Audyssey AVR questions

Need assistance from my ML amigos.

Well, my trusty 15 year old Denon AVR finally died. Purchased the Denon 2309CI. My apologies to the HT crowd but I spend alot more time with my 2 channel system than I do watching movies. Have a 5.1 system using small B & W satellites (M-1's) and their center channel. Have a Polk Audio sub. Never used Audyssey before. So a couple of questions.

1) When running the set up program, does Audyssey set the speakers (except for sub) to large or small automatically?

2) With the sub using the LFE input, does the calibration program set the sub x-over point?

3) Has anyone used the Audyssey Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume options? If so, is it worthwile to leave engaged or to turn off?

Thanks for any help.

GG

Audyssey works great for the most part. At least for what it was designed for. Yes it automatically sets large/small, and on some models, even sets specific crossover points for each speaker....these are sometimes way off from what I would set them at, so I adjust them. It does a good job with distances except for subwoofers. The levels always seem to calibrate close enough. It will set the sub xover too.

As far as the dynamic EQ and volume goes, not much experience with those yet.

You should be able to go in and tweak the distance, level, and crossover points after you run the setup. The only thing I dont think you can do is tweak the EQ. It is designed to give every seating position you set it up for a similar EQ curve and sound. It usually is a compromise, but it does lots of trickery with math and computers though. Pretty slick.

First, make sure you've read this Audyssey setup guide


How and where you place the mic during calibration has a LOT to do with whether you get a good result or not.

If the results do not seem right, then re-do the measurements.

It generally takes users three to four tries before they learn enough to get this right.

Secondly, do not tweak the distance settings Audyssey auto-detects. Unless off by >5ft, it is probably correct, as it factors in any additional delays introduces by downstream processing (typically in powered subs).

Levels are OK to adjust a bit.


To answer your questions specifically:

1) When running the set up program, does Audyssey set the speakers (except for sub) to large or small automatically?

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Yes, it sets them automatically. If you have a sub, I’d recommend leaving (or setting) all speakers to small. As a for instance, my Monoliths are set to small in my Denon AVP-A1HDci.

2) With the sub using the LFE input, does the calibration program set the sub x-over point?

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The system will set the correct crossovers between each speaker and sub based on in-room measurement not the ‘specs’.

Also, the receiver has a setting for LFE cutoff (which is not a crossover), set it to 120Hz.

3) Has anyone used the Audyssey Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume options? If so, is it worthwhile to leave engaged or to turn off?

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I highly recommend Audyssey Dynamic EQ. it’s close to magical in how it corrects for low volume frequency balances.

Dynamic Volume I’m not so much a fan of and never use it. But if you are trying to watch live TV and the kids are sleeping, then it can be of value.

Thank you both for the info.

I'll give it a try tomorrow and report back.

GG

A few more questions

Hi Jonathan,

Set up and went through the auto setup. Used three mike positions (two ends and center of love seat) to calibrate. This is the main piece of furniture that I use for watching TV and movies.

First impression is pretty good. Overall surround is better balanced but sound seems a bit on the thin side as compared to the previous receiver. Could be new unit breaking in, etc. For now, I'm going to leave and see what happens.

A few questions on the values displayed after calibration.

1) On the "level check" display, all speakers, except for SW are set at 2db to 2.5 db. Seems reasonable. However, SW set at -8.5 db. Any explanations for this volume SW setting? I did set the volume on the Polk sub to the "noon setting" before starting the auto calibration.

2) The display indicates that all speakers are set to the "small" value. The frequency x-over values for the front and surround speakers are 80HZ and 90HZ respectively. Again, seems reasonable. However, the center channel is set at 40HZ. I thought that if all speakers are set to small, all would be cut off at 80HZ. Again, any reason for this?

Also, no x-over frequency value shown for the SW? How can I determine the setting?

If tonality doesn't warm up, is there a way to get into the settings for the fronts, center, and surrounds to sweetin up the sound without defeating the rest of the Audyssey calibration?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Gordon

Gordon Gray said:

Hi Jonathan,

Set up and went through the auto setup. Used three mike positions (two ends and center of love seat) to calibrate. This is the main piece of furniture that I use for watching TV and movies.

First impression is pretty good. Overall surround is better balanced but sound seems a bit on the thin side as compared to the previous receiver. Could be new unit breaking in, etc. For now, I'm going to leave and see what happens.

Click to expand...

Hi Gordon, I’d recommend doing as many positions as the product supports, most can do six.
I’d recommend doing the last three measurements in a tight little cluster +/- 2ft from the prime position (#1) and varying the height of the mic by six inches or so.

This will allow the process to ‘see’ more of the room, and to better correct for the fact that ML’s are big line sources, as well as get more of the vertical modes of the room.

Gordon Gray said:

A few questions on the values displayed after calibration.

1) On the "level check" display, all speakers, except for SW are set at 2db to 2.5 db. Seems reasonable. However, SW set at -8.5 db. Any explanations for this volume SW setting? I did set the volume on the Polk sub to the "noon setting" before starting the auto calibration.

Click to expand...

Anytime there is a >6db delta between sub and the rest of the speakers tells us the sub is either too hot or not turned up enough.
In your case, it seems to be about 9 to 10db too loud, so turn down the gain control on the polk sub.

To check, do a three position measurement, and then check the levels. If they are within 3db of each other, then you’re fine, redo a six position measurement (and follow advice above).

Gordon Gray said:

2) The display indicates that all speakers are set to the "small" value. The frequency x-over values for the front and surround speakers are 80HZ and 90HZ respectively. Again, seems reasonable. However, the center channel is set at 40HZ. I thought that if all speakers are set to small, all would be cut off at 80HZ. Again, any reason for this?

Click to expand...

This is probably due to boundary gain in your center, it must be right up against the wall, right?

I’d still recommend adjusting the crossover for this speaker up to 80hz, as even though the acoustical output is there, we probably want the sub handling 40hz

Gordon Gray said:

Also, no x-over frequency value shown for the SW? How can I determine the setting?

Click to expand...

The sub will be handling all info below 80hz for the L/C/R, all info below 90hz from the surrounds and all info up to 120Hz for the LFE channel (the LFE channel is specified as being 20 to 120hz).

So you determine by looking at the crossovers for the other speakers and knowing what the bandwidth of the LFE is.

Gordon Gray said:

If tonality doesn't warm up, is there a way to get into the settings for the fronts, center, and surrounds to sweeten up the sound without defeating the rest of the Audyssey calibration?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Gordon

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Most people take a few days to get used to the much cleaner output from an Audyssey corrected system.
Mostly because the big +10 or even +20db room-induced bass peaks are now damped.

But a rerun of the metrics with six measurement points will also probably help a bit.

After that, the only way to affect the tonality of Audyssey, is to use Audyssey Pro and select (or build) a more bass-aggressive target curve.

Are you running Dynamic EQ on? Please turn that on, as it really improves the low-end balance at lower volumes.

Hi Jonathan,

I resolved the tonal balance issue of the overall 5.1 system.

On the receiver, there is a MultiEq button. Cycling through, one has three choices to select from while engaging the Audyssey calibration. All begin (text on rec display) with MultiEq followed by:

1) Audyssey

2) Bypass L and R

3) Audyssey Flat.

Receiver defaults to 3) after calibration.

I found, buried deep in the manual, the ability to choose between the above three options. Switching to 1), everything popped into place. Audio was again engaging. Midrange warmth and lower bass returned. Top is sweet. Dynamic range much more audible.

I don't know if 1) is the desired setting but my ears tell me it definitely is.

Only remaining question that I have is the 40HZ x-over readout with the center channel. Again, all speakers are set to "small" and center channel is on top of TV probably 3' from wall.

If speakers are set to small, does this mean the LF cutoff for the center speaker is 80HZ or is the center channel set so it can produce 40HZ?

If the latter, is there a way to change that one setting while maintaining the remainder of the Audyssey calibration?

If the former is true, I'm not going to worry about.

Thank you again.

Gordon

PS: This is the first time I have ever used Audyssey and am extremely pleased with the results. Absolute uniform surround effects with no more spotlight on any particular speaker. Much more "immersive" signature.

PPS: You are absolutely correct regarding the "Dynamic EQ" setting. Really works magic with the overall tonal balance at lower volume levels.

Jonathan,

Did some further research on the official Audyssey website.

The "Audyssey Flat" setting is recommended to be used in very small, acoustically treated rooms where one is sitting quite close to the speakers.

This is not the case with my room, which is why, I assume, the regular Audyssey setting sounds better.

GG

Gordon Gray said:

Jonathan,

Did some further research on the official Audyssey website.

The "Audyssey Flat" setting is recommended to be used in very small, acoustically treated rooms where one is sitting quite close to the speakers.

This is not the case with my room, which is why, I assume, the regular Audyssey setting sounds better.

GG

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Yep, that's the one that sounds the most pleasing to most, and even more so for us ESL users, as it has a slight roll-off in the highs.

I use a slightly modified version of their std curve.