Home Theater Set up

[bluehosebone311]

So, I spent lots of hours compiling a set-up guide based on videos online, audioholics forums, videos, etc. I like diving deep technically to get everything correct and then, once optimal set up is achieved, forgetting it. Hence why I'm created this guide to remind myself should I need to do it again. I'm looking for anything I'm missing from the Audioholics faithful.

Setting up a Basic 5.1 Home Theater

1.) Find speaker placement
-Note: Refer to enthusiast videos to achieve optimal placement. Example from Audioholics:

2.) Find the subwoofer placement
Assumes that AVR is handling bass management. Set to LFE on sub or turn crossover on sub panel all the way up to 200Hz on sub
A. Place the sub in the listening position, put on material with which you are familiar.
B. Locate the best spot where the bass sounds the best through crawling on floor method
C. Switch positions and listen to the same material for similar results
3.) Run Audyssey MultEQ to set levels and distances with mic in optimal seating location at ear height
-Note: If the sub includes separate software to configure the sub (Paradigm PBK, SVS), run this first then Audyssey MultEQ in the AVR
-Note: If sub level is +/- 10 dB, this means the volume on the sub is set too high. Set volume in the middle
to start and adjust down or up until rerunning Audyssey MultEQ adjusts it <= 5 dB
4.) Verify that Audyssey set levels and distances correctly
A. Turn off Audyssey Room MultEQ (most people don't use Audyssey?) or use "reference" as this is the target curve determined by Audyssey.
-Note: Turn off Dynamic EQ as this mangles the sound
B. Set speakers to small (assumption: standard mini, bookshelf, or small tower set-up)
-Note: Refer to enthusiast website for typical crossover frequencies
C. Check distances for accuracy for Front L/R, Sat L/R with tape measure from each speaker to tip of nose at seating position
-Note: Do not adjust the Sub distance even if it greater than reality as the AVR compensates for time delay between sats and sub.
D. Set crossover for front/sat as specified by speaker manufacturer (default if not provided for front/sat: 80Hz or use SVS wizard)
-Note: Most AVRs have a low pass filter (LPF). Standard for Blu-Ray is 120Hz.
This might need adjustment based on the size of your speakers
E. Check Levels
a. Set master volume on AVR to 0.0 dB for "reference level" tuning
-Note: May have to adjust calibration for AVR from 0-98 scale to -70db to 18db
b. Calibrate SPL meter
-Weight: "C"
-Response: "Slow"
-Freq: "70" with the expectation that every reading should be +5dB for 75 dB reference
c. With SPL held vertically, cycle through Front L/R, Sat L/R, Sub and adust up/down
until SPL meter reads +5 dB on the meter
-Note: "C" weighting will not accurately measure low bass below 32Hz.
You must add approximately 7dB to compensate for lower sensitivity in that region
-Note: You may need to pump the volume of the center channel 1-3 dB to make dialogue clear. Similarly with the Sub to taste.
5.) Tweak Bass Output from AVR with "Subwoofer Level" Adjustment
A. Play material you know
B. Check the phase with the SPL meter in primary listening position. If the SPL goes up at 180, move it to 180, otherwise leave it as default "0"
C. Adjust using the "Subwoofer Level" in AVR or tweaking subwoofer levels section in AVR

...that's it.
Follow up questions:
Overall: Are there things that need tweaking or improved in the above guide?
1.) What if I'm running the surrounds wirelessly, each with their own separate mini-amp. How should the gain on the amps be set when interacting with the AVR?
2.) I'm confused about whether I should be using the Audyssey "reference" curve (options on my AVR: "reference" "flat" or "off" ) or should I turn off all the EQ and just set everything manually as described above. I mean, the Audyssey applies a room correction curve for room modes, right? And accounts for bass bloat/suck-outs? Unless I have the equipment to set the responses manually for the frequency range...shouldn't that just stay on "reference" ?
3.) Turning off Dynamic EQ seems to be not as good even at reference point 0 dB. Have I just gotten used to punched up bass? Should I be shutting this off and adjusting the bass up in the levels section?
4.) What is the interaction between the Front L/R crossover point and the low pass filter setting. Does 120Hz crossover indicate that it will be gradually rolled off below that in the Front L/R speakers and that information below 120 Hz will be reproduced by the sub? Seems like it...just wanted to make sure my logic doesn't have any flaws.

 

[ryanosaur]

You forgot: Relax and Enjoy! Don't lose sight that this is supposed to be fun.



I admire how in depth your list is in some places, but also it borders a little on the dogmatic. Not a bad thing, but there can and should be a lot of room for experimentation, too!

Please, do you have your gear yet, and have you started putting everything together? Please share what your set-up is.

I'll share some thoughts tomorrow... I'm tired now. Long day.

Cheers!

 

[bluehosebone311]

I should say I'm not really "new" to home audio. I take all the magazines one should and read them a great deal - Sound and Vision, Stereophile, etc. That has been a good lesson, to be be sure.

I'm relaxed. I just find I remember stuff better when I've constructed a mental narrative for the process. Similar to the reason we remember facts better through storying than we do as individual bits of information. When they can be grouped together by a meta-narrative, they are recalled better. In my mind, I'll construct the above outline to set set this up in future builds. As new information is acquired, I can add that to the outline. Hang it on the tree, so to speak. The goal being that I want to get to the truly important things - listening to the music, watching the movies - while having a solid technical understanding of the underlying process and be able to reproduce it consistently in every place I'm likely to live in the future. Time is a precious and non-renewable resource. So much of life is caught up in the mindless details that you forget to look up to focus on the things that have weight and value.

As to my current set up, well that's been a circuitous journey. I started off with a Paradigm MilleniaOne CT system due to space constraints at a previous residence. The cheap control box which was proprietary tanked which tanked the sub as well (note, this is not the milleniaone sub but rather a cheap version). So I bought an RSL Speedwoofer 10S as well as a Denon AVR-S730H following a great deal of scholarly inquiry and analysis online. Been happy with that setup so far but not someone who rests on the laurels until optimum has been achieved. So I then picked up a 3.0 set of Paradigm Millenia sats to round out the collection. The Rear L/R I have running wirelessly with an Amphony Model 1800 kit (a wireless receiver and amp in one, small form factor). Room size is a studio apartment so a big, one room schoolhouse model with living spaces separated by furniture instead of walls: Space is hxwxd 12ftx30x20