Subwoofer calibration

[ninja12]

I got the Velodyne DD12 sub about 2 weeks ago. I have been experimenting with moving the sub in different listening locations. I notice that as long as I have the sub in front of my listening position and do the calibration the SWFR Phase is always "Normal". However, when I move the sub to the side of my listening position, the SWFR Phase is always "Reverse". So, I have come to the conclusion that it's because of the location that's causing it to have a SWFR Phase of "Reverse". Could someone please tell me why the side location is causing the SWFR Phase to be "Reverse"? I prefer the side location because the sub sounds really full. BTW, I have a Yamaha RX-V2500 receiver.


Thanks for your time and advice.

 

[MACCA350]

I got the Velodyne DD12 sub about 2 weeks ago. I have been experimenting with moving the sub in different listening locations. I notice that as long as I have the sub in front of my listening position and do the calibration the SWFR Phase is always "Normal". However, when I move the sub to the side of my listening position, the SWFR Phase is always "Reverse". So, I have come to the conclusion that it's because of the location that's causing it to have a SWFR Phase of "Reverse". Could someone please tell me why the side location is causing the SWFR Phase to be "Reverse"? I prefer the side location because the sub sounds really full. BTW, I have a Yamaha RX-V2500 receiver.


Thanks for your time and advice.

Have you read the DD 12's manual? The manual explains everything about integrating the DD12 into your system. The whole point of the DD series is that you don't need to 'experiment', hook it up to your TV and use the on screen EQ and setup.

cheers

 

[MDS]

The phase switch on a subwoofer is meant to align the sound of the sub with the sound of the other speakers. 'Normal' would be a phase setting of zero; ie the movement of the sub's woofer is in-phase with the movement of the drivers in the other speakers (when the sub driver moves in, the drivers in the other speakers also move in). 'Reverse' would be a phase setting of 180 degrees; ie the driver in the sub is 180 degrees out of phase with respect to the drivers in the speakers (when sub driver moves in the others are moving out).

In general, if the subwoofer is on the same plane as the other speakers (positioned along the same wall as the mains) a phase setting of 0 or Normal is usually correct. If the sub is on a different plane, like positioned on one of the side walls or behind the listening position, then a phase setting of 180 degrees is usually correct. The thing is, sometimes you can't tell any difference whatsoever and sometimes the difference is obvious because every room and setup is different.

If the auto-setup/EQ routine thinks that Reverse is the best setting, I'd probably go with that but of course you are free to experiment and override the judgement of the setup routine if you feel it sounds better the other way.

 

[MACCA350]

The DD series have an adjustable phase control (0° - 180° in 15° increments) which is only accessible from the on screen setup(not on the back of the sub).

ninja12, this subwoofer has unique calibration features not found on other subs, the manual explains how to do all of this.

cheers

 

[j_garcia]

The SMS package works pretty well, I would just let it do its thing and not worry about it too much. Based on what you said, it is functioning correctly.

 

[Tomorrow]

It wasn't clear to me...but if you're getting your phase information from the YPAO of the Yammy 2500...that's almost to be expected, as the system seems not to be that accurate (as reported in previous threads). I would ignore the YPAO and go with what sounds best to you.

My RX-V2500 YPAO changes it phase status reports on it's own whims..or with the phase of the moon, or..., lol.

 

[Nuglets]

Yeah, consider YPAO pretty much useless based on my experience with it and it's inconsistencies. Every time I run YPAO, no matter how quiet the room, I get different results so I just don't use it.

 

[ninja12]

As for reading the manual, yes, I did read the manual. However, in my current locations, I had vallies at 40hz and 63hz that I could not get rid of. Howerver, when I moved the sub to the new location, I was able to completely get rid of the valley at 40hz and was able to boost at 63hz to flatten out the signal. The only problem I had when I moved the sub was that my receiver was showing me SWFR Phase of "Reverse".

As for the YPAO not being to accurate, I can agree to that. I did two calibrations within 2 minutes of each other. The first time, my receiver set my crossover to 80hz. The second time, my receiver set my crossover to 90hz. I said to myself, why did it do that when nothing in the room nor did the noise level change. Anyway, I guess the best tool when it boils down to it is your ear.

Thanks everyone for your response. I do appreciate you taking the time to read and respond.

 

[j_garcia]

I would avoid boosting too much to remove a dip. Cutting is OK, but boosting tends to make things sound a little off.