What's the general consensus of the AVR subwoofer output setting and the distance settings?

I know this was brought up in depth a long while back but I'm not able to find the thread.

I can't remember what the consensus was, but my AVR set my sub at around 25ft vs the actual 14 or so, feet.

depends on if you have a DSP controlled sub or not. For my 350's my AVR's get the distance down exactly, the EP600 and my old EP500 always came in further than the physical dimension. This is due to the internal delay in the DSP design. I know Jakeman always said add about 3ft for each DSP component in the chain. For example if you had an SMS-1 and an EP sub, that would be 6ft. However, my receiver always had my EP600 at 27ft, when it was actually about 13ft.

Hi Rick, I can't speak with authority, but when I was first getting things setup I recall being advised to just let the AVR set whatever distance it 'thinks' the sub is at. Not sure if this had anything to do with DSP processing or the like, but it seems to have worked for me even though like Adrian my distance set is not close to the real physical distance.

As for level, after running room calibration routine, I go back into my AVR manual menu and set the sub at the 0 mark. Then I level the sub with the gain control on the sub using both the ratshack meter with a final tweak by ear. I like using the 0 setting in the AVR so I have maximum room to adjust either way with the remote (cuz I'm lazy ) .

My AVR doesn't use any auto setup, I was checking my AVR settings and the 600 was set 5ft farther back than the actual distance and the output level was set at -7db ... I was trying to remember why I made these settings.

I was tweaking the 600's output level a few days ago and forgot how sensitive the volume control is, the ever-so-slightest adjustment goes from no volume to very high volume ... I'm talking about barely moving the dial.

On my DSP3400, 1/2 turn IIRC had my Denon way down at -12db, I ran it again at 1/3 was around -6bd, then finally around 1/4 I'm near '0'.

One of these days I'm going to have to update my old H/K with one of the new fangled auto-calibrating AVR models you all keep talking about.

Rick –

I turn the volume knob on the sub about 50%, then check SPL with the meter. If the AVR setting is within + / - 10 DB, I leave it alone. If not, I move it to get it within this range. This gives me roughly 10 DB of control on the AVR for ‘tweaking’ the sub level to a desired out up or down. I tend to run my LFE channel about 3 DB higher than the mains. I also like my center channel 2 db higher than the mains.

I have my AVR at +3db compared to my mains. I use the EZ setup with mic on my HK247 and separately adjusted both of my subs until the avr was reading 0. Then I boosted up my sub adjustment on the AVR to +3db. I like to run my subs a little hot since my setup is in the basement on a tiled floor and the bass seemed lacking for my taste when set at 0.

My distance is at about 21 ft. on my AVR when physically one sub is about 5 ft and the other is 8 ft. from my listening position.

Edit: Sorry Rick, I looked at my setup yesterday and my AVR has it calculated to 19ft distance on my subs.