setting speaker levels with sound level meter

krabby5
krabby5 Posts: 923
edited February 2006 in Speakers
ok...I just hooked up my rt800i's and SVS 25-31...

I am starting to calibrate the speakers...

I have a Kenwood vr-6070 (looking at getting a HK 635...3-4 years is apparently too long for me to go without upgrading :D )..

I am using it's internal speaker tones with the sound level meter...should I be using a setup disk's tones, instead..? or doesn't it really matter?

also..in the SVS manual, it says to have the subwoofer gain level at 1/3 to start...and the level from the receiver at 1/4 max (mine goes from -10 to +10)
so i set to -5..

since the reading for the sub was too low, I raised the volume on the subwoofer gain to just over half for correct settings...the receiver level was left at -5...did I do this correctly?
Pioneer Elite VSX-53, Polk RT800i fronts, Polk CS400i center, FX500i surround, Velodyne sub
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  • pjdami
    pjdami Posts: 1,894
    edited February 2006
    krabby5 wrote:
    ok...I just hooked up my rt800i's and SVS 25-31...

    I am starting to calibrate the speakers...

    I have a Kenwood vr-6070 (looking at getting a HK 635...3-4 years is apparently too long for me to go without upgrading :D )..

    I am using it's internal speaker tones with the sound level meter...should I be using a setup disk's tones, instead..? or doesn't it really matter?

    also..in the SVS manual, it says to have the subwoofer gain level at 1/3 to start...and the level from the receiver at 1/4 max (mine goes from -10 to +10)
    so i set to -5..

    since the reading for the sub was too low, I raised the volume on the subwoofer gain to just over half for correct settings...the receiver level was left at -5...did I do this correctly?

    Sounds like you are off to a good start. Many of us prefer to use the Avia or Sound and Vision DVD to calibrate the speakers.

    Your sub at -5.0 is fine. 1/2 way on the sub gain is typical. You could go -3 db on your receiver and maybe cut back slightly on the sub gain. For Home Theater, you can run your sub "hot" at +3 db higher than your left or right speaker. For music run it the same db.
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  • Frank Z
    Frank Z Posts: 5,860
    edited February 2006
    http://www.audiophilia.com/hardware/spl.htm
    9/11 - WE WILL NEVER FORGET!! (<---<<click)
    2005-06 Club Polk Football Pool Champion!! :D
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  • adam2434
    adam2434 Posts: 995
    edited February 2006
    Yep, -5 is OK.

    And, as was mentioned, many folks like to run the sub 3-4 dB hot for movies, just to give some extra kick to the low freq effects. In your case, that would be -2 or -1 on the receiver's sub level.

    My Outlaw sub calibrates to -2 with my sub's gain at just under 1/2. I run it 4 dB hot (+2) when I want some low end oomph in action movies.
    5.1 and 2.0 ch Basement Media Room: Outlaw 975/Emotiva DC-1/Rotel RB-1582 MKII/Rotel RB-1552/Audiosource Amp 3/Polk LS90, CS400i, FX500i/Outlaw X-12, LFM-1/JVD DLA-HD250/Da-Lite 100" HCCV/Sony ES BDP/Sonos Connect. DC-1/RB-1582 MKII/Sonos Connect also feed Polk 7C in garage or Dayton IO655 on patio.
    2.1 ch Basement Gym: Denon AVR-2807/Klipsch Forte I or NHT SB2/JBL SUB 550P x 2/Chromecast Audio.
    2.0 ch Living Room: Rotel RX-1052/Emotiva DC-1/Klipsch RF-7 III/Sony ES BDP/LG 65" LED.
    2.0 ch Semi-portable: Klipsch Powergate/NHT SB3/Chromecast Audio.
    Kitchen: Sonos Play5.
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