Speaker Channel Levels

[Kyle Lorenz]

I have noticed that in my 5.1 system, the fronts are much louder than the center and rears. The fronts are the exact same speaker as the rears and center so it's not just a case of bigger speaker, more sound. To even things out, I'm thinking of lowering the level of the fronts and upping the rears and center so they all sound about even. I will leave the fronts slightly louder than the rest because I know they are they most important. Does this sound like a good idea or should I just leave it all alone? Thanks.

 

[tomd51]

Yes Kyle, you're headed in the right direction, but rarely can one level match their speakers by ear and those that say they're "spot-on" doing this are usually full of sh-t...

The best way to even the listening levels of your speakers is to run the test tones from your receiver (assuming it has this option in the setup configuration, manual with touch on this) or using a calibration disc (Avia, etc.) and a Radio Shack SPL meter, calibrate all 5 speakers and subwoofer to the same decibel level at approximately the 75dB point (sub is usually calibrated 1-2 dB higher, but this is based on user preference).

Here is a good starting point that explains how to do this and why.... -TD