Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions Speaker sensitivities / calibration question

Newbie question here. I was wondering about this. Since I don't have identical speakers all of the way around and they have different sensitivities, when you listen to something at anything other than the level you calibrated your speakers at, do the speakers' levels get further off the further you get from the reference volume? Is this perhaps some of what Audyssey's Dynamic EQ takes care of? It's a little embarrassing that I don't know the answer to this question after this long in the hobby, so please enlighten me in the past, if you have a time machine. Maybe tattoo the answer on my baby body.

Well, I think reading Audyssey's page on Dynamic EQ did help me understand it a little better. Different speaker sensitivities is one of the things taken into account for the technology. I can grasp why it would be an important compensation resulting in better sound according to most people. I'm leaning towards Audyssey Dynamic EQ in my next processor or receiver, even though I'm still curious about Trinnov.

I'm hoping JohnK will illuminate me on why conventional calibration is enough and that this doesn't really matter.

No, no, JohnK loves electronic calibration. It's Alan that hates it.

Yep, JohnK has positive information about this technology. I love Audyssey as well, my ears don't lie....

Ha ha, yes, but JohnK is an even bigger fan of saving money than he is of Audyssey.

Just don't ever listen at anything other than reference level.

Good call. I like your simple solution.

I had a plan at one point to just wire power amps (with gain controls) directly to the multi-channels outs of my DVD player. Figured the gain trim would allow me to calibrate for individual speakers, and then I'd just play everything at reference level. No need for a pre-amp or any sort of volume control.

Actually if had a setup only for movies, I could probably get away with something like that. But CDs are mastered at a higher "reference" level (or with no reference at all), that I have to turn them down about 12 dB from where I listen to movies.

Charles, when a calibration is done, whether manually or by an auto-calibration system, the adjustments made to the receiver trims for the various speakers compensates for differences in their sensitivities as well as factors such as different locations. No, once the difference in sensitivity has been taken into account, that difference remains the same at higher or lower sound levels than the one at which the calibration took place(typically around 75dB)and the compensation still applies; otherwise there'd be little value in bothering with calibration, since it would only apply to one volume level.

The usefulness of Audyssey Dynamic EQ arises because of the lesser sensitivity of our ears to bass and treble at lower volumes, together with a lessening of surround effects, but this has nothing to do with the difference in speaker sensitivities.