Pink Noise Test On Onkyo 696

The Old Gaffer

I have a question regarding the pink noise test on my Onkyo 696. I have used the radio shack sound level meter set to 70db's and then rotate through the speakers. but what troubles me is that when I set the psw450 test signal at the same level of loudness as the other speakers it plays way to quiet, in order to get a good bass I have to turn the sub setting on the reciever setup to like +6 to +9 in order to get good bass for music and satellite tv though it seems ok for true DD 5-1 on my DVD's. If I turn up the setting to where I like it the test plays really loud when I cycle through it. Is this normal? any suggestions?

ntculenuff

i found this true when i went thru my audio set up. (i have the onkyo 777). i used the avia guide with the db meter . when i was done there was hardly any bass, i could barley hear the subs, so i just turned the gains up on my subs to where i liked it. i think it is about 20db higher or so than my other speakers when i do the pink noise.

pdebaum

Well, 20dB sounds indeed a bit too much, but I think I heard somewhere that DD 5.1 LFE is deliberately set 10dB higher than the other channels. The end result is that bass is definitely exaggerated in 5.1 formats since the LFE channel would overpower any other bass, and if one gets too used to that stronger bass in DD 5.1, then stereo music or other stereo listening might be perceived as lacking in the bass department.

But in both of your cases, judging from the severity of what you describe, I would rather suspect that improper bass management is at play here. Especially when listening to stereo music or any other stereo source like TV, where you don't have a LFE channel, and assuming your mains are not powered full-range tower speakers, you want to be sure that the front left and front right channels bass is routed to your subwoofer. So make sure your mains are set to SMALL in your receiver setup. Actually for any system with a strong dedicated subwoofer, you would want to set all your speakers to SMALL. You may make exceptions with any speaker which has a dedicated sub, and leave it at LARGE, but that is rare besides powered floor-standing mains or odd center speakers such as the CS1000. If a specific channel doesn't have its bass properly routed (i.e. a non full-range speaker set to LARGE), then you might only hear that speaker's limited and underpowered bass during the sub pink noise test, which could explain the power discrepancy you're hearing during the test rotation.

Anyway, just food for thought; no offense meant if i'm stating the obvious

cruiser3

I have the 696 matched to the RM6600 series speakers w/ 350 sub. Wired the speakers per Polks instruction manual and the windows sometimes rattle watching DVD. The DVD 'Men in Black' is a very good work out for the speakers ( and also your ears). Is it possible your wiring isnt quite right?

lax01

I have been told by many people that using the internal pink noise of your receiver can be inaccurate. They suggest using Avia to set all channels. I noticed that when I set up the receiver with the internal pink noise versus the Avia pink noise, there were extreme differences. I have been calibrating with Avia ever since because I truly don't trust the internal pink noise.

As for the bass. I have heard that dts is set -10dB lower than normal and that is why you can change the LFE setting in most receivers and pre-amps. If your receiver has the ability to change the Dynamic Range in Dolby Digital, I would highly suggest changing it to MAX because that produces the most full range.

BTW, I have a Yamaha RX-V800, so if this isn't the same type in Onkyo, please disregard this post.

Good Luck!:)

scottvamp

The Old Gaffer, there should be a Bass Management system on your Onkyo or a least an internal setup volume for your lfe. That is what you need to find. It will make all the diffence and don't know why anyone has'nt suggested it yet. I cant remember specificlly --I am a firm believer in once you setup and do final tweeks --leave it alone.:D