Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions Calibration

I know the topic has been discussed before. But, could someone direct me to a link for speaker calibration or just simply explain how to do it. I know that you place the SPL meter in a location as close as possible to the listening position and you use the test tones through your reciever, but my main question is at what frequency, volume, and setting do you set the reciever and spl meter?

Here's a link although there was a better one floating around in these threads somewhere.

Here's another one that talks a little about Avia and Video Essentials.

Here's another one.

You may find conflicting suggestions in these various tutorials. Use your common sense, and/or come back here and ask questions if you find these conflicts confusing.

In this tutorial, I have a slight difference of opinion with the author about this paragraph.

"- Note that it doesn't matter at what position your master volume knob is placed, or for that matter what number it says. Calibration is a measure of OUTPUT, so even if the volume knob was marked with Japanese characters- you should still be able to calibrate with no problem. Some people choose to set their master volume to a 00 position and adjust the levels from that point-- which is fine but not at all necessary. (If you chose to do this- simply set the master volume at 00, and then play the tones, using the speaker controls to get the desired meter reading.)"

Nothing in that paragraph is incorrect. But,I believe one should set the master volume knob to its designated "reference" setting (00 setting) when calibrating. No big deal, but I just feel that's the correct thing to do to keep the knob operating in the manner intended by the manufacturer.

Holler if you need help. We aim to please!

Ow ow ow ow ow ow.

-15 on my H/K is painfully loud. No freakin' way I'm putting it at 0!!

I think you should set one of the speaker levels at 0 (such as the left front) and then set to volume to the point where it's reference level on the meter for that speaker. Calibrate from there. Otherwise all of your speakers are going to be at -10 and -9. Or your ears will be bleeding.

Agreed, that's how I set mine.

If reference level is too loud for you, then there's no real reason to calibrate to that point. If you always listen at softer levels, then your speakers won't be calibrated to YOUR preferences. What I usually do is calibrate my speakers at the loudest level I'm comfortable listening.

The disadvantage of calibrating loud and listening soft is that the relative perceived volumes change, especially between subwoofers and speakers as the volume decreases. So if you calibrate at 85db, but normally listen at 70db, your sub will sound too soft.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I'll try to do the calibration in the morning.

Am I understanding this correct? You don't need one of these discs, you can use the tones from the receiver and adjust the speaker setting on the reciever without using an Avia disc.

That is true, although to put it simply the disks are generally more accurate and have more tones, features, etc.

Also, by using a calibration disk, you are calibrating the speaker levels using the entire signal path (DVD player -> receiver -> speakers). I have found that after calibrating using the built-in test tones on my receiver, the speaker levels are NOT in good balance when re-checking using a calibration disk in the DVD player. Built-in tones are a good place to start, but you might get an even better balance when using a test disk.