Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Calibrate speakers

I believe the instructions with my receiver was to point it straight up in the air (if it wasn't there, I know I read it somewhere...).

However, the directions that came with my meter say to point it at the source of the sound when at all possible.

The radio shack meters are omni directional, your supposed to point them straight up. I usually just hold mine in my hand at ear level.

interesting... I notice about a 1 db difference if I point it straight at my surrounds vs straight forward...

Will see if pointing it up has an impact

I've always calibrated with the Radio Shack SPL meter mounted on a tripod and pointed directly towards the ceiling from the listening position but I've found a couple of sources stating that the SPL meter should be pointed 45 degrees above the center channel speaker or pointed at the angle where the wall and the ceiling meet above the center channel speaker. I'll have to give that notion a shot.

Source 1

Source 2

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why a tripod? shouldn't you be sitting in the seat holding the meter, since you will be sitting there when listening/watching?

Hey, you never know how much your shoulder getting in the way might impact the soundwaves yah know

The tripod frees yourself up to be able to adjust settings or to do other task during the calibration process without disturbing the location of the meter.

Also ... how'n the heck else are you going to be able to go to the fridge, grab a beer and continue with the calibration process if you have the SPL meter in your hand the entire time?

Isn't the fridge supposed to be within reaching distance?

Yes, but if the meter is still in one hand then you can only grab one drink.

Truly spoken from an experienced audio calibrator.

If you hold the SPL, you can introduce unwanted sound (moving around etc)