Audyssey calibrating

[admin_exported]

I read the reviews of Denon Receiver AVR 1910 in whathifi.com that said :

Don't go on an Audyssey.
This model uses Audyssey MultEQ to help set up your speakers, which allows the readings to be taken from up to six different seating positions.

We found, however, that the '1910 performed best with the Audyssey system turned off. We'd suggest you perform a manual set-up, or allow Audyssey to measure your speaker distances and levels and then turn the EQ off once the set-up procedure is complete.

Why ? Is the audio sounds unnatural or not real ?

Thank you

 

[RickyDeg]

I read the same review myself, and the only thing I can say based on my own experiences with Denon and Audyssey, in particular, is that it heavily depends on your speakers, your room and naturally - your taste! All I can say is that Audyssey have improved the sound of my system from my Monitor Audio Apex speakers to a high degree. When I toggle between Audyssey EQ on/off there is a substantial difference to the sound. With it 'off' everything in the soundstage collapse, it's really a strange listeningexperience. It's like listening to the sound through a long tube over your ears; it's undynamic, dull, distant and boring. With the EQ 'on' the sound comes alive and delivers a very colorful and full sound with plenty of detail and immersion.

So far I've owned three Denon receivers, each with Audyssey, and it's never let me down. I still dont have the latest version of Audyssey, but regardless I wouldn't stop using it. It's not the last word in transparency or room-calibration; I'm very much certain there are better ones out there.

Lastly, it's always best to set your system and room up as best you can in order to give your speakers the best circumstance possible. Audyssey can only do so much, ultimately it's more up to you and your dedication. But an acoustically well set up room with Audyssey is a great start. You simply have to experiment. If the AVR 1910 with Audyssey on or off will work for you, in your room, with your speakers only you yourself can decide.

 

[Anonymous]

i have used audyssey when i first started out, i found it exaggerated everything to the point of sounding non natural, i would recommend turning it all off and setting up your system with an spl meter, also measure your distances with a good old tape measure (although audyssey is quite good a distance set ups) then finally dial in your sub, this gave me the best results..:dance:

 

[gosalh]

I have to agree with ricky 100%

 

[wireman]

I have to agree with ricky 100%

Yes, so do I. Audyssey has been spot-on in all respects with both my previous set-up Denon 2310 / KEF3005se and my current Denon 4310 / Apex 5.1.

I think it helps to go to Audyssey's own web-site and read their own very detailed set-up guide - especially the bit about where to take the measurements from. There have been many people on this forum who have mis-understood the instruction "take measurements from 6/8 positions" to mean dancing around the room and placing the microphone in 6/8 different seats, and that isn't how to do it at all! Audyssey's own web-guide and FAQ section is very helpful in explaining how to set-up Audyssey properly, and what to do if odd results arise.

 

[Oldboy]

Must agree with Ricky and wireman here as the Audyssey setting is by far the best BUT i do prefer it when set to Audyssey Flat as it's just a little bit more natural and involving but with it off it sounds terrible in comparison, i even set it up manually with a digital SPL meter with Audyssey off and it still sounded like a load of wasps rattling around inside my speakers with all the detail, clarity, involvement and dynamics completely thrown out of the window...basically rubbish.

The Audyssey setting you choose however is purely a matter of taste but do still make manual measurements of distances and if you can use an SPL meter for getting the channel levels correct as the auto calibration isn't perfect and often requires some adjustment afterwards, then of course sit back and enjoy

 

[Dermondo]

I also agree with other replies regarding using the audyssey with my my Denon 2311 & B&W's but I did find it I prefered the sound calibrated from one listeners position only as opposed to the full six. I also use the dynamic day mode when viewing sky hd material only as I find it gives the flat sound a bit of a kick.

 

[Anonymous]

IMO this depends on the speakers, AVR how they combine and personal preferences. The MCCAC version in my pioneer seemed to strangle the Apex speakers I had previously, but with the KEF T Series I have now they sound much better with the EQ on.

 

[RickyDeg]

I have to agree with ricky 100%

Yes, so do I. Audyssey has been spot-on in all respects with both my previous set-up Denon 2310 / KEF3005se and my current Denon 4310 / Apex 5.1.

I think it helps to go to Audyssey's own web-site and read their own very detailed set-up guide - especially the bit about where to take the measurements from. There have been many people on this forum who have mis-understood the instruction "take measurements from 6/8 positions" to mean dancing around the room and placing the microphone in 6/8 different seats, and that isn't how to do it at all! Audyssey's own web-guide and FAQ section is very helpful in explaining how to set-up Audyssey properly, and what to do if odd results arise.

That is an excellent tip, Wireman! I have myself visited and used the helpful tips on Audysseys hopepage several times. They also offer good consumer service where they answer your questions!

Start here: http://www.audyssey.com/audio-technology/multeq/how-to

 

[Sliced Bread]

I have to say, that I've never been a fan of audyssey. Even when setup as per their website I've never had an accurate crossover setting
(Ie sets my bookshelf rear speakers to large) or distance settings. Most importantly though, I find the sound becomes very thin, tinny and lacks dynamics.

The best solution imo is to ensure the speakers and amp are a good match for each other and the room they are in. Then get down and dirty with a tape measure and spl meter.

 

[RickyDeg]

I have to say, that I've never been a fan of audyssey. Even when setup as per their website I've never had an accurate crossover setting (Ie sets my bookshelf rear speakers to large) or distance settings. Most importantly though, I find the sound becomes very thin, tinny and lacks dynamics. The best solution imo is to ensure the speakers and amp are a good match for each other and the room they are in. Then get down and dirty with a tape measure and spl meter.

It's interesting. I've had the exact opposite experience than you (read posts above). The sound rather becomes, as you describe it, very thin, tinny and lacks dynamics without it switched on. In terms of the crossover, according to Audyssey themselves (visit their homepage) the system will set crossover depending on how your speakers actually perform in your room, not at their specified cut-off frequency. This is however easily changed on the menu-system, to better suit your personal preference, and not a big deal. In my set-up Audyssey have repeatedly set my Apex speakers from between 60 or 90Hz, as that is how they apparenly perform in my room, but I simply change it to 80Hz manually since that sounds better to my ears and makes the transition to the Apex subwoofer much more seamless. The greatness of Audyssey is still intact after doing that, in my experience. I certainly do agree with you though that the best solution is to ensure the speakers and amp are a good match for each other and the room they are in, BUT having done that AND finishing this off with Audyssey calibration + EQ is icing on the cake. Atleast it has been for me every time. Too bad it's not been working for you.

 

[Sliced Bread]

Yep agreed..very interesting.

Just goes to afhow how room / system depant the system must be ( that, and / or differing tastes)

As for crossover settings, I can see what your saying regarding in room performance but in my case this is not it. Those rears would never reach 20hz in my room and therefore act as 'large' they do on the other hand boom at 60 due to corner placement, so maybe that is confusing it.

 

[RickyDeg]

Yep agreed..very interesting. Just goes to afhow how room / system depant the system must be ( that, and / or differing tastes) As for crossover settings, I can see what your saying regarding in room performance but in my case this is not it. Those rears would never reach 20hz in my room and therefore act as 'large' they do on the other hand boom at 60 due to corner placement, so maybe that is confusing it.

Sounds very much likely. Also, I strongly doubt even the best Audyssey version can do it all. I'm curious to test Anthems MRX 700 receiver with their acclaimed ARC calibration and EQ next month. Will be interesting to experience the difference. I will definitely do some A/B-comparisons! BTW, glad you are happy with your fully-manually set-up system though!

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you guys,

At last I turn on the Audyssey Flat ( I think its better than the Audyssey EQ, because the sound looks natural w/o any equalization).

Btw, my sets are Sony BDP S370 - Denon AVR 1610 - PSB Subsonic II (sub) - KEF Coda 7 (front) - KEF C80 (centre) - Jensen AVX 3 (surround).

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you guys,

At last I turn on the Audyssey Flat ( I think its better than the Audyssey EQ, because the sound looks natural w/o any equalization).

Btw, my sets are Sony BDP S370 - Denon AVR 1610 - PSB Subsonic II (sub) - KEF Coda 7 (front) - KEF C80 (centre) - Jensen AVX 3 (surround).

 

[RickyDeg]

Thank you guys,

At last I turn on the Audyssey Flat ( I think its better than the Audyssey EQ, because the sound looks natural w/o any equalization).

Btw, my sets are Sony BDP S370 - Denon AVR 1610 - PSB Subsonic II (sub) - KEF Coda 7 (front) - KEF C80 (centre) - Jensen AVX 3 (surround).

Intersting. The version of MultEQ in my Denon receiver gives me a choice between Audyssey EQ: "std" or "flat" or "front L/R bypass", but setting it to "flat" doesn't mean there is no equalization, its simply a different mode (which sounds best in my set-up as it brings a tad more delicacy and vibrant detail to the sound). I'm betting the same goes for your receiver? Otherwise you have to turn off the EQ altogether, but that might result in a whole different sound. Whatever you chose to do, I hope it works for you. Simply be patient and experiment.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you guys,

At last I turn on the Audyssey Flat ( I think its better than the Audyssey EQ, because the sound looks natural w/o any equalization).

Btw, my sets are Sony BDP S370 - Denon AVR 1610 - PSB Subsonic II (sub) - KEF Coda 7 (front) - KEF C80 (centre) - Jensen AVX 3 (surround).

Intersting. The version of MultEQ in my Denon receiver gives me a choice between Audyssey EQ: "std" or "flat" or "front L/R bypass", but setting it to "flat" doesn't mean there is no equalization, its simply a different mode (which sounds best in my set-up as it brings a tad more delicacy and vibrant detail to the sound). I'm betting the same goes for your receiver? Otherwise you have to turn off the EQ altogether, but that might result in a whole different sound. Whatever you chose to do, I hope it works for you. Simply be patient and experiment.

Hi Ricky,

Thanks, I meant that using Audyssey Flat still has equalization for the room, but for the freq dB for each speaker (dB for 63 Hz, 125 Hz ...... 16kHz) is like no equalization / flat for the room for all speakers which makes the sounds more agile, deep & detail, compare to Audyssey EQ that looks equalize all the speakers,

Am I right ?

The version of MultEQ in my Denon : Audyssey EQ, Audyssey Flat, Audyssey Front L/R Bypass or Manual.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you guys,

At last I turn on the Audyssey Flat ( I think its better than the Audyssey EQ, because the sound looks natural w/o any equalization).

Btw, my sets are Sony BDP S370 - Denon AVR 1610 - PSB Subsonic II (sub) - KEF Coda 7 (front) - KEF C80 (centre) - Jensen AVX 3 (surround).

Intersting. The version of MultEQ in my Denon receiver gives me a choice between Audyssey EQ: "std" or "flat" or "front L/R bypass", but setting it to "flat" doesn't mean there is no equalization, its simply a different mode (which sounds best in my set-up as it brings a tad more delicacy and vibrant detail to the sound). I'm betting the same goes for your receiver? Otherwise you have to turn off the EQ altogether, but that might result in a whole different sound. Whatever you chose to do, I hope it works for you. Simply be patient and experiment.

Hi Ricky,

Thanks, I meant that using Audyssey Flat still has equalization for the room, but for the freq dB for each speaker (dB for 63 Hz, 125 Hz ...... 16kHz) is like no equalization / flat for the room for all speakers which makes the sounds more agile, deep & detail, compare to Audyssey EQ that looks equalize all the speakers,

Am I right ?

The version of MultEQ in my Denon : Audyssey EQ, Audyssey Flat, Audyssey Front L/R Bypass or Manual.

 

[RickyDeg]

Thank you guys,

At last I turn on the Audyssey Flat ( I think its better than the Audyssey EQ, because the sound looks natural w/o any equalization).

Btw, my sets are Sony BDP S370 - Denon AVR 1610 - PSB Subsonic II (sub) - KEF Coda 7 (front) - KEF C80 (centre) - Jensen AVX 3 (surround).

Intersting. The version of MultEQ in my Denon receiver gives me a choice between Audyssey EQ: "std" or "flat" or "front L/R bypass", but setting it to "flat" doesn't mean there is no equalization, its simply a different mode (which sounds best in my set-up as it brings a tad more delicacy and vibrant detail to the sound). I'm betting the same goes for your receiver? Otherwise you have to turn off the EQ altogether, but that might result in a whole different sound. Whatever you chose to do, I hope it works for you. Simply be patient and experiment.

Hi Ricky,

Thanks, I meant that using Audyssey Flat still has equalization for the room, but for the freq dB for each speaker (dB for 63 Hz, 125 Hz ...... 16kHz) is like no equalization / flat for the room for all speakers which makes the sounds more agile, deep & detail, compare to Audyssey EQ that looks equalize all the speakers,

Am I right ?

The version of MultEQ in my Denon : Audyssey EQ, Audyssey Flat, Audyssey Front L/R Bypass or Manual.

Actually, yes - you are quite right! :cheers:

And I do agree with you, the 'Flat' setting sounds the best, also in my set-up!

 

[Tom Moreno]

Thank you guys,

At last I turn on the Audyssey Flat ( I think its better than the Audyssey EQ, because the sound looks natural w/o any equalization).

Btw, my sets are Sony BDP S370 - Denon AVR 1610 - PSB Subsonic II (sub) - KEF Coda 7 (front) - KEF C80 (centre) - Jensen AVX 3 (surround).

Intersting. The version of MultEQ in my Denon receiver gives me a choice between Audyssey EQ: "std" or "flat" or "front L/R bypass", but setting it to "flat" doesn't mean there is no equalization, its simply a different mode (which sounds best in my set-up as it brings a tad more delicacy and vibrant detail to the sound). I'm betting the same goes for your receiver? Otherwise you have to turn off the EQ altogether, but that might result in a whole different sound. Whatever you chose to do, I hope it works for you. Simply be patient and experiment.

Hi Ricky,

Thanks, I meant that using Audyssey Flat still has equalization for the room, but for the freq dB for each speaker (dB for 63 Hz, 125 Hz ...... 16kHz) is like no equalization / flat for the room for all speakers which makes the sounds more agile, deep & detail, compare to Audyssey EQ that looks equalize all the speakers,

Am I right ?

The version of MultEQ in my Denon : Audyssey EQ, Audyssey Flat, Audyssey Front L/R Bypass or Manual.

Actually, yes - you are quite right! :cheers:

And I do agree with you, the 'Flat' setting sounds the best, also in my set-up!

I'm a big fan of the Flat setting as well. The difference (from my reading) between the Flat and Standard EQ modes are that the standard mode represents an optimised setup with a slight roll-off of high frequencies for listening to cinematic content (which is often mixed with a treble heavy balance to compensate for the people in the theatre that dampen high frequencies). The Flat setting is an EQ curve meant to give a flat frequency response. As a sound engineer that is used to listening to flat reference monitors this accuracy is much more appealling to me, but isn't necessarily to the general public. Big action sequences might sound too bright to some in this mode.

 

[RickyDeg]

I'm a big fan of the Flat setting as well. The difference (from my reading) between the Flat and Standard EQ modes are that the standard mode represents an optimised setup with a slight roll-off of high frequencies for listening to cinematic content (which is often mixed with a treble heavy balance to compensate for the people in the theatre that dampen high frequencies). The Flat setting is an EQ curve meant to give a flat frequency response. As a sound engineer that is used to listening to flat reference monitors this accuracy is much more appealling to me, but isn't necessarily to the general public. Big action sequences might sound too bright to some in this mode.

You hit the spot there, Tom. However, personally I've never thought the 'flat' EQ setting ever gets too bright in any circumstance. Naturally that depends on the speakers and ones tastes. But I love how it adds that "crisp sparkle", compared to the 'standard' mode, and it does indeed come off as more accurate, with less "bloat".

Oh, and we share the same Denon receiver!