Speaker levels question

[MegaKen]

I'm talking about the "speaker level" setting in the AVR where you can adjust the volume for individual speakers with a test tone.

Is the goal there to get it to a point where the volume of all speakers is the same in relation to where I sit?

My left speaker is about 4ft away and my right speaker is about 10ft away. I know it's not ideal but those are the limitations of my space. And audyssey did a decent job calibrating it so it works.

But I still feel like I hear mostly the close speaker because it's like right next to me. Does it make sense to "equalize" them manually by bumping up the level of the far speaker?

 

[jwlawler]

A simple answer is to play with it and see if you like it. If you make a total mess then you can run Audyssey again. If you like the result then it doesn't matter if it is theoretically wrong in some sense.

However, I would go to great lengths to correct a speaker distance discrepency as large as that. In the real world, I accept that my surround speakers are not optimally placed but I am fussy about the mains. If the wife goes away for a few days then I sometimes shift things around to perfect the position of the surrounds as well.

 

[MegaKen]

Thank you, that makes sense and I will soon figure something out with the distance discrepancy.

But can you please explain about the wife? What does her presence have to do with your tinkering? In case I ever want to get married...

 

[jwlawler]

Thank you, that makes sense and I will soon figure something out with the distance discrepancy.

But can you please explain about the wife? What does her presence have to do with your tinkering? In case I ever want to get married...

To get the position of the surround speakers ideal, I need to move furniture. Even i admit that the result is not pretty. For me, the sound overrules the look but for her it doesn't.

In standard configuration, the centre and mains are perfectly positioned for my spot on the sofa. They don't move even if the wife goes away. One surroud is on a window ledge and one is on a bookshelf. The positions are not terrible but they could be better. The Atmos speakers are on top of the mains in up firing mode.

When she goes away, I pull the sofa forwards and put the surrounds on stools symmetrically behind the sofa. Sometimes, I raise the Atmos speakers so that they are down firing. I have experimented with moving the second sub but I could not hear a benefit of that so I don't bother with that any more.

If I was single then I'd try to come up with a slightly neater and more permanent optimal arrangement.

 

[decto]

To get the position of the surround speakers ideal, I need to move furniture. Even i admit that the result is not pretty. For me, the sound overrules the look but for her it doesn't.

In standard configuration, the centre and mains are perfectly positioned for my spot on the sofa. They don't move even if the wife goes away. One surroud is on a window ledge and one is on a bookshelf. The positions are not terrible but they could be better. The Atmos speakers are on top of the mains in up firing mode.

When she goes away, I pull the sofa forwards and put the surrounds on stools symmetrically behind the sofa. Sometimes, I raise the Atmos speakers so that they are down firing. I have experimented with moving the second sub but I could not hear a benefit of that so I don't bother with that any more.

If I was single then I'd try to come up with a slightly neater and more permanent optimal arrangement.

Audyssey should automatically match levels, however as soon as you move speakers the levels and phasing will be incorrect.

I use a noise meter with 'C' weighed mode (more representative of human hearing) to check the auto setup levels with mic pointed to ceiling at ear height. Then tweak as needed as reflections can do odd things some times. This is on an older Sony Receiver but without a manual tweak, volume levels are quite different when running pink noise, once all manually tuned to the same level, +2 dB on the centre to boost dialogue it sounds a lot more consistent.

 

[jwlawler]

Audyssey should automatically match levels, however as soon as you move speakers the levels and phasing will be incorrect.

I use a noise meter with 'C' weighed mode (more representative of human hearing) to check the auto setup levels with mic pointed to ceiling at ear height. Then tweak as needed as reflections can do odd things some times. This is on an older Sony Receiver but without a manual tweak, volume levels are quite different when running pink noise, once all manually tuned to the same level, +2 dB on the centre to boost dialogue it sounds a lot more consistent.

Yes, I need to rerun Audyssey after rearranging. It would be nice if I could save several results so that when I put things back to normal, I could just select a previous set. Instead, I need to rerun Audyssey again. This is why I only do this if the wife goes away for a few days and not when she goes out just for the night.

One reason for my "optimal" set-up is to reduce odd reflections or, at least, make them consistent across channels. I like the result but it is quite a lot of work.