jh20477,
I understand the reticence to purchase the SPL meter and the disk due to the cost but I can say that both are a worthwhile purchase if you want to get the most out of your home theater.
That said, you may want to check with some friends that are into HT that you know around town and see if someone has both the meter and the disk that may be willing to lend to you for a few days. Some of the video stores will rent these disks...
A question I have is regarding whether or not you have performed the "sub crawl"...ie. putting the sub in the sweet spot and then playing a bass heavy segment on repeat and crawl around the perimeter of the room to find the best location for the sub...the best location will be the one where the bass sounds best / loudest at the location you are in in the room when you hear it. Try placing the sub there, re-calibrate and see if you get a better response.
Again, trying to calibrate (or re-calibrate by ear) will not get you optimal response...you will need the meter and disk for that...the Sound & Vision Home Theater Set up Disk is approximately $15 at Fry's and the meter at Radio Shack is less than $40...although most prefer the AVIA disk which is $40 or more...depending on where you get it.
Don't give up, dude. Although I have the SVS 20-39 PC+, I did not get the best sound out of it initially until I did the above and some additional tweaking...
My .02,
WhatFurrer
