Newbie with Room Measurements

[kurtkrum]

Hey everyone, I am finally getting around to building a decent system and I am newly in a house that has space for it. I got a mic and downloaded REW and did my first measurements, although I am not really sure how to take the data and put it into action and make changes, so I could use a little bit of help/pointers from you guys.

A google docs folder with my data and room layout/pics is here https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1L9x314fCfxW7Svsqhp8393OOunI7p-c3?usp=sharing

Here is a pic of my measurement. Red line is 2 channel with subs (x2). Green line is 7 channel with subs (x2).

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Well it doesn’t look too bad really. I would change the vertical limits to read 45-105. That leaves a 60db window and is pretty much the standard that we use. It keeps the “language” the same.
Curious what this subs are. They look dead after 30hz.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Edit. I see they’re sb1000’s at you still in the upgrade window?

 

[kurtkrum]

Edit. I see they’re sb1000’s at you still in the upgrade window?

Hey thanks for responding. I think I might still be in the upgrade window, and I like SVS so much that even if it was a little bit past they would probably work with me because I think they make really good stuff and I would buy from them again.

They just came out with a compact subwoofer, but it hasn't been tested yet. 3000 series I think.

When you talk about adjusting the vertical limits to read 45 to 105, are we talking about making adjustments in the AVR to raise or lower output where we see high points or low points in DB?

 

[kurtkrum]

Okay now I just figured out what you meant, you want me to change the y-axis to 45 to 105 DB to make the graph more clear.

Let me try and figure out how to do that.

 

[VoidX]

The room average (if I read correctly that you measured all channels) looks nice, but we could tell you a lot more if you measure all channels individually, like this:

Here, my results tell me I should work on center and LFE placement, and I have a power noise issue.

The entire MDAT file is valuable, for example, phase response tells you how well your acoustics work:

In my case, this shows a poorly chosen crossover frequency and the need for a ~18k lowpass.

 

[kurtkrum]

Thank you, VoidX. Tomorrow I will measure each channel separately and plot.

Man I have a lot to learn. But this is bringing me and my fiance tons of enjoyment.

 

[kurtkrum]

Question:. Should I also do each sub separately or should I do both subs at once?

 

[kurtkrum]

One last note - these values are after Audyssey room correction. Should I reset everything and not use room correction before I take these measurements?

 

[VoidX]

But this is bringing me and my fiance tons of enjoyment.

I know the feeling, and the urge to rewatch all movies when something is changed in the system

Should I also do each sub separately or should I do both subs at once?

Both is fine, that's what you will hear. Audyssey usually handles sub alignment correctly, so I would only double check if there's something off with the combo measurement.

Should I reset everything and not use room correction before I take these measurements?

Use the room correction, it's the best option most of the time.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Okay now I just figured out what you meant, you want me to change the y-axis to 45 to 105 DB to make the graph more clear.

Let me try and figure out how to do that.

Yes. On the graph tab, select vertical limits. Choose low at 45 and high at 105.

If you’re referring to the 3000 micro, I wouldn’t bother. It’s main purpose is for very small rooms. Like a desktop situation, and you room looks to be far beyond that!
If you mean PB3000, well that’s a different story. They shouldn’t even share the 3000 moniker imo.

 

[kurtkrum]

Here's a screenshot of the 7 channel + subs measurement. Took me forever to learn how to be able to control all 7 speakers individually LOL.

I used 1/6 smoothing. My mic calibration file was loaded, but I read online that my UMM6 mic should have two calibration files, one called 90-degrees for these types of measurements. It only had one file available so I hope that doesnt mess things up.

The system sounds great, just missing a little mid range punch listening to some of my harder rock music. For jazz, bluegrass, and that kind of stuff, it sounds amazing.

I stored the files here if you want to access a better image

2021-12-19 Measurement - Google Drive

drive.google.com

 

[VoidX]

This result looks overally really good. You're using the midrange compensation setting in Audyssey, which is the cause of what you hear, and is shown on both Audyssey and REW measurements. There is that 45 Hz gap, which is probably caused by the room's longitudinal size. In this case, you should look at each sub individually, and if they both show the dip, you should move one of them to the back of the room.

 

[VoidX]

Oh, a quick note, the gains are a bit off. The fronts should be at the level of the surrounds, and all your LCR are nearly 10 dB below them. This is just a quick correction in the menu.

 

[kurtkrum]

I ran two passes on the subs, turned one sub off and then did the other to get individual L-sub and R-sub measurements. That dip is only present on the Left sub.

Are you recommending that I turn off midrange compensation in the Audyssey phone app?

I noticed that the LCR channels were lower too.

 

[VoidX]

That dip is only present on the Left sub.

Yes, the right sub perfectly compensates for it. The combo measurement was an unlucky position then.

Are you recommending that I turn off midrange compensation in the Audyssey phone app?

Yes, it's an intentional dip which you don't need, originally at 1.8 kHz.

 

[kurtkrum]

Should I also use the app to raise the volume on the LCR channels since they were 5-10 DB below the other channels?

Thanks for all your help!!!

 

[kurtkrum]

I raised the L and R channels 5 db and it sounds better. But get this...I turned Audyssey off and it sounded even better.

I wonder if tuning Manually with REW is a better solution than using the automated room correction.

 

[lovinthehd]

Some do prefer not to use Audyssey, then again sometimes a re-running of Audyssey can improve things. Pretty odd if it set your mains 10dB down from where they should be IME, tho. AVRs aren't too friendly to using the suggested eq that REW can provide, tho, just tell you what your tweaking is doing.

 

[VoidX]

I wonder if tuning Manually with REW is a better solution than using the automated room correction.

Most AVRs won't let you do this, but you can try it by using Equalizer APO on your PC and playing content from it.