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“Large”. Selecting the size accordingly will ensure bass goes to most appro-
priate speakers, and use the subwoofer correctly too. Also, make sure your
subwoofer is turned “ON”. We don’t mean “is your subwoofer
amplifier
on” (that’ll be important later too!) but rather,
is your receiver sending a
bass signal to your sub amp
? This can only happen if you say “Yes” (or
“ON”) to the “subwoofer” setting of any typical Dolby Digital/DTS capable
receiver.
•
I
s your receiver connected to the sub amp?
As discussed above, use a
well shielded RCA cable (sometimes called a “patch cord”) to hook to the
subwoofer output of your DD/DTS receiver to either input jack of your sub-
woofer amplifier. As mentioned, you’ll need to “split” the subwoofer signal
with a “Y Cable” if you bought a pair of subs.
•
I
s your Radio Shack ® sound pressure level (SPL) meter ready?
This tool is absolutely critical to proper home theater au-
dio calibration. It’s akin to a tire pressure gauge for your
car (you don’t set your tires by “feel do you?”. Set the
meter to “Slow” and “C-weighting” (and turn the dial to
70dB). The manual which comes with the SPL meter is
excellent, and we recommend you read it entirely. Have-
n’t got the meter yet? Well, head on down to your
neighborhood Radio Shack ® and snag one. We prefer
the analog instead of the digital display model. Ask for part number 33-
2050. At about $38, it’s a bargain.
Getting ready to start now: Make sure your receiver/processor master volume
is set at “00 dB” or some other easy to remember reference level. Finally, ensure
your subwoofer’s volume control is set 1/2 to 3/4ths up, to start. It’s also critical
to check the subwoofer level control of your surround receiver before you begin
the test tones. Set it to no higher than “-5 dB” initially (that’s one quarter way up,
given a typical receiver’s channel limits of –10 dB to +10 dB) . Your LFE
“trim”, if you have one, should be set to 0dB to start (that’s full up) but this can
be dialed down later to tame peaks if needed. Turn off ANY sound-field process-
ing routines, “peak limiters”, “|Mid-night mode”, etc.!
Now play your receiver's internal test tones so you have something to
measure with your SPL meter. Or better yet, buy a calibration disk like the
Video Essentials, or Avia DVDs. A test disk’s tones ensure your entire signal
path, from the DVD player to your speakers, is set correctly. Whatever you use,
when the tones start alternating from speaker to speaker (watch your sound meter
now), set each full range speaker’s volume to about 75 dB (or 85dB if using
Avia), by using the receiver’s dedicated channel level controls (leaving master
volume the same). We recommend you turn down the receiver’s subwoofer out-
put level, before you significantly lower your sub’s volume control. This helps