Auto setup mode questions.

[PKS17]

My amp has a Mic which you hook up to it and it will run a test on all the speakers, and then adjust gain/time delay and all that stuff.
My question here is, why does it put all the gain on my speakers to -7.0, they are all in the high negative ball park, even my surrounds and sub is all set to the negatives.
What is the advantage to this??

 

[Adam]

That is a good question. I would have expected it to adjust the output at a volume of "0db" as opposed to shifting all of the speaker levels down like that. Are there any speaker levels that are non-negative?

Also, which receiver do you have?

 

[PKS17]

Its a pioneer vsx-10 somthing somthing. im guessing that im sitting close to the speakers, so it levels it down a notch.

 

[MDS]

Whether the numbers of the channel trims are positive or negative is irrelevant. You could get the same results were you to do the calibration manually.

The auto-setup routine is attempting to get the same dB reading for every channel so that the speakers are balanced. Whether one channel is plus and others are negative is solely dependent on the room, locations of the speakers and various factors like that. For example, with the three front speakers on the same plane but one speaker slightly farther forward or backward of the others (relative to the listening position) you might need different settings to get the SPL level even.

 

[AVRat]

It's calibrating to reference level, which is loud, based on how close the mike is placed and the size of your environment. Small rooms increase SPLs and larger rooms decrease SPLs given the same power output.

 

[PKS17]

Alright, so is it normal to see -7.0 for the fronts, -6.0 for the center, and -7.5 for the surrounds and sub??
It just seems a little bit too much on the negative side.
but i do admit, my seating position is close to the front speakers(about 7 ft away)

 

[edmcanuck]

Many setup routines try to set your speakers so that you'll get a reference 85dB sound when your volume dial is at 0dB. To do this, the receiver often has to turn down all of your speakers.

It is a good idea to skew them all upwards after the setup since having a reference-level really isn't important but having a sub set to -10 can cause the signal to be too weak to trigger an auto-on switch.