Sound Meter settings, rear speakers

[admin_exported]

After a spot of decorating, i decided on re mounting my speakers to re calibrate them using the mic and auto sound set up on my onkyo nr905.

i also decided to tweak the settings with a sound meter.

my question is do you set the rear and side (7.1) speakers to the same sound level as the fronts and centre.?

 

[aliEnRIK]

Yes you do

 

[roger06]

... and do you point the meter towards each rear speaker to set the level or leave it pointing forward at the screen?

 

[davejberry]

towards the speakers making you you are the same distance from each one.

 

[kevinJ]

I would let the Onkyo do the job with its own mic. Those built in calibration systems do a good job in setting the distances and speakerlevel (just stay away from the roomcorrection things, they mostly make things sound way too boomy)

Depending on what speakers you have, you can always alter the speakersizes and crossover points after the calibration. I set most speakers to a crossover of 80Hz, except floorstanders (with 8inch woofer or bigger) go to 60 or even 40Hz.

 

[roger06]

My Yamaha sounds way better since I entered the speaker distances manually and then tweaked with a SPL meter than it did with just using the auto set up & mic...

 

[Andrew Everard]

Just to clarify some points in this thread, there is no reason for the rears to be at the same volume level as the fronts if that makes them overbearing. It's a matter of taste.

Levels should be taken from your usual listening position, not at the same distance from each speaker.

And I've always found it best to take readings with the capsule of the meter pointing upwards, rather than directly at each speaker.

 

[michael hoy]

Andrew Everard:
Just to clarify some points in this thread, there is no reason for the rears to be at the same volume level as the fronts if that makes them overbearing. It's a matter of taste.

Levels should be taken from your usual listening position, not at the same distance from each speaker.

And I've always found it best to take readings with the capsule of the meter pointing upwards, rather than directly at each speaker.

Agreed.

 

[Chewy]

michael hoy:Andrew Everard:

Just to clarify some points in this thread, there is no reason for the rears to be at the same volume level as the fronts if that makes them overbearing. It's a matter of taste.

Levels should be taken from your usual listening position, not at the same distance from each speaker.

And I've always found it best to take readings with the capsule of the meter pointing upwards, rather than directly at each speaker.

Agreed.

Agreed +1, the SPL meter should be pointed vertically towards the ceiling, at the listening position, at ear height (preferably on a tripod).

Theory dictates that all speakers should be at the same level, but I agree with Andrew that the rears/sides and centre (indeed any speaker) should be tweaked unitl it sounds best to you, as an SPL meter cannot take account of variances in an individuals hearing or taste.

 

[f1only]

gdavies09031977:michael hoy:Andrew Everard:

Just to clarify some points in this thread, there is no reason for the rears to be at the same volume level as the fronts if that makes them overbearing. It's a matter of taste.

Levels should be taken from your usual listening position, not at the same distance from each speaker.

And I've always found it best to take readings with the capsule of the meter pointing upwards, rather than directly at each speaker.

Agreed.

Theory dictates that all speakers should be at the same level, but I agree with Andrew that the rears/sides and centre (indeed any speaker) should be tweaked unitl it sounds best to you, as an SPL meter cannot take account of variances in an individuals hearing or taste.

Also bear in mind different listening positions if more than one person is to view / listen, you may need to split the difference between the two or more points for best overall effects, this may compromise the ideal single listening position.