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“menu” to check these critical choices).
•
Is your receiver connected to the sub amp?
Use a well-shielded
RCA cable (sometimes called a “patch cord”) to hook to the
subwoofer output of your DD/DTS receiver to the RCA input jack of
your SVS amplifier. As mentioned earlier, you’ll need to “split” the
subwoofer signal with a “Y Cable” if you bought a pair of subs.
•
Is your Radio Shack ® sound pressure level (SPL)
meter ready?
This tool is absolutely essential to proper
home theater audio setup. It’s akin to a tire pressure gauge
for your car (you don’t set your tires by “feel” right?). Set
the meter to “Slow” and “C-weighting” (and turn the dial to
70 or 80dB depending on your test tone source). Haven’t
got the meter yet? Order one from L-Sound. We prefer
the analog instead of the digital display model.
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 SVS’s volume/gain control is set no more than 1/4 to
1/3rd up, for now. It’s also critical to check the subwoofer level control of
your surround receiver before you begin the test tones. Set the subwoofer
output signal no higher than “-5 dB” initially (that’s one quarter way up,
given a typical receiver’s subwoofer channel level limits of –10 dB to +10
dB) . Your LFE “trim” or “peak limiter”, 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 processing modes, “midnight mode”
etc. Your LFE should go to the “subwoofer only”, not “mains” too, if this
is an option in your system.
Now play your receiver's internal test tones so you have something to
measure with your SPL meter. Or, buy a test DVD such as the Avia. 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
speaker’s volume to about 75 dB (or 85dB if using Avia) by using the
receiver’s dedicated channel level controls (leaving receiver’s master
volume the same). We recommend you turn down the receiver’s
subwoofer output level before you significantly lower your sub’s volume/
gain control. This helps keep distortion sent to your SVS to a minimum.
You should not be set this control lower than –5 dB however, since some
adjustment room is needed to fine tune levels later. If your subwoofer
SV Subwoofers
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