eXcalibur wrote: Thanks for the feedback everyone. I did a full reset on my reciever and definitely noticed a difference. There must have been some hidden auto calibration settings even though I had set MultEQ XT, Dynamic Volume, and Audyssey off.
Now that my receiver is factory reset, I am manually setting the volume/distances for each speaker but ran into a couple issues:
1. When running a test tone through my receiver for SPL measurements, the lowest I can change a speaker channel value is -12dB. When I test my surrounds set at the minimum -12dB setting, my SPL meter reads above my target of 75db at 81dB. The fronts have no problem reaching 75dB. Is it better to adjust all my channels to 81dB as a workaround? Or is there an alternative way to solve this? (My surrounds are sofa width apart from the listening position and against the wall. Aimed directly at my ears instead of the front wall).
2. With the Triton Two built-in subs, do I set the sub distance from listening position the same as the towers? I remember when I ran the auto calibration, it assumed my subs were twice the distance away than reality.
3. When measuring the Triton Two subs with an SPL meter, should that also target 75dB to match the other speakers? My subs read 50-60dB, but sound extremely powerful unless I lower the sub channel volume (dial on sub set at 10:00). So either my distance value for the subs is wrong, and/or my channel volume for the subs is wrong.
4. On my receiver, there is a setting called LPF for LFE and it is set as 120Hz by default. Does this sound like a correct value for the Triton Two's?
Sorry for all the questions, I usually google for information like this, but want to be sure I am doing what is best for a GoldenEar setup. There is a lot of inconsistent information out there.
1.) It sounds like you are using the test tone generator that's built into your AVR? If that's the case, you may not be able to adjust your master volume to lower those test tones? That was the way that my AVR was setup, so I used a different test tone generator instead, and could make the SPL whatever I wanted by controlling the master volume. If 81dB is as low as you can go, I would think that's fine though.
2.) Yes, they are the same distance. However, remember that distance is also related to delay, so if the Triton's or any subwoofer for that matter, or the AVR, takes a few milliseconds to process Bass frequencies, the delay might appear longer, and therefore the distance seems longer. Room correction sets subs further away to account for phase response. The only way to know for sure is to mic for phase and delay, but you are probably OK just assuming the Triton's CPU are fast enough to process Bass under 1ms, therefore, no delay, therefore, same distance
3.) Most SPL meters are A or C-weighted, instead of Z-weighted, which means they have a standard curve applied to the processing that is not flat. However, more important than that, most SPL meters have very poor bass response, so this means you have to find out what the bass compensation curve is for your SPL meter and figure out the Math. I was using a $29 SPL meter measuring artificially low bass from my Triton's before I discovered this. Even though my SPL meter said it was accurate to 32Hz, it was off by 20-25dB or more at volume.
4.) Low Pass Filter for Low Frequency Effect is just the crossover frequency. Whatever it's set to - 120Hz in this case - is possibly what you would set all your other speakers' HIgh Pass Frequency (HPF) to. Most people use 80Hz, but your other speakers need to be able to handle frequencies down to 80Hz at volume without distorting. I tested various crossovers from 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 150, and 200 for my Triton Two's and SuperSat 50's and 60's, and settled on 80 because 80 is what gave the flattest graph when measuring room response in my room.
Manually Calibrating with Audyssey Disabled
Nothing to add on the technical front. Moderator Dude, Dark, and Murphyslaw have you covered.
