AV Control apps - Easy real time adjustment of channel volume

Rosini

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I am currently researching the ideal AV amp to replace my now aging Yamaha AV receiver.

There is lots of information and reviews on line, so I am finding easy to establish which amps have the features and connectivity I am after, some idea of relative sound quality and so on.

What I am struggling with is finding out much about the functionality of of the respective iPad remote apps.

There is one feature that I would like, and to be honest I am not even sure it exists.

When actually watching a movie, what I would like is a quick and simple way to "fine tune" the volume level of an individual channel.

What I find with my current Yamaha AV receiver is that I can watch a particular movie and the sound volume balance across all channels is "just so", which is nice.

I might then switch to another movie, no changes to settings, and something is obviously out of balance with the sound. Rear channels suddenly too loud or too quiet, centre channel too loud or too quiet, and so on.

So in my ideal world, I would like to pick up my iPad, select the remote app, and with one or two menu selections get to a screen where I can tweak the relative volume of each channel.

Does such a remote app exist?

One note re the above, I might be in a position to consider the purchase of a pure AV processor, rather than an AV amp or receiver, but anything that would provide the functionality detailed above would be of interest.
 
I would suggest that the feature you are after in an app is not needed as it sound like you are trying to fix a problem that shouldn’t exist in your system. Ideally once you have properly set up the system and all channel levels are correct you shouldn’t never need to adjust them based on the content you are watching.

I am not such what room correction you have on your Yamaha, but the latest room corrections will make a big difference to the overall sound and your perception of the sounds in each channel.

If you are thinking of going down the av processor route then the likes of Anthem, Lyngdorf, trinnov for example all have amazing sound and you should been feel the need to adjust individual channels. If you do something is not setup correctly. I know some people boost the centre channel a little to help with hearing speech, but in my experience as long as you treat all front three channels the same: ie same amp, speaker etc and have the levels matched the man speech should be clear. Obviously everyone’s ears are different that the is the variable.

What speakers are you using?

Hope that helps.
 
With most of the Denon and Marantz models you can easily adjust the Channel Levels. Using the Denon X3800H as an example it can be done via the remote:-


Or via Web Control:-


There's also the AVR Remote App available on Android or IOS. Android screenshot below:-

Screenshot_20230501-145654.jpg
 
Ideally once you have properly set up the system and all channel levels are correct you shouldn’t never need to adjust them based on the content you are watching.

I disagree with this. That would rely on the content being right, which it often isn't. Examples,

Nightbooks (film), DD+/Atmos on Netflix, surround channels over boosted. (Although haven't tried it recently).

S.W.A.T Series 6., DD5.1 on Sky Max, you think the surround channels aren't there until you adjust.

A League of their Own Series 14, DD5.1 on Sky On Demand, you have to have it on louder than you want to hear Romesh speaking at an adequate level.

Although, if anyone tries any of these and says that the content is fine, maybe it is something wrong with my system 🤣
 
With most of the Denon and Marantz models you can easily adjust the Channel Levels. Using the Denon X3800H as an example it can be done via the remote:-


Or via Web Control:-


There's also the AVR Remote App available on Android or IOS. Android screenshot below:-

View attachment 1861635
Thanks for this. Although it is a tantilising screen shot, as it makes me wonder exactly what screen you get if you click the "Channel Level Adjust" option shown above.

This is the kind of thing I am looking for though.
 
With a bit of on-line hunting, I also found this for the Emotiva remote app:

1683030010888.png


This is the kind of thing I am looking for. I just have not found similar for any other manufacturer.
 
Thanks for this. Although it is a tantilising screen shot, as it makes me wonder exactly what screen you get if you click the "Channel Level Adjust" option shown above.

This is the kind of thing I am looking for though.

You'd get the option to adjust whatever channel you want by +/- 12db. The channels available would depend on the mode you're listening to e.g Stereo would be FL, FR and SW. Dolby Digital would be C, FL, FR, SL, SR, SW. Etc etc.

This is the App on my Denon. Channel Level Adjust via Options:-

Screenshot_20230502-135517.jpg


And the adjustment range:-

Screenshot_20230502-135537.jpg


The Web Interface via the App has access to the main speaker Channel Levels menu. That's a global adjustment for all Inputs/Modes.

Screenshot_20230502-135644.jpg


Or you can just use the App like a Remote.

Screenshot_20230502-152310.jpg
 
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Not many have direct remote control function, you'll need to use a app. Bit fiddly tbh and not exactly cerntralised. If you have to get a phone out, unlock the phone, browse apps, open app, wait for it to sync, then load channel level page....to do something simple it's not easy to use system.

Some Emotiva stuff have direct IR control of the trims

I use the SW trims on mine, but not the others. If I want to adjust sub I press press those buttons (or use the buttons in the universal I programmed)
 

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My advice would be to get an Arcam AVR with Dirac and get someone who knows what they are doing to set it up for your room. The difference it makes is amazing and I very rarely have to make any adjustments . You don’t need an app as you can access the Arcam menu on your remote control if you do need to fiddle. Dirac really solidifies the stereo and multi channel sound image.
 
My advice would be to get an Arcam AVR with Dirac and get someone who knows what they are doing to set it up for your room. The difference it makes is amazing and I very rarely have to make any adjustments . You don’t need an app as you can access the Arcam menu on your remote control if you do need to fiddle. Dirac really solidifies the stereo and multi channel sound image.
As an aside to my original query, I am actually interested in electronic room correction. For my 2 channel system I am currently running convolution filters created using Focus Fidelity Filter Designer. This provides an exceptional improvement to my 2 channel system, for not much money.

I have no experience with Dirac, so that would be a leaning curve, but having some kind of room correction facility for the AVR would definitely be of interest.
 
Briefly, the Dirac system uses a microphone connected to a laptop which is positioned in nine or more different places around the main listening seat. The laptop connects to the Arcam ( and other AVRs) via wifi and prompts the amp to generate frequency sweeps which the mic “ listens to” . The laptop then sends the results of what it hears to a computer ( in Sweden? ) over the internet. That then computes adjustments on the amp to compensate for room acoustics and many other audio settings and produces a graph to show the before and after settings. This graph can be adjusted to provide an optimum listening experience. This is where the experience of the person in doing the setup comes in to make final tweeks. On the Arcam once this is done you can turn the Dirac settings on and off to see what a difference it makes.
It is difficult to describe the results on my 5.1 setup but it stabilises the audio image to give a solid sound and corrects any boominess caused by speakers being placed close to walls etc. I find that I am listening to what was produced in the studio by professional sound engineers and the loudspeakers disappear ( not physically !) and you are left with an ideal audio image.
You can do the setup yourself which gives a decent improvement , but when an expert did mine it transformed my listening pleasure.
It takes about an hour from start to finish hopefully with no interruptions from people entering the room, dogs barking or telephones ringing.
 
As an aside to my original query, I am actually interested in electronic room correction. For my 2 channel system I am currently running convolution filters created using Focus Fidelity Filter Designer. This provides an exceptional improvement to my 2 channel system, for not much money.

I have no experience with Dirac, so that would be a leaning curve, but having some kind of room correction facility for the AVR would definitely be of interest.
If you're comfortable with Focus Fidelity then you'll be comfortable with Dirac, it's essentially the same process (although with slightly less control in Dirac).
 
If you're comfortable with Focus Fidelity then you'll be comfortable with Dirac, it's essentially the same process (although with slightly less control in Dirac).
Yes, I was reading @barrywi 's response above and thinking just how similar his description sounded to that for Focus Fidelity. (other than the Focus Fidelity software being loaded on your own PC / Laptop)

I do have quite a bit of experience with room correction (at least in the two channel domain), I am happy using REW, and very comfortable with Focus Fidelity. So Dirac would be something new for me from the perspective of a new software package, but room correction, understanding exactly how target curves translate to the subjective experience etc., this is stuff I am very comfortable with.

Thinking about all of this, I definitely want to go for something with room correction.

I also note that Dirac have recently launched a new service offering full bandwidth room correction. (via subscription) This looks good and definitely appeals to me.

So I can get the features I want, plus Dirac. Now I need to decide on brand and exactly how far "up the model range" I want to go. More research needed, there are many options here, but I am at least narrowing down the options.

Some great advice in this thread - thanks to all.
 
Anthem MRX range has a GUI accessible on your phone which in my opinion, is better than their App. The AVM 70 and 90 will no doubt have this as well. Older models do not.
 
I'm a bit late to this but the NAD T778 has channel adjustment for surrounds and centre on the remote, so you can tweak according to content. useful especially for TV viewing. It also has Dirac for room correction
 
I started this thread with a very specific query about channel volume, but I am now convinced that something that will also support the full bandwidth Dirac Live Room Correction is the way to go.

I am still doing some research and need to find time for a trip into town where I can have a look at some products in the flesh, but as things stand I am finding it difficult to look past the Denon AVC-X4800H.

The Denon has the required Dirac support, and based on earlier posts here the remote app has the functionality I was after. The Denon also seems to have every other feature I could want, plus a lot more.
 

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