i think that the first and foremost reason a calibration done with Audyssey or MCACC or whatever is the fact that when the calibration is actually done, there is no one in the room to make additional reflections and holding the SPL meter in the hand; this can make quite a difference in the resulting sound.
Huh?
What happens if I actually want to sit *in* the room after calibrating in this manner, you are suggesting that what I'll be hearing is something other than what the auto calibrate adjusted for?
right, changes in the room do change the acoustics.
holding a spl meter in the hand can only give rough, or approximate readings;
if one wants to make good calibrations, then one can't hold a meter in the hand, because our body both absorbs sound and creates reflections; and also because low cost SPL meter are not precision instruments, they only give relative readings.
if i was to stay in the av room while calibration is going on, i would crouch down behind the couch and make no noise and i would not move either;
if you stand up in the room, this could easily skew the calibration because you create reflections of the sound waves at many different frequencies and different position, depending on which speaker is being calibrated at a specific moment.
of course, if you were to sit in your MLP during calibration, that would be best, but then where would you put the mic, when it must be put right at the MLP, i.e. in between where your ears are supposed to be?
the MLP is the only spot where you could be during calibration without creating disturbances and where the calibr. would be best, but one cannot do that for obvious reasons.
so, the best thing to do is to leave the room (stand just behind the door opening) while calibration is going on and use the remote control to start the each part of the calibration.
if you'd like to be a perfectionist, position a couple of pillows on the chair, at the spot where you usually sit; position the mic halfway between where your ears would be, leave the room and start calibrating.
please read section VI on this page:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14456895#post14456895
