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What exactly is SPL and how does it affect me?
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 28
hobbyist
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OP
hobbyist
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 28 |
Hello everyone,
I have finally humbled myself to ask this question. After reading on audioholics my brain is mush; I can't follow the discourse because its way too deep for me. Searching here on axiom's boards I haven't really found what SPL is and what that meter thing does and once I get my system how do I begin adjusting my SPL. I suppose once I find out what SPL is perhaps I will better understand why people mess with it. Thus, instead of pretending I know what SPL is and how it affects a system, will someone teach me and possibly other youngins like myself? Thank you so much!
jason
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Re: What exactly is SPL and how does it affect me?
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 18,044
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 18,044 |
SPL: sound pressure level--ie the amount of decibels.
Deciel (or dB): a measure (logarythmic) of sound. Loosely speaking volume.
We all talk about SPL, because ideally when fed the same signal, all of your speakers should be putting out the same dB level. The meter lets you measure this. To provide the signal, either your receiver uses pink noise (a balance spectrum of sound, which sounds a whole lot like static) or you have a DVD that provides the pink noise for each channel.
Your receiver should have a setting you adjust for each channel (speaker) to control the individual volume of that speaker.
I hope that clears a few things up.
I am the Doctor, and THIS... is my SPOON!
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Re: What exactly is SPL and how does it affect me?
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 28
hobbyist
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OP
hobbyist
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 28 |
Hey thanks for the definitions, I understand it better now. Next questions is this: what does one do first, the SPL measurements or speaker delay?
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Re: What exactly is SPL and how does it affect me?
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 639
aficionado
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aficionado
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 639 |
You should set the speaker distances first, and then do a level calibration by playing a test tone (most receivers have a built in one) in each channel and using a meter to check that the SPL is equal (or as close as you can get) across the channels.
A good SPL meter can be found at RadioShack.
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Re: What exactly is SPL and how does it affect me?
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,155
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,155 |
I think that you will be pleasantly surprised at how good the Radio Shack meter performs. Anyone serious about their HT should have one!!
The Rat.
M80s, VP-150, QS8s,
SVS PC 20-39+, OPPO,
Onkyo 703s, Harmony 880
Sony 60" SXRD HDTV
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