Audyssey calibration: one point or many points?

[JimShaw]

Regarding Audyssey calibration. My receiver will do an eight point calibration which is suppose to make the entire area fill with sound.

But here is my thinking and please tell me if it is wrong. I sit in one spot and my wife sits beside me. All my speakers are aimable and they are all aimed right where I sit.

If I use Audyssey and let the receiver calibrate why not have the microphone placed right where I sit and not placed in other points which to me means all the calibrated sound will be calibrated to were I sit.

What do you think? Would this create a better sound in one small area then having the sound dispersed around the room?

[JimShaw]

I was just contacted by a pro who calibrates for a living and this is what he said...

With Audyssey, the more points you measure and have the unit calculate, the wider and more diffuse the sound stage area. For a single seating position, the BEST way is to take 3 measurements along the plane of the main listening position, about 1 meter apart, starting in the center, or main position. When it calculates from 3 measurements it almost always gets it perfect

[LordoftheRings]

Hi Jim,

Here's one good quick graph on where to start.
But always follow these important rules:
1. Always take all the 8 mic positions available.
2. The most important one is the #1 position (for the proper channel's distances & levels).
3. Between each mic position, allow about 2 feet (not more than that).
4. Make sure you use a camera tripod or even better a mic stand with a boom.
5. And make sure the mic is never close to the back of your couch or chairs.
6. And always keep the mic within your two front main speakers' width.
7. Always keep the mic away from the back and side walls, or any objects.

A good example of mic positioning (3-seater couch):

................................................. Front


............. ______________________-______________________
..............l_l ........- 4 ......... l .......... 5 ....-.... l .......... 6 ....-.... l_l
..............l_l...........-...........l............-...........l............-...........l_l
..............l_l...........-...........l............-...........l............-...........l_l
..............l_l.......... 3 ..........l........... 1 ..........l........... 2 ..........l_l
..............l_l_____________l_____________.l._____________l_l
..............llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
..............llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

........................................ 8 ..................... 7


.................................................. Rear

-> Respect the order, and if you notice, all mic positions remain roughly within 2 feet from the #1 mic position.
There are others; check in your Denon's manual, and also in the Audyssey Setup Guide's link
that is available in my signature. But this one I just drew above works great.
* Sorry for the less than perfect design, but you get the idea.

[sptrout]

Here is the word direct from Mr. Audyssey himself; Chris Kyriakakis:

http://www.audyssey.com/technology/m...to-multeq.html


You may want to go to Audyssey's web site and read through the "Ask Audyssey" Section; a lot of very good information.

[JimShaw]

Good posts guys, thanks. So, it sounds like I will have to do more than the one-spot-calibration.

I will do them all. And thanks about positioning. That I did not know.

[LordoftheRings]

Jim, I edited my above post for better clarity and a bit more info.

* And YES, ALWAYS use the full 8 mic positions available from Audyssey MultEQ XT. That is very IMPORTANT!

...And remember, the #1 mic positioning measurement is the most CRITICAL of them all,
but the others seven measurements are part of the overall Calibration & EQ process for the very BEST BALANCE in your own room.
> The people that take less mic positions than what is available are NOT taking FULL advantage of what Audyssey was designed for!
In your case, with your DENON AVR-5308CI receiver, you HAVE TO take the full 8 mic position measurements. Less than that is simply dismiss the benefits of this system.

[JimShaw]

Originally Posted by LordoftheRings

Hi Jim,

Here's one good quick graph on where to start.
But always follow these important rules:
1. Always take all the 8 mic positions available.
2. The most important one is the #1 position (for the proper channel's distances & levels).
3. Between each mic position, allow about 2 feet (not more than that).
4. Make sure you use a camera tripod or even better a mic stand with a boom.
5. And make sure the mic is never close to the back of your couch or chairs.
6. And always remain between your two front main speakers' width.
7. Always stay away from the back and side walls, or any objects.

A good example of mic positioning (3-seater couch):

................................................. Front .................................................
...............___________________________________ ________..............
..............l_l..........4...........l.......... .5...........l............6..........l_l.......... ...
..............l_l.......................l......... ...............l........................l_l....... ......
..............l_l.......................l......... ...............l........................l_l....... ......
..............l_l..........3...........l.......... .1............l...........2...........l_l......... ....
..............l_l_____________l_____________.l____ _________l_l..............
..............l___________________________________ ________.l.............
........................................8......... ..............7................................... .....
.................................................. Rear ..................................................

-> Respect the order, and if you notice, all mic positions remain roughly within 2 feet from the #1 mic position.
There are others; check in your Denon's manual, and also in the Audyssey Setup Guide's link
that is available in my signature. But this one I just drawed above works great.
* Sorry for the less than perfect design, but you get the idea.

Good design. It lets me know exactly what to do. When I did calibrations, I was doing them wrong. Can't wait to do them correctly.

Thanks

[LordoftheRings]

Originally Posted by JimShaw

Good design. It lets me know exactly what to do. When I did calibrations, I was doing them wrong. Can't wait to do them correctly.

Thanks

That's the one I used in my own main setup, and I am extremely pleased with it!

[Badas]

Hey guy's,

I read somewhere that the Auddessey mic is better (more accurate) than a SPL meter.

I do the Auddessey setup and then trim via SPL.
I use a Radio Shack SPL.

Should I just let the Auddessey mic do the job instead?

Ta

Dono

[LordoftheRings]

Originally Posted by Badas

Hey guy's,

I read somewhere that the Auddessey mic is better (more accurate) than a SPL meter.

I do the Auddessey setup and then trim via SPL.
I use a Radio Shack SPL.

Should I just let the Auddessey mic do the job instead?

Ta

Dono

You are right; the Audyssey mic is indeed more accurate than the Rat Shack SPL meter one (within +/- 1.5 db across the full audio frequency range).

* In my setup I let Audyssey set my Speaker Distances & Levels, and I leave it there. I also have the Rat Shack SPL meter, but I don't use it no more now, now that I got Audyssey (only to calibrate my two subs).

** The only thing that I do manually, is to reset all my Speaker x-overs to 80 Hz (Front Mains, Center & Side Surrounds), and to 100 Hz (Back Surrounds).
>>> But you can only change them going up, and not down.
EXAMPLE: If it says 60 Hz for your Front mains, you can go to 70-80-90-100 Hz. But you cannot go to 50-40-30 Hz.

*** And I do add 1 dB to all my Surround speakers, for personal taste.
- And for some movies I might add 1 dB or so to my Center speaker.
- And I added 0.5 dB to my Subwoofer channel, just for that little extra preference boost.

YEAH, let Audyssey take care of your Speaker Levels, it does a better job than the Shack meter.
But do readjust your Speaker Crossovers manually though (aim for 80 Hz, which is the best x-over point in my opinion, and the one from the Pros), depending of your speakers of course (if their woofers are just a 3" driver, you want 150 Hz or some like that for the proper x-over).

BONUS: Read that Audyssey Setup Guide, from the link in my signature.

Audyssey!

[Badas]

Originally Posted by LordoftheRings

You are right; the Audyssey mic is indeed more accurate than the Rat Shack SPL meter one (within +/- 1.5 db across the full audio frequency range).

* In my setup I let Audyssey set my Speaker Distances & Levels, and I leave it there. I also have the Rat Shack SPL meter, but I don't use it no more now, now that I got Audyssey (only to calibrate my two subs).

** The only thing that I do manually, is to reset all my Speaker x-overs to 80 Hz (Front Mains, Center & Side Surrounds), and to 100 Hz (Back Surrounds).
>>> But you can only change them going up, and not down.
EXAMPLE: If it says 60 Hz for your Front mains, you can go to 70-80-90-100 Hz. But you cannot go to 50-40-30 Hz.

*** And I do add 1 dB to all my Surround speakers, for personal taste.
- And for some movies I might add 1 dB or so to my Center speaker.
- And I added 0.5 dB to my Subwoofer channel, just for that little extra preference boost.

YEAH, let Audyssey take care of your Speaker Levels, it does a better job than the Shack meter.
But do readjust your Speaker Crossovers manually though (aim for 80 Hz, which is the best x-over point in my opinion, and the one from the Pros), depending of your speakers of course (if their woofers are just a 3" driver, you want 150 Hz or some like that for the proper x-over).

BONUS: Read that Audyssey Setup Guide, from the link in my signature.

Audyssey!

Interesting, Thanks for the info.

Yeah I new about the crossovers. I set my speakers to Small, have LFE + Main selected and raise my crossovers from 40hz to 80hz and LFE on 120hz.
I used the SPL to trim. I won't now. I took note of the Audesssey trim levels, so I can adjust it back.

I prefer the surrounds up +3db (5.1 setup), LFE + 1.5db and center down .5db. I will still use my SPL to balance the subs (3 of them). When I ran auddessey I balanced the subs first and then left all 3 on. Auddessey got the distance very close, sort of an average between the front 2 and the rear one.

P.S. I am behind you on the LOTR EE on blu and Lawerance (one of my favourites) was advertised when blu was first released. WHERE ARE THEY???

Ta

Dono

[LordoftheRings]

Originally Posted by Badas

Interesting, Thanks for the info.

Yeah I new about the crossovers. I set my speakers to Small, have LFE + Main selected and raise my crossovers from 40hz to 80hz and LFE on 120hz.
I used the SPL to trim. I won't now. I took note of the Audesssey trim levels, so I can adjust it back.

I prefer the surrounds up +3db (5.1 setup), LFE + 1.5db and center down .5db. I will still use my SPL to balance the subs (3 of them). When I ran auddessey I balanced the subs first and then left all 3 on. Auddessey got the distance very close, sort of an average between the front 2 and the rear one.

P.S. I am behind you on the LOTR EE on blu and Lawerance (one of my favourites) was advertised when blu was first released. WHERE ARE THEY???

Ta

Dono

1. LFE + Main = Very bad idea!
* Read the Audyssey Setup Guide to find out why (link in my sig).

2. "LOTREE" trilogy and "Lawrence of Arabia" on Blu: Eventually.
* "The Incredibles" on Blu: Spring 2011.

[CYMBOL]

Originally Posted by LordoftheRings

That's the one I used in my own main setup, and I am extremely pleased with it!

I'm not an AVS member - can you post the diagram for the 6 point measurement?

I'd like to see it.

[Badas]

Originally Posted by LordoftheRings

1. LFE + Main = Very bad idea!
* Read the Audyssey Setup Guide to find out why (link in my sig).

2. "LOTREE" trilogy and "Lawrence of Arabia" on Blu: Eventually.
* "The Incredibles" on Blu: Spring 2011.

I haven't found anything in the print off about LFE or LFE+Main.

I thought that the LFE+Main only worked if the speakers were set at Large.
So Low cut frequencies would be produced by the Large speakers and the LFE.
The double bass effect.

Mine is set to Small so the cut frequencies are produced by the LFE only no matter what the other setting is on.

Am I wrong??? It is easy to change to LFE.

Please tell me if I am. One thing I have learned about this hobbie is that I am often wrong.

Ta

Dono

[bhampton]

I recently added some speakers in the rear to make my setup 7.1.

After installing the new speakers, I only had time to do one point Audessey calibration.

Sounds as good or better than it ever did so I've been lazy about getting back to it to do it right.

-Brian

[CYMBOL]

Originally Posted by bhampton

I recently added some speakers in the rear to make my setup 7.1.

After installing the new speakers, I only had time to do one point Audessey calibration.

Sounds as good or better than it ever did so I've been lazy about getting back to it to do it right.

-Brian

Yeah, that's the thing - I always worry about redoing the calibration cause a lot of time I think, "this sounds fantastic" - and I'd hate to mess it up.

I did that once in my old house when I first got it. I did a calibration and it sounded awesom - redid it for some reason and it lost a little something. Got it back to sounding great, but it was never quite the same.

In my new home, I did one cali and it was "ok" - the second one came out awesome - so, I'm thinking I may leave well enough alone - however, I didn't use my tripod for it - and I'm thinking I'd like to redo it with my tripod - but don't know if it would really make an audible difference.

[LordoftheRings]

Originally Posted by CYMBOL

I'm not an AVS member - can you post the diagram for the 6 point measurement?

I'd like to see it.

=> Simply use positions 1 through 6 from that above graph.

{Or also, positions #1, 10, 9, 5, 7 & 8 ... in that order.}
* Which translated roughly to this graph below (in the proper mic positioning order):


__________________ (4) __________________
l l ................. l ....... - ....... l ....... - ....... l l
l l ................. l ....... - ....... l ....... - ....... l l
l l ............ (3) l ...... (1) . - . l (2) .. - ....... l l
l \___________/\___________/\___________/-l
l_______________(5)____(6)_______________l


Or even better (below):
________________________________________
l l ................. l (4) ... - .. (5) l ................. l l
l l ................. l ........ - ....... l ................. l l
l l ......... (3) .. l . - .. (1) ...... l .. (2) ......... l l
l l___________-l-___________-l-___________l l
\___________________.___________________/
..............................(6)


Additional & Invaluable Information:

1. @ http://www.audyssey.com/images/pdf/o...owtomulteq.pdf

2. @ http://idisk.mac.com/mschuetze-Publi...TipsTricks.pdf

[LordoftheRings]

Originally Posted by Badas

I haven't found anything in the print off about LFE or LFE+Main.

I thought that the LFE+Main only worked if the speakers were set at Large.
So Low cut frequencies would be produced by the Large speakers and the LFE.
The double bass effect.

Mine is set to Small so the cut frequencies are produced by the LFE only no matter what the other setting is on.

Am I wrong??? It is easy to change to LFE.

Please tell me if I am. One thing I have learned about this hobbie is that I am often wrong.

Ta

Dono

Alright, just do this:

1. Subwoofer mode = LFE. (Seems that you've already done it.)
2. All your speakers = SMALL. (Seems that you've already done it.)

* So you are right about what you just said at the beginning of your above quote.

*** And just Manually set all your Speakers Crossovers at 80 Hz (that is if all your speakers can reproduce audio frequencies of let's say around 70 Hz; roughly their -3 dB point).
If not, set the ones that cannot, at 100 Hz (if their -3 dB point is around 90 Hz or so).

IMPORTANT: Whatever your receiver has chosen for the x-overs, NEVER go lower than those figures; you can only go UP.

~ Good to go now!

[LordoftheRings]

Originally Posted by bhampton

I recently added some speakers in the rear to make my setup 7.1.

After installing the new speakers, I only had time to do one point Audessey calibration.

Sounds as good or better than it ever did so I've been lazy about getting back to it to do it right.

-Brian

Brian! You sonnabaggun! ...Get your axe up there, and do the full available Audyssey mic positions from your particular receiver!
...You know better!

[LordoftheRings]

Originally Posted by CYMBOL

Yeah, that's the thing - I always worry about redoing the calibration cause a lot of time I think, "this sounds fantastic" - and I'd hate to mess it up.

I did that once in my old house when I first got it. I did a calibration and it sounded awesom - redid it for some reason and it lost a little something. Got it back to sounding great, but it was never quite the same.

In my new home, I did one cali and it was "ok" - the second one came out awesome - so, I'm thinking I may leave well enough alone - however, I didn't use my tripod for it - and I'm thinking I'd like to redo it with my tripod - but don't know if it would really make an audible difference.

YES it would, you little sneaky snake!

* I'm serious.