Help in callibrating new system

[Dragon Warrior]

<font color='#000000'>I am new to the forum, and think that the information/discussion provided by Audioholics is to a budding audioholics.

I just bought a new home theatre systems based upon months of research both on-line and in-store. &nbsp;However, when I installed it at home, I was somewhat disappointed because the sound was not that much of an improvement to my old Sony str-de 475. &nbsp;When I watch movies, the dialogue appears to be one-dimensional and does not fill the room (unless I crank up the volume). &nbsp;Perhaps I have not calibrated the system properly and/or placed the speakers properly. &nbsp;Need your advice on improving the sound quality.

Here is the system:

Receiver: &nbsp;Denon 2802
Fronts: &nbsp;psb Image 5t
Centre: &nbsp;psb Image 9c
Rears: &nbsp;psb Image 10s
Sub: psb subsonic 6
TV: &nbsp;Toshiba 61' hdtv ready (4:3)
DVD: Toshiba SD 3750

Interconnects:
- Optical for DVD to receiver
- &nbsp;12 guage speaker wires &nbsp;

Settings:
- All speakers to Small with crossover at 80Hz

- Subwoofer LFE at 80Hz

The room that the system is in rectangular shape (about 10ft x 15ft). &nbsp;I place the two fronts on either side of the TV, the centre on top of the TV, and the rears above the listening area at the back of the room. &nbsp;The subwoofer is placed behind the sofa.

Thank you in advance for your advice..

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[Audioholics]

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Dragon Warrior : <font color='#000000'>When I watch movies, the dialogue appears to be one-dimensional and does not fill the room

The subwoofer is placed behind the sofa.</font>

<font color='#000000'>I won't steal any thunder from Ray, hopefully - he is the installation master - but there's a few things up front that I notice:

1) Center channel audio is more of an anchor, whereby the dialogue being spoken in a movie is anchored to the television set. It doesn't usually fill the room so to speak. However, it should be clear and crisp and should have good &quot;presence&quot; where detail in the audio can be discerned. It should sound like the actor is speaking directly from the TV scren.

2) I like to place my subwoofer at the front of the room. I try for in between the main speakers (usually just inside the left or right) and if that doesn't work, I aim for a front corner so long as its not too boomy.

GDS did a great article on Crawling for Bass that is simply the best way to place your subwoofer - period.

I'm sure you'll get additional helpful advice that may enable you to make some adjustments for your room dynamics, etc...</font>

 

[RLA]

<font color='#000000'>Hi
First let me welcome you to the forum. This is a topic that comes up more often than you think  when the DIY Home Theater enthusiast upgrades his or her equipment. There are a few factors you need to consider to solve this issue. First you need to get used to the new receiver sounding different. The older receivers and processors did not have the same processing power as the new receivers. Even the high end receivers of just a few years ago funneled off sound from the Left and Right speakers to the center channel.  They just were not as discrete as the processors that we have even in the lower end receivers today.  It may sound as though your center is not working as hard or your center is not “filling the room up” but this is how it is supposed to be thus you will be treated to a much better center dialog, smoother pans and better Foley and sound effects. With that being said, in order to take advantage of a more discrete sounding processor, set up and calibration become more critical. Here is what you will need to do this correctly:

1 Ea Radio Shack Analog SPL Meter
1 Ea 25ft Tape measure
1 Ea pen type laser pointer
1 Ea pair of rubber pie shaped door stops (Home Depot)
1 pkg small square rubber stick on feet (Home Depot)

Step 1
First stick two rubber feet on the bottom front of your  center then place the pie shaped doorstops under the
back of the center so the back is angled down toward the listening position. Next, place the laser pointer on the top of the center speaker  pointed at the listening position. Then aim and adjust the beam of the laser pointer so it is just above the ear level at the listening position. Adjust the rubber door stops until the correct height is obtained. This effectively aims the tweeter at the listening position between your ears.

Step 2
Hopefully your front mains are at least a foot off each back and side wall and you are close to the “Golden Triangle Rule” ( Example:  speakers 8ft apart from listening position and 8 ft back).  Make sure that the speakers are the same distance off the back wall with the tape measure, then place the laser pointer on the inside panel of the speaker enclosure at the height of the tweeter.  With the laser pointer beam active, rotate the speaker inward until the laser pointer beam is about 6” away (outside) from the center of your listening position. This will effectively toe in the speaker to a close position according to the dispersion patterns of your speakers.  It won’t be perfect but I’ll bet it will be close.

Step 3
I don't know where your surrounds are but they should be placed on the side walls directly across or slightly behind the seated listening position and at appx 18-28” above the seated ear level position.They are a Bipolar Desighn and they are more effective when insatlled this way

Step 4
Subwoofer placement was covered in the previous reply .

Step 5
Enter the setup menu of the Denon and select all speakers set to small and subwoofer crossover to 80 Hz.
Set the crossover on the Sub 6 to its maximum position or if it has a crossover bypass select bypass.  Next, use the tape measure to accurately enter the feet or meters your speakers are from the listening position.

Step 6

Make sure al your speakers are in phase (positive from amp to positive to speaker, negative from amp to negative to speaker).  A speaker out of phase will defeat your calibration.

Step 7
Place the SPL Meter at the listening position at ear level with the Mic end pointed toward the ceiling.
Select “C” weighting,  response slow  then, turn the dB dial to 70.  Activate the internal pink noise generator of the Denon and select manual test tone.  Now adjust each speaker to +75 dB.  When you are adjusting the surrounds make sure your body is not in a direct path of the speaker and make sure the house is quiet.  When doing the calibration, only the test tone should be heard (A/C, ceiling fans, ect. should be off).  I like to adjust the subwoofer level to + 80dB for wow effect.  Your taste may vary.

Step 8
Put in a good flick with lots of hard pans and dialog, at the same time something with dynamic swings.
“Contact”  Lift off chapter or “The Phantom Menace” Pod race work well.  IF YOU DON’T SAY WOW AFTER THE VIEWING START OVER!
Happy Listening
Ray</font>

 

[Dragon Warrior]

<font color='#000000'>RLA and hawke, &nbsp;thank you very much for your responses.

WOW! &nbsp;Other than the placement of the surrounds (due to limitation of windows and wet bar), I followed all the steps, and wow! you guys definitely know what you are talking about. &nbsp;The main keys were the placement of the Sub and the crossover settings. &nbsp;Excellent advice!

It sounds great now!</font>

 

[RLA]

<font color='#000000'>

Life is good</font>

 

[Audioholics]

<font color='#000000'>Ray,

Another job well done!

Just as a follow up - what would be your recommendation for rooms that may be missing a side wall, forcing the surround speakers to be placed on the rear wall BEHIND the listening position. I'd be interestd in your recommendations on:

&nbsp; a) bipolar surrounds, and
&nbsp; b) quadpolar multi-directional surrounds</font>

 

[Elvis1977]

Good job with your system

 

[Elvis1977]

I'll try it myself on my system soon!