How do you level match your speakers?

[gene]

Today Audioholics walks through the process of manually level matching your speakers. Why bother when we've got advanced auto-calibration like Audyssey MultEQ on board? Even today's automatic setup systems make the occasional mistake, so it doesn't hurt to double-check their work. To start, you'll need to break out your trusty SPL meter, and head to your A/V receiver's trim settings / tone generator. Wonder why it's recommended to calibrate your speakers to a 75dB SPL reference?

Read How to Level Match and Calibrate Your Speakers

 

[herbu]

Today Audioholics walks through the process of manually level matching your speakers. Why bother when we've got advanced auto-calibration like Audyssey MultEQ on board? Even today's automatic setup systems make the occasional mistake, so it doesn't hurt to double-check their work. To start, you'll need to break out your trusty SPL meter, and head to your A/V receiver's trim settings / tone generator. Wonder why it's recommended to calibrate your speakers to a 75dB SPL reference?

Read How to Level Match and Calibrate Your Speakers

Thanks, Gene. Interesting and informative, esp about the 75dB reference. I've always just used Audyssey, then tweaked to my liking. After reading a bunch of stuff here, got an SPL phone app. Kinda fun to play with, but not really useful. After reading this, ordered a real SPL meter. Should arrive today. Will be interesting to see how Audyssey does compared to your instructions. Thanks.

 

[lsiberian]

IMO Manual level matching should be done with REW and a measurement MIC not a single point measurement. You want to see the average level not just a single point measurement. Obviously in a pinch a single point measurement is better than nothing.

 

[j_garcia]

I see what the system comes back with and run it a few times without moving the mic. I found that it would give me different responses running it back to back; not sure why, but it would also come back similar more often than not. So I see what it is doing and then use the distances and levels on my Oppo and then alter those to taste with the SPL meter after I hear how it sounds with those settings and no EQ.