locked out.

JC

Yes, they are huge here. Columbus doesn't have a pro baseball, football, or basketball team. We have the Buckeyes, the Blue Jackets, and the Crew (soccer). Hockey has really jumped in popularity in the last 10 years. I lived in Pittsburgh after college (early 90's), and the Penguins were awesome. A buddy of mine's parents lived near Mario Lemieux. (Mt. Lebanon or Mt. Lebo)-nice area) When they won the cup, we snuck over and saw them partying with the Stanley Cup on a water fall over his pool. It was amazing. The team was so smashed. The city went crazy. What a great time. Pittsburgh is a great city for sports. It's a little more blue collar than I like, but what a great 5 years I had there.

 

[eirepaul]

I also bought the mic and have not used it yet after 6 months of owning this most excellent receiver. I am so satisfied with the sound after manual calibration with the Radio Shack meter and minor manual equalizer tweaking. I will eventually play with the auto calibration when I have some time - too busy enjoying wonderful sounding equipment and DVD-Audios.

 

[jonsd]

will any microphone work?

I just purchased the 3805 and I am wondering if any Microphone will calibrate if its the right size for the receiver?

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

I just purchased the 3805 and I am wondering if any Microphone will calibrate if its the right size for the receiver?

No. The more accurate the mic, the better the auto setup works. If you have an extremely directional mic, you won't have time to adjust it while the sound bursts are played. Mics range in price from $10 to thousands. The ones included with most receivers are very cheap, and usually yield poor results. You'll need to hear a pin drop in the house before running the auto setup. Even the a/c; fridge, or cat jumping around can marr the calibration.

 

[Johnny Canuck]

Buckeye: Pittsburgh does not deserve a team any more unfortunately as they refuse to cough up for an arena. Too bad. Penguins have great history and provided us Canadians with many memorable moments. Mario especially.

I only hope Columbus can maintain their enthusiasm for the BJ's as hockey is new there and people are curious. Hopefully they don't go the way of Atlanta, Florida, Tampa Bay, etc because too many teams and not enough talent is killing the game. Hockey does not belong in the southern USA. It NEVER will survive long term there and you Americans don't care about hockey...never have, never will. Only where established fan bases like New York, Philly, Boston and Chicago is where hockey should be down there.

Sorry..this is a audio board, not a hockey board.

 

[cmusic]

I bought the mic for my 3805 and liked the results after a few tests tries with it. I made temporary mic stands and placed the mic at the listening positions while I started the auto setup and exited the room. I did not like any of the results the 3805 came up with.

I ended up sitting in my main listening postion and held the mic a few inches infront of my face during the auto setup. The hardest part was not allowing the mic to move once the auto setup started. I figured if I am in the room I will have some effect on the sound. By holding the mic the 3805 took my body's effect on the sound into it calculations.

I also use the flat setting on the eq. I have a Polk center channel and Sony front L/R and surrounds. The flat setting made both brands of speakers sound more tonally matched. The only manual adjustment I have made was to raise the sub level 3 dB.

I have two RTA meters but I have not used them on my HT as of yet. The auto setup sounds really nice to my ears. Maybe if I ever upgrade my speakers or built a dedicated HT room I will do more detailed manual adjustments.

 

[RMK!]

Does anybody know where to get the mic online? What's the going price? I haven't messed with the EQ but am now ready to do so. Any tips in that regard are appreciated.

Hey Duffinator,

Since you are a homeboy you can borrow mine and see if you like it. I think it is good to have the Denon EQ baseline and work off of that. I got mine from Crutchfield for $65.00. PM me if you want to try it out.

 

[OliverB]

just in case somebody still comes across this thread, I just got the mic from some guy on ebay for less than $40.- I just ran the auto setup and am testing it now with different sources, sounds good so far.

I did first buy that radio shack meter, which will go back to them. Measuring the distance and adjusting all speakers to the same level was easy enough, but the EQ settings by hand are too cumbersome for me. would be ok with analog buttons, but doing that all with the remote and my years-of-live-music-damaged ears seems rather frustrating. Also I listen to just about every kind of music that's out there, I figure what ever "perfect" middle ground Denon picked might be just fine for me. The only strange thing, the sub is set about 12 feet further away than it actually is, but the (crappy) manual says that's ok.

Well, testing with music DVDs right now, next will be Terminator 3, the crane and firetruck chase. Hopefully my house will remain staning

Oliver

 

[BJP]

Boy time flies, I don't even remember starting this thread

 

[L-Jay]

just in case somebody still comes across this thread, I just got the mic from some guy on ebay for less than $40.- I just ran the auto setup and am testing it now with different sources, sounds good so far.

I did first buy that radio shack meter, which will go back to them. Measuring the distance and adjusting all speakers to the same level was easy enough, but the EQ settings by hand are too cumbersome for me. would be ok with analog buttons, but doing that all with the remote and my years-of-live-music-damaged ears seems rather frustrating. Also I listen to just about every kind of music that's out there, I figure what ever "perfect" middle ground Denon picked might be just fine for me. The only strange thing, the sub is set about 12 feet further away than it actually is, but the (crappy) manual says that's ok.

Well, testing with music DVDs right now, next will be Terminator 3, the crane and firetruck chase. Hopefully my house will remain staning

Oliver

I would use a measuring tape for the sub to put in the actual distance. The mic was right on for the rest of the speakers but the sub is always off. I used the auto setup and double checked it with a Radioshack spl. I calibrated the sub(distance&sound level)separately.

 

[avliner]

Just an additional info: I got a 3805 a couple of weeks ago and tried something that works perfectly, as I don't have the original Denon mike:

I do have a digital RS SPL,which has an RCA out, so if you scroll the Auto Set Up/Room EQ and go to line # 5 (Mic Input Select), you can select
V. AUX L, which enables the audio left plug (at front panel), to perform the same way as if were plugged at the mic input. Considering that the RS meter has a built-in mike, it just works fine for all measurements.

Furthermore, I've tried with a professional grade mike (Shure SM 58) and it also works perfectly. I have a friend who has the original Denon mike, so we have run 3 differents measurements and tell you what: to my ears, the worst adjustment came from the Denon mike.

In case you guys have an SPL and/or a good mike, I would suggest - before buying the Denon mike - to perform a test first. By the way, for the SPL meter, you do need a male/male extension and for the mike just an adaptor.
By doing so, you'll save about 30 bucks (bear in mind also that an SPL is, by far, much more useful than a single mike).

Last but not least, BUCKEYEFAN 1 is absolutely right: the 3805 is an awesome machine. Absolutely fantastic!!
Shall send some some more info in close future.

Hope that this helps.

Cheers / Avliner.

 

[Duffinator]

Just an additional info: I got a 3805 a couple of weeks ago and tried something that works perfectly, as I don't have the original Denon mike:

I do have a digital RS SPL,which has an RCA out, so if you scroll the Auto Set Up/Room EQ and go to line # 5 (Mic Input Select), you can select
V. AUX L, which enables the audio left plug (at front panel), to perform the same way as if were plugged at the mic input. Considering that the RS meter has a built-in mike, it just works fine for all measurements.

Furthermore, I've tried with a professional grade mike (Shure SM 58) and it also works perfectly. I have a friend who has the original Denon mike, so we have run 3 differents measurements and tell you what: to my ears, the worst adjustment came from the Denon mike.

In case you guys have an SPL and/or a good mike, I would suggest - before buying the Denon mike - to perform a test first. By the way, for the SPL meter, you do need a male/male extension and for the mike just an adaptor.
By doing so, you'll save about 30 bucks (bear in mind also that an SPL is, by far, much more useful than a single mike).

Last but not least, BUCKEYEFAN 1 is absolutely right: the 3805 is an awesome machine. Absolutely fantastic!!
Shall send some some more info in close future.

Hope that this helps.

Cheers / Avliner.

Great post AV. I wish I had thought of using my SPL meter before buying the Denon mic. My analog Radio Shack also has the RCA output so it should work as well. I'll have to try that and see how it works. Against others advice I purchased the Denon mic on eBay for about $40 delivered and was less than impressed with the results.