Filter
Top Products
40
AVR
Manual Speaker Setup
Step Four – Setting Channel Output Levels Manually
For a conventional stereo receiver, a simple balance control adjusts the stereo imaging
by varying the relative loudness of the left and right channels. In a home theater system
with up to seven main channels plus up to two subwoofers, achieving proper imaging
becomes both more critical and more complex. The goal is to ensure that each channel
is heard at the listening position with equal loudness (when signals of equal loudness
are played through them).
Your AVR’s EzSet/EQ calibration can handle this critical task for you simply and
automatically. However, the AVR’s Adjust Speaker Levels menu allows you to calibrate
the levels manually, either using the system’s built-in test tone or while playing source
material.
Press the AVR button to display the menu system, and then navigate to the Speaker Setup
line. Press the OK button to display the Speaker Setup menu. Select Manual Setup, press
the OK button, and then navigate to the Level Adjust line. Press the OK button to display
the Adjust Speaker Levels menu.
Front Left
Center
Front Right
Surround Right
Surround Back Right
Surround Back Left
Surround Left
Sub 1
Sub 2
Reset Levels
Speaker Setup
Adjust Speaker Levels
0 dB
Test Tone Off
All of the system’s speakers will appear with their current level settings. You can adjust
each speaker’s level between –10dB and +10dB in 1dB increments.
While making adjustments, you can measure the channel levels in one of these ways:
sPreferably, use a handheld SPL meter set to the C-weighting, slow scale. Adjust each
speaker so that the meter reads 75dB when the AVR’s built-in test noise is playing.
sBy ear. Adjust the levels so that the test tone sounds equally loud to you when it plays
through each speaker.
To set your levels using the AVR’s internal test tone, select the menu’s Test Tone line and
use the OK button to select between Auto and Manual:
Auto: The test tone will automatically circulate to all speakers, as indicated by the
highlight bar. Use the Left/Right buttons to adjust the level for any speaker when the
test tone is paused there. Use the Up/Down buttons to move the cursor to another line,
and the test tone will follow the cursor. To stop the test tone, use the Up/Down buttons to
move the cursor out of the screen’s speaker listings area.
Manual: The test tone will stay on the current speaker until you use the Up/Down
buttons to move it to another speaker. Use the Left/Right buttons to adjust the level for
the speaker through which the test tone is playing.
If you are using an external source to set your output levels, set Test Tone to Off, use
the Up/Down buttons to navigate to each speaker, and use the Left/Right buttons to
adjust the speaker’s level while the source plays. NOTE: If you are using a handheld SPL
meter with external source material, such as a test disc or an audio selection, play it and
adjust the AVR’s master volume control until the meter measures 75dB. Then adjust the
individual speaker levels.
Reset Levels: To reset all levels to their factory defaults of 0dB, scroll down to this line
at the bottom of the menu and press the OK button.
When you have finished adjusting the speaker levels, record the settings in Table A3 in
the Appendix. Then select the Back option or press the Back/Exit Button.
Notes on Setting Speaker Volumes in Home Theater Systems:
While setting your system’s individual speaker volume levels is ultimately up to your
personal taste, here are some ideas you may find helpful:
sFor films and video-music programs, your overall goal should be to create an
enveloping, realistic sound field that draws you into the film or music program
without drawing your attention away from the action on the screen.
sFor multichannel music recordings, some music producers will create a sound field
that places the musicians all around you; others will create a sound field that places
the musicians in front of you, with more subtle ambience in the surround speakers
(as you would experience in a concert hall).
sIn most 5.1-channel and 7.1-channel film soundtracks, the surround speakers are
not intended to be as loud or as active as the front speakers. Adjusting the surround
speakers so they are always as loud as the front speakers could make dialogue
difficult to understand and will make some sound effects sound unrealistically loud.
Notes on Setting Subwoofer Volume:
sSometimes the ideal subwoofer volume setting for music is too loud for films, while
the ideal setting for films is too quiet for music. When setting the subwoofer volume,
listen to both music and films with strong bass content and find a “middle ground”
volume level that works for both.
sIf your subwoofer always seems too loud or too quiet, you may want to place it in
a different location. Placing the subwoofer in a corner will always tend to increase
its bass output, while placing it away from any walls or corners will always tend to
lessen its bass output.