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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”) in the
“Subwoofer” selection during the setup of any typical Dolby Digital/DTS
capable receiver (you’ll need to enter your receiver’s
setup “menu” to check these critical choices).
•
I
s 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 either input jack of your subwoofer amplifier. As
mentioned earlier, you’ll need to “split” the subwoofer signal with a “Y
Cable” if you bought a pair of subs. You only need feed one of the two in-
puts (either Right or Left) of any single PB1-ISD subwoofer however.
•
I
s your Radio Shack ® sound pressure level (SPL) meter ready?
This
tool is vital to proper home theater audio calibration. It’s akin to a tire pres-
sure gauge for your car. Set the meter to “Slow” and “C-
weighting” (turn the dial to 70dB). The manual which
comes with the SPL meter is excellent; we recommend you
read it entirely. Haven’t got the meter yet? Head down to
your neighborhood Radio Shack ® and snag one. We pre-
fer the analog instead of the digital display model. Ask for
part number 33-2050. At about $40, it’s a bargain. Proper
configuration
without
this meter is practically impossible.
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 control is set no more than 1/4 to 1/3rd 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 subwoofer channel level 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 processing modes, “peak limiters”, “mid-night mode” etc.!
Now play your receiver's internal test tones so you have something to
measure with your SPL meter. Better yet, buy a calibration disk, such as Video
Essentials, Sound and Vision HT Tune Up, or Avia DVDs. A test disk’s tones
ensure your entire signal path, from the DVD player to your speakers, is set cor-
rectly. 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 or S&V), 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 input distortion to a minimum.
You should not be set much lower than –5 dB however, since some adjustment
room is needed to lower bass as needed. If your subwoofer reading is still too
high then turn down the sub’s amp volume a little with each run.