EQ setup in Sony Receiver

[djpain75]

K, as far as setup goes for my HT system... I have gone thru the Avia disk and setup the display and the speaker balence with an SPL meter. My question is this... What should my 3 band eq be set to? On my receiver i have settings for bass/mid/highs for each of the 5 speakers as well as cross over points for each. What on earth should this stuff be set at? Is there a similar disk for eq setup or is this all just by ear? The settings for the eq are from -10 to +10 of course. Thanks for your guys's help. This looks to be my new home!!!!! LOVE HOME THEATER!!!!!

Sony STR-DE925 Receiver
Sony Upconvert DVD player
Sony 50" Wide LCD HDTV
Acoustech HT-75's
Acoustech HT-65
Boston Acoustics 10" Sub

 

[fergusonv]

I would just set them all flat if it were me (I'm assuming there fixed and not parametric). Your other option would be to plot the response of each speaker manually and eq accordingly. You can download some test tones and plot them to a spreadsheet or use some room eq software (free) in conjunction with your spl meter as a mic to get your response.

 

[djpain75]

I would just set them all flat if it were me (I'm assuming there fixed and not parametric). Your other option would be to plot the response of each speaker manually and eq accordingly. You can download some test tones and plot them to a spreadsheet or use some room eq software (free) in conjunction with your spl meter as a mic to get your response.

Serious? Flat? On the front sound stage i have them setup with like the mid at +5 and the treble at like +5. I was thinking to boost the vocals for movies i would boost the mids... hmmm Flat... i could try it.

 

[djpain75]

Also, I checked the site for that eq program and thats way tooo complicated... so your thinking just set flat...

 

[fergusonv]

It all depends on how important a flat frequency response is to you, if it sounds good to you then set it that way, that's what this hobby is all about.

 

[jlindsey86]

I have an older sony receiver and I keep mine set to flat. I dont like tampering with the sound.

 

[jcPanny]

Crossover settings

Make sure that the crossover setting for each speaker is higher then the minimum frequency the speaker can produce. For example, if your mains play down to 50 Hz, set the crossover to 60 Hz or 80 Hz. The information below the crossover will be sent to the subwoofer.

 

[djpain75]

Gracias

Thanks guys, ill try the flat response next movie night.

 

[djpain75]

k, now i got way more complicated questions

I was askin the origional question while i was at work and should have waited till i got home to post my true question. Here is my dilema... For each channel i have 6 settings. A bass/mid/treb eq and bass/mid/treb volume.
The range on all channels is as follows
Bass eq 100hz - 1.0khz
mid eq 500hz - 5.0khz
treb eq 1.0khz - 10khz
I also have a choice for small or large speakers of course. (right now on small)
Then i have a -10 to +10 on all 3 things as well.
So someone please tell me this...
If I set the bass at like say 100hz, does that mean that anything under 100 goes to the sub? What about the other eq's... are those high pass...or what. Im totally confused. Heeeelp heheh thanks guys

 

[djpain75]

bump please

 

[spcoolin]

Greetings Everyone....
My First Post Here, However I am a member over at Agoraquest where we mostly talk Sony......

Judging from your last question, I think you may be confusing EQ, with bass management....
The EQ will either Boost, or Attenuate the frequency that you have selected...along with others above and below the selected freq....just not as much as the value you have entered....
For example if you choose 1Khz @ +5...you have boosted 1Khz +5 Db along with some of the others above and below 1Khz...think of it as a mountain peak at 1Khz, and the surrounding freqs on each side as the sides of the mountains slope...lower the peak....and the surrounding slope will lower also.
When you Attenuate the same centered freq...think of the mountain being upside down with the same slope of affected frequencies...
Now you just need to learn which freqs affect what notes on a scale, or which instruments....

Bass management will Not boost or attenuate frequencies, but instead, it re-directs them to speakers that can handle them...thus the Large/Small setting.
The effect of bass management may indeed seem to boost bass freqs but that is only a result of sending the larger more "bass capable" speakers those freqs.
The bass re-direction settings available can vary greatly from one receiver to another, and it is best to look in your manual to determine what is available to you with your DE925.

This article here on AH can describe it better than I, and is a good read:

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/setup/loudspeakers/bassmanagementbasics.php

I find that in my system....bass management settings can be more effective than EQ....

Hope some of this helps....and again...Greetings Everyone

Steve~

 

[djpain75]

Thanks for the post, Ill have to check that out.

 

[spcoolin]

Djpain~

If you do not have, or have lost your manual, you can download the PDF Here:

http://esupport.sony.com/perl/model-documents.pl?mdl=STRDE925&LOC=3

I just read thru it briefly, and it appears that your only choice for crossovers is the Large/Small setting, so the crossover is Fixed, and Global... Meaning that for the speakers set to Small, the receiver will re-direct frequency's below 120Hz to the Sub, or speakers set to Large.
The reason I say 120Hz (and it is not stated in the manual) is...that is the standard that Sony has adapted due to Dolby's specs...not THX spec which is 80Hz...I know it stinks but....

Anyway, To get adjustable crossovers...you would have had to move up to the "ES" line of receivers.....

In your case with the DE925....I don't know what you have for speakers (or their specs) so it will be hard to give you any recommendation....but as far as your sub goes...you will have to use it's built in crossover if you want anything lower than 120Hz... which to me, makes it very localizable.

Steve~

 

[djpain75]

I have all the speakers set to small and the eq on the sub is set close to around 65 or 70hz. So would that mean that anything between 120 down to 70hz will be lost? Where would it go? Hmmm stumped hehe =)

 

[spcoolin]

I have all the speakers set to small and the eq on the sub is set close to around 65 or 70hz. So would that mean that anything between 120 down to 70hz will be lost? Where would it go? Hmmm stumped hehe =)

Mostly lost yes.... but crossovers are not like a brick wall so you will get some of those freqs.
In your situation with the receiver crossover fixed at 120Hz....It would probably be better to run your mains Large if they can handle down to at least 70Hz...Yes they will attempt to play down to the bottom....But not very loud down below their roll off point (-3db spec)

By the way...It should be a crossover on the sub...Not a EQ...unless you have added one, or have a SVS Ultra maybe ?

Steve~