Did you calibrate it to 75db?

I've found many calibration guides suggest calibrating the sub at +3 or +5 over the mains. Therefore, your sub should be nearing 80db when your mains are at 75db. The reason for this, at least to my understanding, is that most SPL meters are a little less sensitive to low frequencies, and that boosting the LFE a bit over the other channels adds a little more visceral impact to a system. Don't be afraid to crank up your STF-3 a bit more. That's a great sub (so I've heard) that should be able to produce loads of bass for you.

My SVS is calibrated to be about +6db over my system, as that suits my room and my tastes. In the opening M&C scene, when the French Acheron fires from the fog at the English Sophie ("INCOMMING!!!!"), on my system at 'demo' volume, you can actually feel the various cannon concussions in your chest.

Movie scenes are great, but you could also try some bass-centric music like dance or trance. That will give you a repetitive beat to which you can tinker with the calibration. If you really want to go nuts, you can go buy a 'Bass mix' CD, the kind that annoying teenagers use with their uber-watt car systems to rattle other people's rear-view mirrors.... ahhhh memories. Just don't toast your sub, as it can happen with those.

Quote:

I did calibrate it with the spl meter but somehow it just doesn't feel right. It's sitting about a foot to the left of my left main speaker. So about 8ft away about 6 inches from the wall. The sub isn't even turned up a quarter of the way. I don't find exlosions to be a very good test. I need something that rumbels deep that I can really feel. For ex if someone says a certain scene from a specific movie makes their bones rattle etc then I should have a good idea if mine even comes relatively close. Obviously there will be some differences due to better placement and or sub. Just looking for a simple comparison.

I did try the first scene from Master and Commander but while the explosions sounded good and clear, I didn't see any windows shaking...




Last edited by PeterChenoweth; 04/19/07 01:20 PM.

M80v2 | VP150v2 | QS8v2
SVS Pci+ 20-39
Emotiva UMC-1 & LPA-1
M22ti + T-Amp, in the Office