Been watching your videos and really like them. But for true beginners they can be tough to follow as you do sometimes gloss over some things. For instance in the video your talking about here, making sure all speakers are set to 0db in AVR. Did you change them from what Audyssey set them? Beause you also said you left Audyssey enabled but on another vid you said to shut it off. I think it would be great to make 1 long detailed video on how set up a complete H.T setup and to run Audyssey then REW to make changes on exactly what to change all in 1 video instead of having to go between different videos with conflicting instructions. Keep up the good work and try to just keep beginners in mind when doing videos
Yeah, this would be very helpful. I'm going through his miniDSP videos now, and have some confusion on how/if I should be adjusting the AVR trim on the subs or using the miniDSP or what if I were to run Audyssey after adding the house curve.
It's been said in some of the other level match videos It's not as important to use an outside source to level match as it's more important that the level are even from channel to channel. Using the internal test tone would accomplish the same thing even if it read high or lower in REW the channels would all be even giving you the same affect. Audessey running or not running wouldn't change them being even. Might want to try it both ways and compare it will like sound exactly the same.
But if I leave YPAO on, it automatically applies some EQ, right? Wouldn't that affect the REW frequency measurements later on? Should I keep YPAO on just for Level Matching and disable it afterwards? With YPAO on I cannot change any EQ settings to level out the freq. response.
Hey Brad, Thanks for all of your efforts and postings. My Onkyo TX-NR636 and my older Denon AVR-591 will not let me turn off internal test ones while setting levels. If I am missing a setting, please let me know. Please ask your Audyssey contact if it does in fact adjust EQ on each channel. It would be a great video interview to have an Audyssey engineer fully explain how it works and the best practice in using it. Also, do you know of any new or old
Today I decided to pull out my laptop and umik 1 and test how well The auto calibration of my Sony es1100 receiver was, I figured it was good enough because I would rerun it after a calibration and I would get the same results. Well I was wrong, my center channel was down 2-3db and my surround speakers were down 3-4 db and my subwoofer was up around 88db, I level matched everything to 75db and It sounds so much better and immersive with significantly more detail in each speaker. Sure the bass is a weaker now but it doesn’t draw attention to itself anymore and seems to add depth and dynamics to the speakers should be making the noise at a given moment
That’s great to hear! As good as some of these auto calibration systems are, they aren’t perfect and might need some tweaks. Like you said, while the bass is weaker, it added depth and improved the dynamics. And even if you find yourself wanting a bit more bass, it’s not uncommon to add 3-4dB to the sub especially if you listen at lower volumes. Ultimately it’s about tailoring the sound to your ears and what sounds good in your room.
@@HomeTheaterGamer I was surprised to hear hear that much of a difference. I plan to do some more tweaking this weekend. Typically I watch movies at -12 to -10 for blu ray disks, whereas streaming services I have to turn it up a bit to -7 or possibly reference level in some cases. Thanks a lot for the videos, they’re very informative
Subwoofer is not compensated here as internal tones - they should all read 75 db. Sub here should be 85 db ! Try to level match REW sub to 75 and then goto internal tones - then you will have 65 db on the sub 😜
Want to make sure I’m doing this correctly, so you run your room correction first, then go in and level-match? Do you re-run room correction again afterwards?
Do you set your Umik to 100% in windows or 0db which is like 53%? After dirac calibration, setting all my levels to 75db with REW I have to take all my levels down like 5 or 6db and now it seems low. Pretty sure my mic is set to 100% though in dirac and 53% in windows for REW. Please help.
Thanks for this. So is this the same case with Dirac? I have an Arcam AVR11 and I setup the levels using REW and. UMIK-1 and noted the values before running DIRAC or any other processing. Then after running DIRAC I noticed all the values were reduced lower than when I set them with REW. So I should set these values back to where they were before or Test with REW again with DIRAC active correct?
If set to 0dBfs in REW, then it would read 105dB. But for level matching/calibration, that’s not really needed (and really loud), which is why it’s common to set REW to -30dBfs and calibrating all speakers to 75dB.
Simple question, who says that all speakers at 75 db for all channels, is always the right Choice 🤷, every room is different, and it also tottaly depends on where your speaker are away from your MLP😅 so this is all very different in milions of different rooms
Simple answer. You are setting the volume levels for reference level volume. Not what you prefer. Otherwise everyone is talking a different language. If you want to listen at a lower volume use the AVR volume to lower it. But the whole point is that at 0 db on your AVR you will be listening to volume at the level the sound engineer designed it for AND you are listening to everyone else's 0db setting. As for what I prefer, I listen at about -15db for movies, but if me and you were to both turn our dials to 0db we will both be listening to the same content at the exact same level and what the sound engineer desired.
@@Mudcat3434 little question tho, if someone adjust lets say the source level in the avr [some devices have low volume] then the reference level on that specific source is not correct anymore , am i right, i mean in my case i added 1DB to my sat/cab volume , cause my sat has a low volume, isn,t that messing up the reference level again, sorry for my english, i try to really understand it
@@dutchgrower2971 Yes it is, but audio via your cable/streaming service is not really what we are worried about. They are messing with things on their end as well. So no harm really there. What we are worried about with reference level is 1) a common measure to calibrate our speakers and 2) source content. Source content being Ultra HD Blu Rays, video games, lossless music such as that from a CD or other lossless media like FLAC music on a USB. Even Netflix and Amazon Video will have quality (although I not sure if it is compressed audio or not). Cable TV though or streaming services like Hulu Tv and UA-cam TV, etc. may or may not have quality audio passed on to you and they mess with the volumes anyway. This is why you are watching a show and it goes to commercial and the commercial volume damn near blows your eardrums out. In the end though, stay close to reference volume for the calibration, but what you end up actually listening to your content at, man that is your preference and I say adjust it to what you like.
Hi, when I run Audyssey to set up the speakers I turn it off afterwards. Thats how i watch and listen to music. When I did the measure for level matching it was turn off, and saw that i need to back down the levels pretty much on all my speakers. Do I do this again with audyssey turn on?
Hi Brad! Love your content and helped me so much in my theater setups. Not sure if this has been suggested already but this is regarding setting the levels on the Atmos height channels. What if we jot down the levels of the surround left and right speakers, then disconnect them and connect the left and right atmos speakers. Run the test tone and adjust to 75db, jot down the levels, disconnect the atmos speakers from the L & R surround and connect them back to the atmos channels and set the level recorded from the surround channels. Then reconnect the surround channels back to their perspective channels and change the levels back to what they were set at. It's a mouthfull and hope you followed me. Do you think that would work in setting the atmos channel levels?
Gotcha. Thanks for explaining that! I think I've always just found it easier to use the front left method to set the subwoofer volume, and it's a habit I started way back when getting into home theater. You know what they say? Old habits die hard haha.
@thomasdk1405 so when level matching the subs, match them to 85db? Also I have dual subs, so do I turn one off and level match the one that's on and then viceversa? Thanks in advance!
I just recently got the minidsp, before I install it I have mirage frx 9 main speakers and the s12 sub, the frx9 have powered 8" subs in them that go down to 25hz, how do I match these with s12 sub ? How do people with good bass mains intergrate it all
Good video. If I set MV as per video so for achieving 75 DB I have to move speaker DB level in minus or more than minus 10. But in AVR level can move max up to minus 10 and not beyond minus 10 as there are max level is minus 10. I m using Yamaha HTR 3072 AVR with Yamaha high end Bookshelf speakers with Yamaha SW 300 sub woofer. My Flat area is 130 sq feet so I think in my case I can not set MV 0 so I have to set MV in minus than only I can set 75 DB level for each speakers. It's a 5.1 system. YAPO is ok for distance. n other result r not good in case of room with furniture. Your video is good. Thanks Bro. Pl reply.
Hi Brad, Quick random ques, when you went from a single PB2k Pro sub to dual, was there anywhere in your REW sweep that came out worse at MLP? I’m textbook flat with EQ at MLP with 1x front left PB2k Pro (but of course not at other seats). Had a chance to add a rear right unit briefly and even with time alignment I had a weird null at ~75hz that isn’t there normally 🤔 Unfortunately no other placement options for a 2nd unit in my space. Wondered if you saw nulls appear too. although I do gain elsewhere with 2 across other frequencies. Keep up the good content 😎
Hey Brad, I tried to level match using my Mac Book, and because I can not get ASIO with the Mac this will not work. No matter what I set the Trim to in my Marantz there is no change in REW.
Hi Brad. yoyur are a great teacher ! I do have a couple of questions, is it possible to calibrate any processor/ AVR with REW unlike Dirac ? as I understand a specific Dirac Licence is required for individual AVR & Processor. My system consists of Denon X7200W , Tone winner AT300 Preamplifier, Tone winner 7300-PA Power amplifier Tone winner AT300 has 3 Sub outs ( One balanced XLR & 2 RCA LFE out) . . My speaker system are placed in Auro 3D & Dolby Atmos 7.4.2 Mode. what is the best way to calibrate these formats? your advice would be highly appreciated Regards Anoop
Been watching your videos and really like them. But for true beginners they can be tough to follow as you do sometimes gloss over some things. For instance in the video your talking about here, making sure all speakers are set to 0db in AVR. Did you change them from what Audyssey set them? Beause you also said you left Audyssey enabled but on another vid you said to shut it off. I think it would be great to make 1 long detailed video on how set up a complete H.T setup and to run Audyssey then REW to make changes on exactly what to change all in 1 video instead of having to go between different videos with conflicting instructions. Keep up the good work and try to just keep beginners in mind when doing videos
Yeah, this would be very helpful. I'm going through his miniDSP videos now, and have some confusion on how/if I should be adjusting the AVR trim on the subs or using the miniDSP or what if I were to run Audyssey after adding the house curve.
Good explanation of why you use REW instead of internal test tones. Time for me to recalibrate!
Hi Brad.
Great stuff👌💪.
Why do you use Java drivers (Left Channel) to calibrate Subwoofer, instead of ASIO drivers (Output = High Definition Audio 4)?
It's been said in some of the other level match videos It's not as important to use an outside source to level match as it's more important that the level are even from channel to channel. Using the internal test tone would accomplish the same thing even if it read high or lower in REW the channels would all be even giving you the same affect. Audessey running or not running wouldn't change them being even. Might want to try it both ways and compare it will like sound exactly the same.
But if I leave YPAO on, it automatically applies some EQ, right? Wouldn't that affect the REW frequency measurements later on? Should I keep YPAO on just for Level Matching and disable it afterwards? With YPAO on I cannot change any EQ settings to level out the freq. response.
Hey Brad, Thanks for all of your efforts and postings. My Onkyo TX-NR636 and my older Denon AVR-591 will not let me turn off internal test ones while setting levels. If I am missing a setting, please let me know. Please ask your Audyssey contact if it does in fact adjust EQ on each channel. It would be a great video interview to have an Audyssey engineer fully explain how it works and the best practice in using it. Also, do you know of any new or old
Can you please make the video on REW EQ and filters. I love your videos and learnt badic REW from it.
Today I decided to pull out my laptop and umik 1 and test how well The auto calibration of my Sony es1100 receiver was, I figured it was good enough because I would rerun it after a calibration and I would get the same results. Well I was wrong, my center channel was down 2-3db and my surround speakers were down 3-4 db and my subwoofer was up around 88db, I level matched everything to 75db and It sounds so much better and immersive with significantly more detail in each speaker. Sure the bass is a weaker now but it doesn’t draw attention to itself anymore and seems to add depth and dynamics to the speakers should be making the noise at a given moment
That’s great to hear! As good as some of these auto calibration systems are, they aren’t perfect and might need some tweaks. Like you said, while the bass is weaker, it added depth and improved the dynamics. And even if you find yourself wanting a bit more bass, it’s not uncommon to add 3-4dB to the sub especially if you listen at lower volumes. Ultimately it’s about tailoring the sound to your ears and what sounds good in your room.
@@HomeTheaterGamer I was surprised to hear hear that much of a difference. I plan to do some more tweaking this weekend. Typically I watch movies at -12 to -10 for blu ray disks, whereas streaming services I have to turn it up a bit to -7 or possibly reference level in some cases. Thanks a lot for the videos, they’re very informative
Subwoofer is not compensated here as internal tones - they should all read 75 db. Sub here should be 85 db ! Try to level match REW sub to 75 and then goto internal tones - then you will have 65 db on the sub 😜
Want to make sure I’m doing this correctly, so you run your room correction first, then go in and level-match? Do you re-run room correction again afterwards?
Do you set your Umik to 100% in windows or 0db which is like 53%? After dirac calibration, setting all my levels to 75db with REW I have to take all my levels down like 5 or 6db and now it seems low. Pretty sure my mic is set to 100% though in dirac and 53% in windows for REW. Please help.
Thanks for this. So is this the same case with Dirac? I have an Arcam AVR11 and I setup the levels using REW and. UMIK-1 and noted the values before running DIRAC or any other processing. Then after running DIRAC I noticed all the values were reduced lower than when I set them with REW. So I should set these values back to where they were before or Test with REW again with DIRAC active correct?
How do you get rew to play there's tone thru 11 channels when my laptop doesn't out put 11 channel surround? I can only do the left an right channel
Shouldn’t running at 0dB on the AVR get you 105dB?
I never run REW above -15dB becuase it’s frighteningly loud
Watched the other video and that answered it! -30dB on REW…
If set to 0dBfs in REW, then it would read 105dB. But for level matching/calibration, that’s not really needed (and really loud), which is why it’s common to set REW to -30dBfs and calibrating all speakers to 75dB.
I notice the Importer Exporter shirt might that be a Seinfeld reference
I'm sorry. It's MOOPS.
Simple question, who says that all speakers at 75 db for all channels, is always the right Choice 🤷, every room is different, and it also tottaly depends on where your speaker are away from your MLP😅 so this is all very different in milions of different rooms
Simple answer. You are setting the volume levels for reference level volume. Not what you prefer. Otherwise everyone is talking a different language. If you want to listen at a lower volume use the AVR volume to lower it. But the whole point is that at 0 db on your AVR you will be listening to volume at the level the sound engineer designed it for AND you are listening to everyone else's 0db setting. As for what I prefer, I listen at about -15db for movies, but if me and you were to both turn our dials to 0db we will both be listening to the same content at the exact same level and what the sound engineer desired.
@@Mudcat3434 ok thank you for explaining this so clear, i now understand what you mean by reference level, again thanks for explaining it so simple
@@dutchgrower2971 yep no problem. I was confused about this for a while. And then it finally clicked haha
@@Mudcat3434 little question tho, if someone adjust lets say the source level in the avr [some devices have low volume] then the reference level on that specific source is not correct anymore , am i right,
i mean in my case i added 1DB to my sat/cab volume , cause my sat has a low volume, isn,t that messing up the reference level again, sorry for my english, i try to really understand it
@@dutchgrower2971 Yes it is, but audio via your cable/streaming service is not really what we are worried about. They are messing with things on their end as well. So no harm really there. What we are worried about with reference level is 1) a common measure to calibrate our speakers and 2) source content. Source content being Ultra HD Blu Rays, video games, lossless music such as that from a CD or other lossless media like FLAC music on a USB. Even Netflix and Amazon Video will have quality (although I not sure if it is compressed audio or not). Cable TV though or streaming services like Hulu Tv and UA-cam TV, etc. may or may not have quality audio passed on to you and they mess with the volumes anyway. This is why you are watching a show and it goes to commercial and the commercial volume damn near blows your eardrums out. In the end though, stay close to reference volume for the calibration, but what you end up actually listening to your content at, man that is your preference and I say adjust it to what you like.
Well I level matched my subs with all turned off. Time to recalibrate Audessy.
Hi, when I run Audyssey to set up the speakers I turn it off afterwards. Thats how i watch and listen to music. When I did the measure for level matching it was turn off, and saw that i need to back down the levels pretty much on all my speakers. Do I do this again with audyssey turn on?
Hi Brad! Love your content and helped me so much in my theater setups. Not sure if this has been suggested already but this is regarding setting the levels on the Atmos height channels. What if we jot down the levels of the surround left and right speakers, then disconnect them and connect the left and right atmos speakers. Run the test tone and adjust to 75db, jot down the levels, disconnect the atmos speakers from the L & R surround and connect them back to the atmos channels and set the level recorded from the surround channels. Then reconnect the surround channels back to their perspective channels and change the levels back to what they were set at. It's a mouthfull and hope you followed me. Do you think that would work in setting the atmos channel levels?
When level matching with audyssey enabled, do we keep the speakers set to small with current crossovers?
Thanks for posting!
Remember that channel 4 - the subwoofer is + 10 db (lfe) so that one should meassure 85 db and not 75. So its not hot but by design
Gotcha. Thanks for explaining that! I think I've always just found it easier to use the front left method to set the subwoofer volume, and it's a habit I started way back when getting into home theater. You know what they say? Old habits die hard haha.
@thomasdk1405 so when level matching the subs, match them to 85db? Also I have dual subs, so do I turn one off and level match the one that's on and then viceversa? Thanks in advance!
I just recently got the minidsp, before I install it I have mirage frx 9 main speakers and the s12 sub, the frx9 have powered 8" subs in them that go down to 25hz, how do I match these with s12 sub ? How do people with good bass mains intergrate it all
Good video. If I set MV as per video so for achieving 75 DB I have to move speaker DB level in minus or more than minus 10. But in AVR level can move max up to minus 10 and not beyond minus 10 as there are max level is minus 10. I m using Yamaha HTR 3072 AVR with Yamaha high end Bookshelf speakers with Yamaha SW 300 sub woofer. My Flat area is 130 sq feet so I think in my case I can not set MV 0 so I have to set MV in minus than only I can set 75 DB level for each speakers. It's a 5.1 system. YAPO is ok for distance. n other result r not good in case of room with furniture. Your video is good. Thanks Bro. Pl reply.
Hi Brad,
Quick random ques, when you went from a single PB2k Pro sub to dual, was there anywhere in your REW sweep that came out worse at MLP?
I’m textbook flat with EQ at MLP with 1x front left PB2k Pro (but of course not at other seats).
Had a chance to add a rear right unit briefly and even with time alignment I had a weird null at ~75hz that isn’t there normally 🤔
Unfortunately no other placement options for a 2nd unit in my space. Wondered if you saw nulls appear too. although I do gain elsewhere with 2 across other frequencies.
Keep up the good content 😎
Hey Brad, I tried to level match using my Mac Book, and because I can not get ASIO with the Mac this will not work. No matter what I set the Trim to in my Marantz there is no change in REW.
Hi Brad. yoyur are a great teacher ! I do have a couple of questions, is it possible to calibrate any processor/ AVR with REW unlike Dirac ? as I understand a specific Dirac Licence is required for individual AVR & Processor. My system consists of Denon X7200W , Tone winner AT300 Preamplifier, Tone winner 7300-PA Power amplifier Tone winner AT300 has 3 Sub outs ( One balanced XLR & 2 RCA LFE out) . . My speaker system are placed in Auro 3D & Dolby Atmos 7.4.2 Mode. what is the best way to calibrate these formats? your advice would be highly appreciated
Regards
Anoop
Hmm…it isn’t an Auro 3D setup without x.x.4. If you are only using two height speakers for Auro…your out of the minimum recommended spec of 5.1.4