Experience with Denon calibration?

D

depechefan

Audioholic
Hi,

I received my new Denon receiver (AVC-X8500) yesterday and tried the auto calibration (via the app). When I play multi-channel music I find that my surround speakers are too loud and that my center channel is too low. I have a less than optimal setup atm. 5.1 with surround speakers relatively high on the wall behind the listening position. I plan to change this asap but still curious about the result of the calibration.

I have made some manual adjustments so it's beginning to sound right.

Has anyone else experienced similar things and can you think of parameters I can adjust? (I've turned Dynamic EQ off)

/M
 
Old Onkyo

Old Onkyo

Audioholic General
Your ears are the final arbiter. Maybe get a radio shack meter and calibrate the volume of the speakers.
individual channel level adjust under options.
multieq reference
dynamic eq off
Audyssey off off
checkthe settings under speakers manual setup
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
If the surrounds are too high a level for you, lower the channel level a bit. In the end its about preference. Your surrounds sound like they are in the wrong location in any case. Might also try calibrating via the avr itself without the app to see if there's a difference, some have reported such (some have had some pointed problems with the app but that tended to be earlier on, too). Or just a manual setup. Why did you turn Dynamic EQ off? It's one of the more useful features at lower levels (altho can exacerbate your issues with the surrounds), but for music you may need to adjust the Reference Level Offset. I'd turn off Dynamic Volume for sure, tho (just a dynamic compression routine). Experiment with the various settings/curves....
 
D

depechefan

Audioholic
Thanks for your replies. I'm planning to change the layout of my living room so speakers can be placed in more ideal positions so will probably not do too much before that happens. I was just curious. Dynamic EQ did indeed seem to make the issue worse. That's why I turned it off. Good idea to try the built-in Audessey system. Will experiment with that. After I made the manual changes things sound pretty good. I just want to make sure that I get the best sound possible. Might try the SPL approach also.
It's interesting that it's so difficult to find a person who can calibrate sound. TV calibration isn't difficult but sound... At least in Denmark.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Thanks for your replies. I'm planning to change the layout of my living room so speakers can be placed in more ideal positions so will probably not do too much before that happens. I was just curious. Dynamic EQ did indeed seem to make the issue worse. That's why I turned it off. Good idea to try the built-in Audessey system. Will experiment with that. After I made the manual changes things sound pretty good. I just want to make sure that I get the best sound possible. Might try the SPL approach also.
It's interesting that it's so difficult to find a person who can calibrate sound. TV calibration isn't difficult but sound... At least in Denmark.
There are some extensive threads on Audyssey setup for details (or too many :) ), try avsforum.com or hometheatershack.com's threads on the subject.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
I'm one of the people who had different results when using the app vs just going through the AVR setup routine. I've had mixed results with the app across the board and am still planning to experiment a bit more with it.

That said, it's not uncommon for folks to tweak levels after calibration. If dialing back the surrounds a couple of dB gets you where you want then I wouldn't worry about it. The problems I had were more with eq'ing than volume or distance. Audyssey has always been very consistent for me there.
 
CajunLB

CajunLB

Senior Audioholic
I have had this Denon 3600 and I definitely noticed it uses the surround channels a lot more than I was used to with the Onkyo 838 it replaced. I decided to leave it alone for a while and now I enjoy it.
 
HTnewb

HTnewb

Junior Audioholic
Sorry to bring up an older thread but i have a newb question regarding Denon calibration. I run a Denon S540BT that only has a basic room setup tool and not Audyessy. If i want to run a manual speaker levels check using an SPL meter, should Room EQ be turned off in the Denon prior to doing so or should it be left on?

Thanks
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Sorry to bring up an older thread but i have a newb question regarding Denon calibration. I run a Denon S540BT that only has a basic room setup tool and not Audyessy. If i want to run a manual speaker levels check using an SPL meter, should Room EQ be turned off in the Denon prior to doing so or should it be left on?

Thanks
Makes sense not to use a programmed eq if you're going to do things manually. I'd just run a reset of the avr to clear any setup parameters if worried.
 
HTnewb

HTnewb

Junior Audioholic
Makes sense not to use a programmed eq if you're going to do things manually. I'd just run a reset of the avr to clear any setup parameters if worried.
Thanks @lovinthehd
My old brain just isn't grasping this EQ stuff on the Denon S540BT and the manual is just too vague in explanations. Glad it doesn't have Audyssey cause i'd most likely freak. Not being a high-end receiver makes it even more difficult to find useful information anywhere as most discussions are about higher tier equipment obviously since that is what most enthusiasts own.

So, i have run several Auto Setup on the S540 which set distance, levels, crossovers etc. I go in and change a level for a particular speaker under Manual Setup. I assume that with Room EQ off, the receiver uses the manual changes i made and not the levels with Auto Setup? What happens to the distance values? What happens when i turn Room EQ back on? Does it revert back to the Auto Setup levels? Trying to learn.
Thanks
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Thanks @lovinthehd
My old brain just isn't grasping this EQ stuff on the Denon S540BT and the manual is just too vague in explanations. Glad it doesn't have Audyssey cause i'd most likely freak. Not being a high-end receiver makes it even more difficult to find useful information anywhere as most discussions are about higher tier equipment obviously since that is what most enthusiasts own.

So, i have run several Auto Setup on the S540 which set distance, levels, crossovers etc. I go in and change a level for a particular speaker under Manual Setup. I assume that with Room EQ off, the receiver uses the manual changes i made and not the levels with Auto Setup? What happens to the distance values? What happens when i turn Room EQ back on? Does it revert back to the Auto Setup levels? Trying to learn.
Thanks
My Denons and an old Onkyo all have Audyssey rather than another eq/setup routine so not sure exactly what yours does but assume it merely sets levels/delays....for crossovers and eq hopefully it only is a suggestion (as many avr manufacturers did with Audyssey anyways, as Audyssey generally says use bass management with speakers set to small and a crossover of 80hz when using a sub, at least for a starting point). Does the auto setup set any speakers to "large"? What crossovers? I'd hope your manual would definitely override anything the auto setup routine does....
 
HTnewb

HTnewb

Junior Audioholic
My Denons and an old Onkyo all have Audyssey rather than another eq/setup routine so not sure exactly what yours does but assume it merely sets levels/delays....for crossovers and eq hopefully it only is a suggestion (as many avr manufacturers did with Audyssey anyways, as Audyssey generally says use bass management with speakers set to small and a crossover of 80hz when using a sub, at least for a starting point). Does the auto setup set any speakers to "large"? What crossovers? I'd hope your manual would definitely override anything the auto setup routine does....
The Auto Setup configs the distance, levels, crossovers and speaker config. What is happening is, Auto sets the level of the front left speaker at +3.5db with a distance of 8.6ft and the right front speaker at -1db at 9.6ft. To me, this doesn't make much sense since the right speaker is actually further away and one would think it would require higher db. Both fronts have a clean shot to the seating position. This gives the hearing sense that the left front dominates the soundstage with what sounds like too much coming from the left. When attempting to correct this, it doesn't change much. Crossovers are at 80hz, speakers all set to small LPF for LFE at 120hz
The front soundstage is only 6ft between speakers.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
The Auto Setup configs the distance, levels, crossovers and speaker config. What is happening is, Auto sets the level of the front left speaker at +3.5db with a distance of 8.6ft and the right front speaker at -1db at 9.6ft. To me, this doesn't make much sense since the right speaker is actually further away and one would think it would require higher db. Both fronts have a clean shot to the seating position. This gives the hearing sense that the left front dominates the soundstage with what sounds like too much coming from the left. When attempting to correct this, it doesn't change much. Crossovers are at 80hz, speakers all set to small LPF for LFE at 120hz
The front soundstage is only 6ft between speakers.
Is one speaker in a corner or different boundaries? You only sit 6 ft away?
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Can't see a lot in that photo....I was commenting on the 6 ft as usually you want to be an equilateral triangle with L/R and your seat.....so how is the left speaker in relation to boundaries (wall/floor/ceiling) compared to right?
 
HTnewb

HTnewb

Junior Audioholic
Can't see a lot in that photo....I was commenting on the 6 ft as usually you want to be an equilateral triangle with L/R and your seat.....so how is the left speaker in relation to boundaries (wall/floor/ceiling) compared to right?
There is a door immediately to the left of the left front speaker and sub. The sub sounds fine though. i am setting slightly left of center.
 
HTnewb

HTnewb

Junior Audioholic
There is a door immediately to the left of the left front speaker and sub. The sub sounds fine though. i am setting slightly left of center.
With a bit of experimentation with the fronts this week, i've finally found the sweet spot for me. Sounds alot better and balanced than before. Much happier now.
 
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