Speakers Calibration

salfand

Hi Guys,
Yesterday I got my new Polk Audio FXi-A4 which complete my set:
Front: RTi-A7
Center CSi-A6
Rear: FXi-A4
Receiver: Yamaha Rx-v2067
I don't have sub.

After connecting the new rear speakers I run auto calibration using YAPO.
After the calibration I feel that the bass and the sound (Specially on stereo) are not so good as it was before calibration.

Anyone can assist here?
I notice that the rear speakers setup with 90HZ. Is that ok?
I mount the FXi-A4 left speaker on the right side and vice versa so the woofers will face each other and switch is Bipole. Is it ok?

Thanks for the advice.

Shmulik.

drumminman

I have the Yamaha RX-V667 (90 wpc x either 5 or 7 channels, can't remember) which probably has a similar AV processor to yours. I use it to power the rear surrounds and center channel, and a Carver TFM-42 to power the front L-R speakers. I'm alaso using a Velodyne powered sub. One of the reasons I bought the Yammy is that it had very good reviews for sound quality.

I ran YPAO several times to set mine up and always felt that the rear speakers were too low in the mix. So I went in and did a manual set up. I turned up the volume on the rears, and turned it down on the center compared to what the YPAO settings were. M-u-c-h better! I have all the speakers on full range since the center and rears require so little power to drive them at exceedingly high levels, and the Yammy never breaks a sweat (no audible distortion). My room is small, around 14 x 16, and the surround is startling at times.

Also, there are lots of audio modes you can use. I've found the the sci fi mode gives the best all around performance for both movies and sports, but play around with them as YMMV.

Hope this helps!

Tour2ma

drumminman wrote: »

So I went in and did a manual set up.

Manual really is the way to go...

salfand wrote: »

Yesterday I got my new Polk Audio FXi-A4 which complete my set:

I don't have sub. I notice that the rear speakers setup with 90HZ. Is that ok?

I mount the FXi-A4 left speaker on the right side and vice versa so the woofers will face each other and switch is Bipole. Is it ok?

First, without a sub, you are not yet complete. Without a sub you should tell your AVR you do not have one, this should default all speakers you have to "Large", or full range, and the 90 Hz cross-over will not apply.

As for setting your rears... play with their positioning (woofers facing vs. not facing) and their pole setting (bi- vs di-) and see what sounds best to you.

Here are a couple old threads/ posts on manual calibration. You will need to spring for a SPL meter, but it will be worth it. The meter correction factors are only for the Radio Shack meter, but should be available for whatever meter you end up with...

Basic Cal w/ RS Meter Corrections
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?5811-Well-i-finally-got-my-SPL-meter&p=48742&viewfull=1#post48742
Using SPL Meter
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?6654-how-to-aim-SPL&p=57172&viewfull=1#post57172

BeefJerky

Tour2ma wrote: »

First, without a sub, you are not yet complete. Without a sub you should tell your AVR you do not have one, this should default all speakers you have to "Large", or full range, and the 90 Hz cross-over will not apply.

This isn't correct. Most receivers are capable of having only the fronts set to large, and the rest set to small. When these options are set, the bass frequencies below the crossover point on the center and surround speakers are sent to the front "large" speakers. This is definitely what you would want for your setup. The actual crossover frequencies that are set for the center and surround speakers are based on the particular speakers, and to some extent personal preference.

80hz is probably a good place to start for all the speakers, though you can try changing them to see what sounds best for your setup. However, make sure to keep the crossover point above the lower -3db limit. In the case of your speakers, that would be 55hz for the center and 60hz for the surrounds.

JimMueller

I've got a Yamaha RX-V2600 which I use with an all Polk speaker set, but I don't use the internal amps. It had been 5.2, but when the rear surround speaker cones fell apart, it has temporarily become 3.2:frown: I'm not sure how similar your menu is to mine, but I can set my LFE to Both, sub, or mains only. I only get bass out the sub on 2ch music if it's set to Both however. All my normal channels offer small/large settings.

My calibration procedure: Measure the height of your ears when sitting in the sweet spot (mine is 40 8/16"); your main & center tweeters should be very near the same height (mine is 40 5/16" for the mains and 58" for the center, which is closer on top than below the plasma.). Reduce/eliminate background noise as much as possible; I had a fan on high once and it wouldn't complete the YPAO soundcheck. Place the YPAO sensor in a tripod, with the sensor level and aimed square at the ceiling. Set the upper tip of the sensor at the height you previously measured; I place the sensor where it is half way between where my ears would normally be in the sweet spot. I use a digital level with laser to adjust the center channel angle to hit the top of the YPAO sensor (mine is 12.8* for a 76" viewing distance, which is equidistant with the distance between the main tweeters). I turn off the automatic check for the size and level calibration, then let it run through the auto setup, and confirm the distance is similiar to actual then apply it and save it to one of the memories.

Then I go into basic calibration, enable the test tones, and go through all the speaker channels with a modified digital Radio Shack level meter and set all the speakers to what Yamaha specified (75dB); it seems others use 70 or 80dB, I don't know what benefit this offers? I've read different ways to aim the level meter, but I happen to aim it 45* up pointing straight ahead, with the center of the sensor at the 'middle of the ears' location. People say for one sub, the level should average the same level across the listening area. I then save over the same memory spot with the new level settings. Some movies have more of a screen door effect than others at that distance, so I slightly move back the sweet spot to lose the effect, which causes me to move the main speakers outward L/R to match the viewing distance, re-measure the center tilt angle, and recalibrate again. I've got a pair of Excel spreadsheets that help me with all of this.

I happen to use a RS digital level meter only because I assumed when I bought it digital would naturally offer better results than analog. It was some time afterwards I read that the analog is better in stock form, and the analog is also better than the digital version when both are modified it seems. I partially modified my digital version only because I couldn't find all the upgrade parts locally.

http://www.stereotimes.com/acc032902.shtml
The link for Eric Wallin's site is no longer alive in the above link, but the content is listed at the bottom of this PDF:

http://www.ko4bb.com/Manuals/08)_Misc_Ham_Equipment/Radio_Shack_33-2050_33-2055_and_33-4050_42-3019_SPL_Meter_with_Mods.pdf