Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater EP500 setup & SPL readings... need help, please!!!

Trey, first as to location for your EP500, except in a square room, generally the best location for a single sub is the tightest corner(farthest from a large opening)behind the speakers.

As to the "crossover"(actually just a low-pass filter)setting on the EP500, depending on what model sub amp you have, set it either to bypass(if available)or the highest frequency to get it farthest out of the way of the crossover that the 659 is doing.

Although you mentioned that you also used the "built in test tones" on the receiver, it's unclear if you meant that you used them as part of a manual calibration or if you used the 659's auto calibration. If you didn't, I'd suggest trying the auto calibration rather than going through the complexities which you've described.

Not to mention that it's almost impossible to get an accurate reading for sub output on an SPL. The crawl method (or auto setup routing that comes with your AVR) may be the correct starting place.

I actually used the pink noise test on the Digital Video Essentials Blu Ray thru the Panasonic's 7.1 analog outs to calibrate that input. Then I used the internal test tone on the 659 to calibrate the other inputs. (The 659 allows different channel level setting for the multi channel input)

When I used the internal YPAO auto calibration, the speaker levels were OK, but it would set some speakers to large & some to small and the distances were off. Had to turn the EP500 down to virtually no volume before it could complete the calibration. So, I didn't place a ton of faith in it.

I did turn the sub a few inches and set the trim to Half/Full and it seems to even the bass out a little. Right now the low end (30-40Hz) is still off the charts & really dominates the room. But the 50-80Hz range is lacking.

Certainly going to try the oppostite corner as soon as I can get some help moving the TV over a few inches! Maybe that will help even the bass out.

Truly appreciate all the tips!

Even try the M22s set as large in the receiver to see if that helps the 50-80hz range. I noticed a difference when I did that, which led me to buying M80s so tread cautiously

I have read that the interaction of sound and your room is one of the biggest influences on the overall sound of your system.

You may want to try:

Moving your sub to a different location and retest. If that is not an option, moving your couch may yield better results.

If both are not an option, then turning the sub in its current location MAY yield different results. I know it is not supposed to, but at that point why not try it out?

Use a narrow band equalizer to bring the peaks down. Unfortunately, you can't boost nulls.

Look to incorporate a second sub to even out the response in the room.

Set the system up so it sounds good to you and just leave it. After all, your opinion of how your system performs is all that matters.

I'm going on 3 weeks of tweaking with my newest setup just to see if I can further flatten out my 30hz-45hz issues. I'm actually happy with the way it sounds, but am more interested in seeing how different tweaks affect in room response.

True. Most sound meters don't work well at LFE levels although I'm sure some are designed to work there better than others. It's handy for the crawl to find loud vs. quiet spots but I do not trust mine to calibrate my sub perfectly to exact levels like I do with the rest of the speakers. In fact, I gave up using it for the sub altogether when recalibrating and just adjust the volume knob until it sounds good the way I want it with a particular music DVD and a particular movie scene that I always go back to so the sound I'm looking for will be familiar to me.

This would be where REW comes in and the calibration files for the RS SPL meters.

True, but I can't find any for my model. I'll trade ya for your old beat up Radio Shack meter. I'm sure you are tired of it.

Not with my upcoming move into the new house. I am going to need my SPL meter more than ever with this room.