Digital SPL to calibrate Speakers

[sterling shoote]

Stereo or multichannel track?

TEST TONE.

 

[sterling shoote]

Forgot your speakers were in your signature and I was assuming you had the same speaker at each position for some reason.....so if you're getting the same level at your listening position even though the surrounds are much closer I assume the surrounds are less sensitive than the mains?

ps Do you also tweak the delays or keep them in line with distance?

Yes, less sensitive and no adjustment for delay other than distance.

 

[Leemix]

TEST TONE.

Bass violin in front of vocals track (or i want your fancy test tone

 

[lovinthehd]

Yes, less sensitive and no adjustment for delay other than distance.

Now I'm scratching my head again after a cup of coffee How can they be the same volume at the speaker and the seat with the differing distances?

 

[sterling shoote]

Bass violin in front of vocals track (or i want your fancy test tone

The result of test tone volume matching places bass violin behind vocals in 5.1 multi-channel, and stereo applications, since the subwoofer is active in both scenarios. the recording which proves the viability of measurement method is Diana Krall's Love Scenes 5.1 multi-channel SACD.

 

[sterling shoote]

Bass violin in front of vocals track (or i want your fancy test tone

The result of test tone volume matching places bass violin behind vocals in 5.1 multi-channel, and stereo applications, since the subwoofer is active in both scenarios. The recording which proves the viability of measurement method is Diana Krall's Love Scenes 5.1 multi-channel SACD.

 

[sterling shoote]

Now I'm scratching my head again after a cup of coffee How can they be the same volume at the speaker and the seat with the differing distances?

The surrounds at speaker 56db, at seat 48db.

 

[lovinthehd]

The surrounds at speaker 56db, at seat 48db.

You said the same as the fronts, tho, that's what's odd. If the front is both 56 and 48 at the respective locations as well....

 

[sterling shoote]

You said the same as the fronts, tho, that's what's odd. If the front is both 56 and 48 at the respective locations as well....

Hmmm I can't explain. I can however explain the surround db dropoff in one word, Wingchair.

 

[lovinthehd]

Hmmm I can't explain. I can however explain the surround db dropoff in one word, Wingchair.

Your chair partially blocks the surrounds?

 

[sterling shoote]

Your chair partially blocks the surrounds?

Yes.

 

[rgbbhat72]

Wow this is getting interesting and enlightening. Only think i could relate to was Diana Krall, especially the track Let's Fall in Love .
Good news is that I am going to help a few of my friends with the basic spl meter calibrations so thank you all .
Following your posts this carefully.

Did you refer to placing the SPL meter right in front of each of the speaker and then setting the db Or did I loose you completely? Thanks

 

[lovinthehd]

Wow this is getting interesting and enlightening. Only think i could relate to was Diana Krall, especially the track Let's Fall in Love .
Good news is that I am going to help a few of my friends with the basic spl meter calibrations so thank you all .
Following your posts this carefully.

Did you refer to placing the SPL meter right in front of each of the speaker and then setting the db Or did I loose you completely? Thanks

Sterling did take measurements close to the speaker rather than the usual measurement taking at your listening position. Not generally a recommended way to go....

 

[rgbbhat72]

Sterling did take measurements close to the speaker rather than the usual measurement taking at your listening position. Not generally a recommended way to go....

On Thank you. Understood it this time as I am trying to visualise how it was done.

 

[sterling shoote]

Wow this is getting interesting and enlightening. Only think i could relate to was Diana Krall, especially the track Let's Fall in Love .
Good news is that I am going to help a few of my friends with the basic spl meter calibrations so thank you all .
Following your posts this carefully.

Did you refer to placing the SPL meter right in front of each of the speaker and then setting the db Or did I loose you completely? Thanks

I initially set sub, surrounds, and center channel to match volume of mains from listening position. This did not deliver the expected result, I do not know why, but speculate that it might have something to do with speaker distance having been previously set. At any rate, the desired result from volume matching was better integration of the subwoofer. And when SPL was matched at the listening position, the bass violin appeared to be front and center of vocals from Diana Krall's Love Scenes. Re-addressing SPL matching at each speaker the bass violin fell into place. This was not the expected outcome but it is what worked to get the desired result using my OPPO-205 bass management control. The OPPO allows crossover/distance/trim for each speaker. And, BTW, I think lovinthehd is absolutely right about taking the SLP measurements from the listening position being best; yet, this approach did not get the job done in my case. Again, I think it has something to do with distance parameters being set, before or after volume matching; but, I am unsure about that and not really interested in it, since my 5.1 music sounds just right.

 

[Leemix]

I initially set sub, surrounds, and center channel to match volume of mains from listening position. This did not deliver the expected result, I do not know why, but speculate that it might have something to do with speaker distance having been previously set. At any rate, the desired result from volume matching was better integration of the subwoofer. And when SPL was matched at the listening position, the bass violin appeared to be front and center of vocals from Diana Krall's Love Scenes. Re-addressing SPL matching at each speaker the bass violin fell into place. This was not the expected outcome but it is what worked to get the desired result using my OPPO-205 bass management control. The OPPO allows crossover/distance/trim for each speaker. And, BTW, I think lovinthehd is absolutely right about taking the SLP measurements from the listening position being best; yet, this approach did not get the job done in my case. Again, I think it has something to do with when distance parameters are set, before or after volume matching; but, I am unsure about that and not really interested in it, since my 5.1 music sounds just right.

This is an interresting case, if able to use the oppo 205 crossover etc. settings i assume you use the analogue outputs, depending on what processor/avr you have the 5/7.1 inputs might ignore any or all internal settings apart from volume so its possible the right setup wasnt used including delays(distances). Setting up the oppo to do the job for sacd is great, i have a 105 (and a 203)

 

[sterling shoote]

This is an interresting case, if able to use the oppo 205 crossover etc. settings i assume you use the analogue outputs, depending on what processor/avr you have the 5/7.1 inputs might ignore any or all internal settings apart from volume so its possible the right setup wasnt used including delays(distances). Setting up the oppo to do the job for sacd is great, i have a 105 (and a 203)

The OPPO is connected to a TA-E9000ES and a TA-P9000ES. The TA-P9000ES is a multi-channel analog preamplifier which I use for 5.1 music pleasure. It's bass management controls are effectively bypassed by leveling gain on all channels before introduction of bass management from the OPPO. Now, I could tweak bass management with the TA-P9000ES rather than going into the OPPOs settings but that convenience has not been needed. On the other hand, the TA-E9000ES, which is connected to the OPPOs stereo analog output as well as Toslink output, manages bass, as it must, since the OPPO only has a bass management function from its 5.1 analog connection. When the 5.1 connection is used for stereo music the OPPO down mixes to stereo with bass management still applied. BTW, I applied the SPL at speaker technique for the TA-E9000ES managed bass too. However, I did not contrast/compare this to a measurement from the listening position, since bass instruments seem to have the same placement as when listening to the music from the TA-P9000ES.

 

[lovinthehd]

I initially set sub, surrounds, and center channel to match volume of mains from listening position. This did not deliver the expected result, I do not know why, but speculate that it might have something to do with speaker distance having been previously set. At any rate, the desired result from volume matching was better integration of the subwoofer. And when SPL was matched at the listening position, the bass violin appeared to be front and center of vocals from Diana Krall's Love Scenes. Re-addressing SPL matching at each speaker the bass violin fell into place. This was not the expected outcome but it is what worked to get the desired result using my OPPO-205 bass management control. The OPPO allows crossover/distance/trim for each speaker. And, BTW, I think lovinthehd is absolutely right about taking the SLP measurements from the listening position being best; yet, this approach did not get the job done in my case. Again, I think it has something to do with distance parameters being set, before or after volume matching; but, I am unsure about that and not really interested in it, since my 5.1 music sounds just right.

I was wondering about your mention of a bass violin earlier, assumed you meant some old classical stuff....rather than simply a bass. Your chair may have had something to do with it but not clearing out settings before calibration could be another....but the result if it works for ya, works for ya!

 

[sterling shoote]

I was wondering about your mention of a bass violin earlier, assumed you meant some old classical stuff....rather than simply a bass. Your chair may have had something to do with it but not clearing out settings before calibration could be another....but the result if it works for ya, works for ya!

The correct term is Double Bass but I am not correct with nomenclature most of the time.