AccuEQ problem Onkyo TX-NR696 Need Help

[super1]

I have a 7.2 setup in my basement living room. My AVR is a Onkyo TX-NR696 with AccuEQ. my AVR has two sub out ports but i think they are fed the same signal iirc. Im running two subwoofers my main one is a Polk PSW125 12 inch and the other is a Energy ESW-8. I had the energy sub laying around which is why im using it. When gain matching them both at 75db the smaller energy sub was around 2-3 o clock gain and the polks sub gain dial was around the 1 o clock. I then ran AccuEq All the distances and levels / crossover of the speakers are pretty much accurate, with all 7 speakers at 80hz crossover except my rear surrounds at 100hz because they are small satellites and all speakers around 72-75db level. My lpf for lfe is left at 120hz because that’s what most people recommend. The AVR sets the trim level of the subwoofer too high at around +6db which is on a scale from -15db to +12db and when checking with a spl meter it shows them both playing together at around 90db I tried many different ways to get my AVR to set my trim level in the closer to 0 or in the negatives like turning gain higher but it always seems to set it in the +4 to +6db range. Any advice on how to fix this? Both Subwoofers are at the front one is next to the right speaker and and the other next to left speaker.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

First, welcome to the Forum!

Unless your main speakers are really small, the typical low pass setting is more commonly 89-90 Hz.

And, the typical remedy if you aren’t happy how the AVR’s auto EQ system set the subwoofers, is to simply change the setting manually to what you want it to be

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Subwoofer placement shouldn't be purely aesthetic. If you want the best bass in your room, you'd have to do some work for it. Read the Crawl for bass article on the main site. - https://www.audioholics.com/home-theater-connection/crawling-for-bass-subwoofer-placement.
In another note, I did not hear much positive feedback about the accuracy (or lack of it) for the AccuEQ system. You may be better off trusting your own ears and doing manual turning with a SPL meter or going with the free RoomEQ Wizard (REW) system, assuming you buy a calibrated measuring mic.

Lastly, since your main speakers are small, getting a 120Hz crossover shouldn't be surprising.

 

[Trebdp83]

I have a 696 along with a couple of other Onkyo receivers. AccuEQ is all over the place and I don't use it on any of them. The LPF for LFE channel setting of 120Hz is fine as that is the ceiling of LFE channel signals. As was mentioned by @BoredSysAdmin , an aesthetically pleasing setup may not be the optimal setup concerning sound. Also mentioned was the manual adjustment of levels after running AccuEQ. You can simply turn AccuEQ off in Quick Settings and manually adjust everything.

 

[super1]

First, welcome to the Forum!

Unless your main speakers are really small, the typical low pass setting is more commonly 89-90 Hz.

And, the typical remedy if you aren’t happy how the AVR’s auto EQ system set the subwoofers, is to simply change the setting manually to what you want it to be

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Thanks for the welcome! Would that mean i would also have to manually set the distance levels for the subwoofer as well? or should i try running AccuEQ again with the gains much higher on the subs?

 

[super1]

I have a 696 along with a couple of other Onkyo receivers. AccuEQ is all over the place and I don't use it on any of them. The LPF for LFE channel setting of 120Hz is fine as that is the ceiling of LFE channel signals. As was mentioned by @BoredSysAdmin , an aesthetically pleasing setup may not be the optimal setup concerning sound. Also mentioned was the manual adjustment of levels after running AccuEQ. You can simply turn AccuEQ off in Quick Settings and manually adjust everything.

If i turn off AccuEQ in the settings would i just use a measuring tape to set the distance levels of all speakers? How would i then set the subwoofer distance?

 

[super1]

Subwoofer placement shouldn't be purely aesthetic. If you want the best bass in your room, you'd have to do some work for it. Read the Crawl for bass article on the main site. - https://www.audioholics.com/home-theater-connection/crawling-for-bass-subwoofer-placement.
In another note, I did not hear much positive feedback about the accuracy (or lack of it) for the AccuEQ system. You may be better off trusting your own ears and doing manual turning with a SPL meter or going with the free RoomEQ Wizard (REW) system, assuming you buy a calibrated measuring mic.

Lastly, since your main speakers are small, getting a 120Hz crossover shouldn't be surprising.

Yeah the thing is I have no other placements for the subwoofer since its in the living room. And a mic for REW is out of the budget right now. I also dont watch movies in reference level. AccuEQ does a good job setting my speakers to 75db. The only issue is that it raises my subwoofers way to high at 90+db and i cant figure out why. Because before calibration i set both subs to get the highest db at around 75 when both turned on.

 

[Trebdp83]

If i turn off AccuEQ in the settings would i just use a measuring tape to set the distance levels of all speakers? How would i then set the subwoofer distance?

You will not lose the distances and levels set by AccuEQ if you turn it off and you can make adjustments to the ones it spit out without turning it off. But, adjustments to Front, Center and Subwoofer levels made in the Quick Menu will not be saved when putting the receiver into Standby.

AccuEQ will need to be turned off for each input source if you do not want to use it at all. If you want to use Manual EQ, you can make up to three presets and assign one of them to each input source. However, AccuEQ will override the Manual EQ Preset if both are turned on.

If you are happy with AccuEQ results save for the subwoofer level, go into Setup>2.Speakers>2-4Level Calibration and adjust the subwoofer level to your liking. The adjusted level here will be saved.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Yeah the thing is I have no other placements for the subwoofer since its in the living room. And a mic for REW is out of the budget right now.

Purchasing a mic for under $100 isn't a huge investment for this hobby. As for subs locations, you may need to be more flexible and creative. The extra hot running LFE could be either from room cancellations or AccuEQ's weird programming.