http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/ Engadget Comments for How-To: Dial in your surround sound http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/Jul 19th 2006 12:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/
What kind of sound are YOU listening to?!

:P]]>Jul 19th 2006 1:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/
What kind of sound are YOU listening to?!

:P"

hahaha i LOVE you for that man...how did i miss it!]]>Jul 19th 2006 1:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/Jul 19th 2006 4:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/Jul 19th 2006 7:00AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/
That was Raiders.

Tsk, tsk.

THX-mastered DVDs (most of them anyway) should have tones and in/out of phase tests to go through this as well (which is where the T2 DVD comes in handy).]]>Jul 19th 2006 7:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/Jul 19th 2006 8:14AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/
It's nice to see this guide, so many people think you are supposed to "hear" your rear channels. YOU'RE NOT! You're supposed to "feel" them, and that's how the sound guys mix it. Making ALL your speakers the exact same level with test tones is the ONLY way to get this right. I hate it when I hear friends systems and all you focus on is the rear channel and they think that is so cool...

Nice guide...]]>Jul 19th 2006 8:38AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/Jul 19th 2006 10:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/Jul 19th 2006 10:15AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/Jul 19th 2006 11:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/
As a pretty die-hard audio guy (check my website), there's one thing that seems to always get missed when calibrating a surround sound system. Everyone always talks about the SPL side, but just as important is the time-delay side of things. Most good receivers permit you to change the relative levels of sound from each speaker, AND THEY ALSO permit you to dial in the time delay from each speaker to the "typical" listening position. If you're rear speakers are farther back than you're front speakers, without adjusting the timing, the sound will arrive at your ears at different points in time. The result is a subtle, but noticeable delay/echo if it is bad enough. So, don't forget about that -- most people just crank the rear speakers more under those conditions, but you might want to check the timing too if you are a true audiofile type.]]>Jul 19th 2006 7:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/
That's not how the "sound guy's " mix it. I am one. And you don't "FEEL" your rear speakers, you obviously hear them. You only feel low frequencies; not mids and highs. Unless your running high SPL's into the pain spectrum of course. That's what the subwoofer is for. It's also why there is bass management. Generally, your rear channels are put on the sides or off axis anyway, so of course you are going to hear them. It all depends on content and how it was mixed. Basically " THE BUDGET". That's why there are good movies and bad movies. Calibrating channel levels is always a good idea. But room acoustics and the dynamics of the content play a big part as well. As well as the ego of the sound director.]]>Jul 19th 2006 8:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/19/how-to-dial-in-your-surround-sound/
The whole point of this type of calibration is to 1) Set the reference level 2) Ensure all speakers produce that reference level from the listeners position.

If you go by these(from the article) instructions you quite possibly will end up with a dramatic decrease in dynamic range,since your starting point is flawed.

Most recievers will automatically set the volume to zero when playing test tones. This is exactly what you should be doing. You want to set this level to a reference standard. Most recievers use the standard THX level and play their test tone at -30dbfs when at 0. This means that you should calibrate your levels so that each channel plays at 75db. This ensures that when at 0dbfs your maximum SPL will be 105db.

Once you have set your reference level, then you can as they say "Set your volume to your listening level".

Also LFE levels are usually 10db hotter so using a dvd test tone may skew your results. But of course sub volume is a matter of taste.

As said above you should also calibrate your delay timings too...

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