Surround speakers too loud?

grahamricho

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I have gone from dipole speakers to direct radiating speakers, I have dropped the height a little before I install my atmos speakers.

They are only 1.5 -2.0 m away from the seating area.

I set the levels with a SPL and when I play something I can hear them? Is it ok to adjust with my ear more than a SPL ?

I just find if the levels are correct they are a little loud?

Thanks
 
You should set them to whatever you think sounds best, be surprised if anyone sticks with what a by the book calibration gives you, whether amp EQ or doing it the long winded way as you have. Most common would be tweaking the centre and the sub up but just do what works for you.

Direct radiating pointing at you will make themselves known at certain times, I'm moving to dipole this time to lessen it but have no desire for more than 5.1 :)
 
They sound great but when set with a spl they are a little obvious. It takes away the front sound stage, instead of been surround it's as if all is equal. Will give them a tweek tonight
 
The surrounds should technically be levelled to the same SPL as the front speakers. All the speakers in fact should be levelled to the same reference SPL. The studios where the films soundtracks are mixed will all adhere to this same standard and the ideal of home theatre is to try recreate what you'd hear in a cinema. A cinema's speakers are calibrated and levelled to try mirror the standards used to setup the studios where the soudtracks are mixed. I have heard it said that theatres sometimes set the rearmost speakers slightly higher than those toward the front of the theatre though. This would in fact be the opposite to what you want to do, but I doubt your room to be as large as that associated with most movie theatres or your listening position to be as far from the rears as someone sat in the middle of a theatre would be?

Th ideal is to set all speakers as being the same SPL as measured from your listening position. Anything other than this is done in accordance with your own personal preferences. The ideal gives you the closest you can get to what the person who mixed a soundtrack heard because the manner in which the speakers are levelled is standardisd right the way across the film industry.

Maybe the surrounds are too localised as opposed to being too loud? The distances you mention are far enough away, but where are the surrounds located in relation to where you are sat? Is the floor level a 5.1 or 7.1 layout?
 
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Hi the room is 3.2mm wide and 6 m long

I sit at one end around 1.2mm from rear wall and screen is at other end.

It's was a 5.1 and just changing surround speakers from kef dipole to direct speakers. It's going to be 7.1 first and then 7 2.4.

I have fitted surround speakers to each side of listening position a little lower than the Kef dipoles I had so around 600 mm higher than ear level.
The surround speakers are a wedge shape so pointing down to mlp.

When you watch a movie and music is playing you hear the front sound stage and the surround adds a little to it to surround you. At the moment it takes over and it's like they are equal to the front speakers?
 
If you've only 1.5m to 2m behind your seating position then I'd suggest this wouldn't be enough to locate both back surrounds and back Atmos speakers behind you without the wall boucing the Atmos speakers output back into the room. THis is what Dolby suggest as being the ideal for your proposed 7.1.4 setup:

snapshot001.jpg


I'd actually suggest a 5.1.2 setup as being more appropriate if the intention is to have ceiling speakers:
snapshot002.jpg


Note that the 5.1 or 7.1 speakers all ideally need to be at you seated head height within an Atmos setup.
 
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When you watch a movie and music is playing you hear the front sound stage and the surround adds a little to it to surround you. At the moment it takes over and it's like they are equal to the front speakers?

If levelled correctly and to the same SPL as the front speakers then the surrounds are portraying the soundtrack as intended by the person who mixed it.
 
Hi thanks I have the rear and side surrounds so may just try them and if they don't work I can use the rear surrounds in the ceiling?

My processor only does 7.1 so i would use that until i buy a new atmos processor.

What distance in front of me do I need the atmos speakerspeakers? Thanks
 
In a setup that only includes 2 Atmos ceiling speakers then the optimum location for them would be slighly ahead of the listener or even parallel with the listeners seated location. If still wishing to include 4 Atmos speakers then you can locate them further away from the listener and into the room ahead of the listener.

You may find this guide helpful:
https://www.dolby.com/us/en/technol...tmos-home-theater-installation-guidelines.pdf
 
My surrounds are too loud too! Is it possible DD Sur setting together with height virtualizer on adds more volume to the rear in my 5.1 set up? When I change settings to DD/DD+, it sounds much more normal.
 
My surrounds are too loud too! Is it possible DD Sur setting together with height virtualizer on adds more volume to the rear in my 5.1 set up? When I change settings to DD/DD+, it sounds much more normal.

The height virtualiser processing is creating pseudo channels that can only be output via the speakers present and these speakers are attempting to create the impression of their being additional height speakers within your setup. The processed audio isn't going to sound the same because it is attempt to create the soundstage you' experience if using height speakers.

The setup will be correctly calibrated and all your speakers will have been correctly levelled during the calibration. The anomally is purely due to the effect the additional processing is having upon the audio you are hearing. If you dislike it, don't use the Height Virtualizer and consider installing real height, ceiling or upward firing speakers.
 
Thanks dante01. I think I have finally figured it out somewhat. My surrounds were too near and not far back enough. After moving my surrounds further back towards the rear wall and then re-running auto calibration, my 5.1 speakers sound more balanced front and back now.
 
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