Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners EQ Setup advice

Everyone here has been so helpful, it's so nice having a place to get live answers from knowlegeable people instead of trying to decipher article after article..THANK YOU to everyone here. I need some more help. Just installed my new Epic grand master in/on wall system. Love the new M22's, had M50's (which I love) but these M22's are amazing. Anyway, I have a HK 645 with Ezset EQ and have given up trying to use it, the mic never detects all the speakers no matter how many times I run it. I had the same problem with it in the past with my M50/M3 setup and finally gave up on it. So I am configuring the system manually by ear. I set the size (small), distances, crossovers (80) and levels to what sounds like even to me. Overall I am happy with the sound but seem to get inconsistent results with the sub. Seems like sometimes it's too loud and sometimes not loud enough. This is my first setup of this type (with a sub) so I dont have much experience to reference to. There is a noticeable difference between my Oppo DVD and my BR. The Oppo is run through HDMI. The BR is run 6 channel analog out to AVR. The sub is turned on in the BR. The AVR has 6/8 channel analog setting where I get no sub even with sub on in BR but also has a 6/8 channel DVD Audio setting where I do get sub. I was watching a movie called super 8 which I assumed would have good audio effects, there was a train wreck and explosions but none of which was any louder than the dialog or other sounds even with sub turned all the way up. Should sub be turned off in BR settings? Is that causing some sort of conflict?

I too was new to using the automatic EQ setup with my last year's Denon receiver. Never once did it not hear the speakers & set them appropriately. I have a Sony DVD hooked up to the Denon via component & my PS3 via HDMI both in default output settings. Seems to work just fine.

I have 2 M22s sitting atop twin 10" Velo subs. When I first ran the EQ program, I had my subs' internal level set to 4 (out of 10). The results were way too high so I began turning down the subs' internal level. After several more runs, the subs are now set at 2.5. So the system does work.

Even though my HT system is decidedly modest, the Super 8 train wreck shook & rattled my house with vigour at -5Db volume.

Hopefully some of the HT gurus here can provide more assistance than I can...

TAM

Thanks, I appreciate you letting me know its not the movie, I havent had time to watch another one, confirms there is a setting problem somewhere.

In my experience, it's awfully tough to set a subwoofer's level by ear. If you're up to a bit of effort, get yourself a sound meter from your local Radio Shack and one of the set up disks that's available (I use "HD Basics", I think it is). These are really useful for getting your monitor set as accurately as possible without hiring a professional, and for setting the levels of the various possible speaker setups for a home theater. The disk walks you right through the whole process. Really simple, and it gets things quite close to just right.

Wait, your not suppose to just set the gain to max?

This could be for a few reasons:

1. Different sound tracks will have their LFE (sub) set at different levels. Some movies (like the last Terminator) have really hot bass.

2. It could be the interaction between your room and certain low frequencies. Sometimes the interaction between your sub and the room can amplify some frequencies. If one sound track has more material in it for that frequency range, it will sound loud and/or boomy.

I agree with whippersnapper on sub setup. I originally did mine by ear and the sub was about 5-7 db hot. It took a bit to get used to the proper sub volume, but it really did sound better properly calibrated.

Please tell us which model blu ray player you are using. There might be a setting that you are missing. How come you are not using HDMI?

I ran my Blu Ray for years without HDMI and it can very confusing.

BR is a Samsung BD-C6500. The HDMI is running directly to TV so kids can watch movies without avr so I am using analog. I went into the setup menu of BR again this morning and ran the speaker setup. When speakers are set to small the sub defaults as on, when speakers set to large the sub can be on or off. There are no crossover options. There is a test tone built in to speaker setup, when I run the test tone I get no sound from Sub.

I won't have time to read the manual until later, but how bout this...

run the analog to the tv for the kids and hdmi to the avr for you.

I appreciate that advice but I'm trying to avoid running new cables, everything is already in the wall to the TV. If I try a spl meter and setup disc which disc do the guys here recommend?

Last night, on the Niecey Nash show, they bough a new juicer, which her husband set up immediately and was raring to go.

She asked him a question about the machine that he couldn't answer.

She queried: "Where do you hide something from a black man?"

He just smiled.

Then she answered her own question: "In the directions."

The dog jumped up from sleeping, we laughed so loudly.

However, I don't think it's a "black thing" by any means.

I never watch reality, but I've liked her since Reno 911. Her 3 kids (12-19) are witty and slightly bitchy (more sarcasm really). Some of their responses to things are so good that they seem scripted.

The funny thing is that I'd originally heard the joke as "in his workboots."

If you get bass with the dvd but not with the BR, then I don't know what a calibration disc is going to do for you. It sounds like the BR is not sending the the LFE signal. I looked through the Samsung BR manual and all I could see is that they recommend setting the BR output to PCM. Have you tried that?

Yes I did try that. The calibration disc was just a question to tweak things once I get it working right. I didnt realize til this morning that I am not getting anything out of the sub from the BR test signals, which seems odd since I do get some bass from the sub when watching a BR just not nearly enough, and only on one out of the two analog setttings in the avr. When I get home tonight I will go back to basics and check the cable connections.

I use Disney WOW.

Thanks, I think I have resolved the problem. I found an article on the internet that said BR sub levels are -10db and corrected by the reciever on digital input. With analog that correction never takes place and has to be done manually. According to the article all BR discs are this way. I increased the sub output in my avr on the analog inputs by +10db and now it's perfect. Funny thing is I still have no test tone to the sub from the BR, not that it really matters at this point.

Is it possible you are not getting the dedicated LFE channel to the sub, but getting the bass from the other channels only? It seems odd that you get sub output with movies but not with test tones. The test tones are there to make sure your system is setup properly. I'm glad it sounds good, but I would keep investigating to make sure you get the most you can out of your system. BTW, I also use the Disney WOW calibration disc.

Well, I don't really know. But I'm glad you mentioned that (even though I thought I was done). My system never had a sub so I have no reference and I certainly agree with you. The BR dosent have a whole lot of setup options, I've tried everything that there is as far as output settings. I think this weekend I will try a dvd movie in my oppo and then move it to the BR and see if there is a difference in the LFE. Or could I measure the actual frequency of the sounds coming from the sub with a sound meter?

Mike, the first point is that you've double-checked that the coaxial cable from the sub out on the Blu-ray player is actually plugged into the correct LFE input on your 645. Then, make sure the cable isn't defective by switching in another cable from a channel that you're sure is working.

To test whether the sub is actually working with the Blu-ray, keep all the settings the same but disconnect all the speaker wires and see if you hear sub output when playing something that's bass-heavy. As Dan suggests, it's curious if you were getting actual sub output with program material but not with the test tone.

Thanks John, The sub is definitely working with the BR. So I assume that if the sub is working and the outputs are analog, so the LFE is on a dedicated channel and cable, then what is coming out of the sub would have to be everything sent to that channel by the BR with nothing missing? I checked again this morning and I can send test tones to the sub from the 645, but not the BR.