Denon 3805 & Kef Reference THX set - 5.1 setup help!

phoenix_rising

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Hey guys,

Looking for some basic advice here...

I've just picked up the 5 speakers from the KEF Reference THX set and coupled them with my existing Velodyne va10x sub (Which is the weakest link i know!) :)

But i'm really struggling to get good results in the room from the setup...

Firstly the the rooms dimensions are: about 5m x 5m very minimal, sofa back middle of the room, wooden floor, and a rug...

Kef 23f on stands 3inchs from wall either side of TV 0.5 meters from corners of wall.

Kef 23c central in room sits 65cm high on AV stand TV mounted on top!

Kef 34ds flat to the side walls 0.5 meters from corner of walls.

I reset the denon 3805
Set the Auto EQ to level out the room, got some strange results with the fronts being 0.5db different? and the sub being placed 26ft away apparently!

No real vocal presence in the system as of yet... which is surprising as the center is a 3 way 5 speaker center...and its not small...

Can anyone advise or maybe link me to a really good beginning to end step by step home cinema setup tutorial here on the forum? Would it be worth letting the denon set the distances and then getting my hands on a calibration disc to tweak it?

Lastly, have i positioned the surround diapole speakers correctly to the sides of the sofa as oposed to at the back of the room? due to the nature of the diapoles it sounds like most of the effects are playing everywhere BUT my ears!

Help! :)
 
got some strange results with the fronts being 0.5db different? and the sub being placed 26ft away apparently!

This is not unusual and is probably down to reflections, phase and delay etc.
You can of course override those settings to the proper measurements and just see what you think.

No real vocal presence in the system as of yet... which is surprising as the center is a 3 way 5 speaker center...and its not small...

Are you talking about vocals being quiet from the centre specifically?
If so, that's not unusual either.
Many people complain about the centre being too quiet.
I'm not sure why this is (it happens with all different kinds of setups) but you should feel free to tweak it slightly to your taste.

Lastly, have i positioned the surround diapole speakers correctly to the sides of the sofa as oposed to at the back of the room?

That sounds fine, but you might want to experiment with moving them back, bit by bit, if you can.

due to the nature of the diapoles it sounds like most of the effects are playing everywhere BUT my ears!

LOL, that's the idea of them, to give a more ambient sound :)
I personally prefer direct firers, but it's each to their own :)
 
Thanks Badger... good to know some of its "Normal" :) The strange thing is... i previosuly had a KEF Reference 100 as the center which about 3 times smaller than the TDM23c and the center channel (on vocals) seemed much more in the mix... Am i doing the THX set justice running them on the 3805? in a perfect world i'll be moving over to an HDMI reciever sometime soon, but didnt know if the 3805 was THX certified (If there is such a thing for recievers?) :)

if i wanted to convert this to a 7.1 setup could i simply just add 2 more 34ds diapoles to the back wall at the same height and spaced correctly or is there more afoot... I do have a spare pair of KEF Coda 9 floor standers knocking about... worth introducing them to the system dya think or not? Dont know if they'll compliment and confuse the setup futher!

Anyone know of any good THX calibration disc's to set up to?
 
I do have a spare pair of KEF Coda 9 floor standers knocking about...

If you can fit them in, they'd go straight up front for me, absolute no brainer, at least to try.
How they'd work with the 23C is the thing.


7.1, well it's not recommended unless you have a really large room.
My room is 6M long and I just suspect it's too small, so I've never tried it.

As for the amp, I's suggest it's up to the job.
I don't recall the 3805 being THX, but I really wouldn't read too much into that.
It seems like anything can qualify, as long as the fee has been paid*.
Iirc, a certain BD player got THX when it didn't even meet the required specs :eek:

* Disclaimer (just to suit the forum rules):
This is my own personal opinion, which may well be wrong.
 
5.1 it is then! :)

its enough sound to fill the lounge so im happy... Anyone want a few beers and smokes to help calibrate this with me? :)
 
5.1 it is then! :)

its enough sound to fill the lounge so im happy... Anyone want a few beers and smokes to help calibrate this with me? :)

I'd be happy to, if I was local to you :smashin:

Trouble is, I couldn't really do much different to what you could do yourself.
And even then, what I like might not suit your ears.

Best to tweak gently over time and find an overall balance that you like.
It took me months before I got to the stage where I was totally happy :eek: :D
 
Anyone got any ideas on how i can bring the center speaker forward in the sound stage? Is there anything else i can do with the Denon 3805 other than keep adding +0.5 increments to the channel level?

Does anyone also know whether the 3805 has the ability to set a crossover for each channel (per speaker) as when i applied the 80hz crossover it seemed as if it it was adding the cut off to ALL the speakers.... ?
 
I'm fairly sure the crossover is a global setting.

There are a few things you can try, but make a note of where any settings were originally.

Try a different crossover setting.

Is the centre set to large or small? Try the opposite.

Go in the manual EQ and try raising the 1khz section a couple of dB.

In the surround parameters section, try setting DRC to high. This has the effect of making the difference of high volume to low volume on the soundtrack smaller. Hence it may make the speech seem louder.

Try altering the tone control.
 
Thanks mate, in regards to the grub screw (i dont have the manaul, anyone know where i can get a few for the speakers?)

At the moment all the speakers are away from the walls except the 34ds which is pushed flat to the wall, so i take it, the grub screw will need adjusting possibly?

What would you suggest knowing the speakers is a good crossover point to set on the denon 3805 i think its at 80hz at the moment.

And what would be a good way of tacking the EQ settings? is there a best practice technique to adjustment?
 
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Hi all,

I would stress to use a THX amp with these speakers, I used different sets of these speakers for years. THX does say that you can mix & match, which is true but these speakers are taken to a new level when you click the THX home cinema button on a certified Amp.
Again, with these Kef's, you get massive improvement using a seperate power Amp & processor.
Even an old Pioneer VSA-EO6 THX amplifier, which you can pick up very cheap sounds great with these speakers in Home Cinema mode (THX)

I would also try calibrating these speakers, even with a £20 sound meter............Sometimes the calibration system built into a reciever can actually make it sound worse!
 

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