Volume on a powered sub

flr057

I have a PSW-505 in the mix with two Klipsh KLF-10's and an Academy center with two RT 35's in back.

My question is about volume on the sub, without a meter, is 1/2 full volume about right? 2/3's? or do I need to buy a CD and a sound level meter to get it right.

kneedragger37

You could use an SPL meter if you wanted to dial it in exactly. You could also just do it by ear -- as long as it sounds good to you, then in my opinion, it's "right."

Evanguy2004

kneedragger37 wrote: »

You could use an SPL meter if you wanted to dial it in exactly. You could also just do it by ear -- as long as it sounds good to you, then in my opinion, it's "right."

This question brings up a good point. I recently bought an out of the box Denon AVR 1706 and it was suppose to come with a mic. Can any mic work or does it have to be a special mic for surround sound? If so where can I buy one? It would appear you put this mic in the middle of the listening area and adjust your volume balance accordingly. I have never worked with this type of mic before in calibration.

Sherardp

Evanguy2004 wrote: »

This question brings up a good point. I recently bought an out of the box Denon AVR 1706 and it was suppose to come with a mic. Can any mic work or does it have to be a special mic for surround sound? If so where can I buy one? It would appear you put this mic in the middle of the listening area and adjust your volume balance accordingly. I have never worked with this type of mic before in calibration.

Most of these have dedicated mics, you should be able to order one from Denon to replace it. Mic goes in the "sweetspot" then you run the auto cal. You will hear series of white noise, beeps, blurps, and in the process the software is proving the AVR feedback from what it's "hearing". Normally these auto adjustments are spot on, but in my regard I often break out the tape measure and spl meter to double check, and make small minor adjestments if needed. In any case I recommend the SPL meter to dial in properly.

ShinAce

To set it by ear, try using a variety of music.

Using movies, it will be hard to know the right amount of 'boom'.

muncybob

I tried it with the RS analog sound meter, but it just didn't quite sound right to me. So I did it by "ear" using music and I'm fairly happy with the results. It did take me awhile though and as stated....I did use several different types of music to sure the bass heavy tunes didn't come out "boomy". The sound meter seemed more usable to balance the main speakers than to blend in the sub.....maybe I was doing something wrong but in the end I'm a happy camper.