What level do you put your surround speakers relative to your front?

[kingofgrills]

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

it works great for me, give it a try and see how you like it. like i said for me everything is level wise is set to 0db and actual distances are set. crossover for everything is 80hz and i love it.

make sure you write down what your present settings are so, when you change them you can always go back to what you had before the change should you decide to.

keep me posted and let me know what you think should you give it a try!

I'm glad that works for you. Are you using an identical speaker model all around your room?

I find the most realistic, seamless surround presentation in my room comes when I levelize all speakers with my SPL meter from the main listening position. I use a Radio Shack SPL meter, and they are known to not capture low bass frequencies quite as well as mids had highs. For that reason, I typically raise my subwoofer level by 2 dBLs when calibrating.

[ridergroov1]

Originally Posted by kingofgrills

I'm glad that works for you. Are you using an identical speaker model all around your room?

I find the most realistic, seamless surround presentation in my room comes when I levelize all speakers with my SPL meter from the main listening position. I use a Radio Shack SPL meter, and they are known to not capture low bass frequencies quite as well as mids had highs. For that reason, I typically raise my subwoofer level by 2 dBLs when calibrating.

Radio Shack has an SPL meter? I couldn't find it on their site. I'd love to go pick one of locally this weekend if this is a possibility. Let me know if you see it on their site. That way I can call and find out if we have it around here. Thanks.

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by ridergroov1

Radio Shack has an SPL meter? I couldn't find it on their site. I'd love to go pick one of locally this weekend if this is a possibility. Let me know if you see it on their site. That way I can call and find out if we have it around here. Thanks.

i have one on my iphone for .99 cents, i still trust and use my ears more than anything.

[emoxley]

Originally Posted by ridergroov1

Radio Shack has an SPL meter? I couldn't find it on their site. I'd love to go pick one of locally this weekend if this is a possibility. Let me know if you see it on their site. That way I can call and find out if we have it around here. Thanks.

Here it is on their website, but it says they are out of stock:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2103668
Check your local store. Just ask for a sound meter.

You can get it bundled with the Avia calibration disc. A good disc to have:
http://www.svsound.com/products-parts-avia.cfm

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by ridergroov1

Radio Shack has an SPL meter? I couldn't find it on their site. I'd love to go pick one of locally this weekend if this is a possibility. Let me know if you see it on their site. That way I can call and find out if we have it around here. Thanks.

Originally Posted by ridergroov1

Okay that sounds good but I don't exactly know what you are talking about or how to set that up. Please explain. Thank you.

Please read Calibrationg Your Audio with an SPL Meter. It was the first sticky thread that I created. I am surprised nobody gave you the link. You will find an explanation of reference volume and how to use an SPL meter to calibrate your speakers. There are also links to Radio Shack and other SPL meters.

[phansson]

I just bump the audyssey settings on my pro/pro a couple of db's for the surrounds and rears. Personally I like a lot of surround envelopment.

[jomari]

the ratshack spl meter has been considered one of the 'standards' of the calibration process. id highly advise having one. personally i prefer analog.

as BD has posted, theres a great thread discussing how to use it, and the benefits of it.

[JJ]

For me, it's calibration be damned for my three rears. I keep the equalizer settings, but for SPL levels, I like them a bit higher than even with the L/R fronts, as well as the center.

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by kingofgrills

I'm glad that works for you. Are you using an identical speaker model all around your room?

I find the most realistic, seamless surround presentation in my room comes when I levelize all speakers with my SPL meter from the main listening position. I use a Radio Shack SPL meter, and they are known to not capture low bass frequencies quite as well as mids had highs. For that reason, I typically raise my subwoofer level by 2 dBLs when calibrating.

you see my speakers in my signature, all polk, all within a couple of "families" of each other. the front 3 are matched, the 4 surrounds are matched too. most of us do not use the exact same speakers for all 5 - 7 channels so, we either use timbre matched sets from the maker or do the hard research to try to get the best match by spec. again, music and movies sound fantastic in my house.