DCAC vs manual

[Mikey0426]

Hi there,

Just a question on setting up my new sony STR-DN1040. I've read some reviews (including on this site) that mentions that the DCAC setup is usually not the best settings for a room. After using it, I would tend to agree. I have front, side, and rear Klipsch surround speakers (about 8" ) onto the wall, and Klipsch center speaker and subwoofer as well. DCAC called all my speakers "large". The result was very bass heavy, and the speech is difficult to understand.

My question is, how do I optimize my setup? Should I actually physically measure the distance to all the speakers and sub? I'm very much a beginner at this....I don't really understand what cross fade is, or how to set it. Also, I set it to "engineer" mode based on what I read in another review. And what audio "mode" do I use for general tv watching?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for my general lack of knowledge. I'd love to learn more about this.

Thanks
Mike

 

[Mikey0426]

Anyone able to lend an idea? Thinking about returning the receiver if I can't get it to sound better....
Thanks a bunch

 

[j_garcia]

What exactly doesn't sound "right". Speakers make the biggest difference in sound. That said, Sony is one of those companies that I would not buy a receiver from.

 

[Mikey0426]

My biggest complaint is the seemingly overuse of the subw. Also the dialogue is hard to hear. I had these same speakers with my previous pioneer elite receiver, which I had to replace because the hdmi connections were so loose, they wouldn't stay in.

I guess my number one question is should I measure the distance to each speaker and enter it manually? And should I use any of the processing choices this receiver recommends?

Thanks

 

[j_garcia]

I usually leave the receiver on "Auto" and set the players to bitstream so that it picks up the correct, original format. The DSP modes often do OK, but don't always sound better. I've found that if the receiver is getting the distance wrong, it is trying to compensate for something by using a different distance. There's nothing wrong with that, but if it doesn't sound good, then yes, enter it and the x-over manually.

 

[Mikey0426]

Ok thank you