Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions I got me an SPL meter

Hello everyone

Well my new toy finally turned up yesterday, I was dreading trying to figure out how to use it, this old brain has lost a few cells over the years and doesn't work as well as it used too. I found a site that have a fairly detailed page on how to setup your speakers and use the SPL.

Then last night I thought I would chill out and watch "Roger Waters Live in the Flesh". To my surprise there is an AV setup option on the DVD that steps you through the process of using an SPL and includes an on screen display with Pink Noise.

I don't know how good it is as I haven't read through it yet, but I am going to have a go at it today. No doubt there will be a barrage of questions, so prepare yourselves

And by the way, if anyone hear likes Pink Floyd check out the above DVD, I really enjoyed it.

Graeme

Bring it on Graeme. (though I suspect you'll have it pretty-well mastered in short order).

Have seen them twice in outdoor concerts, minus Roger. Always a huge fan.

I watched a DVD of Pink Floyd without Roger and they truly sucked. I feel David Gilmore just hasn't got what it takes. The rest of them were absolutely shocking.

Anyway I managed to set my speakers to the same levels, it was pretty easy really.

The one thing that is bothering me though, the first time I watched the DVD(Waters in the Flesh) it didn't play in surround, Even though I selected 5.1 from the DVD menu.\

After I finished setting up my speakers I put the DVD on again to watch it and it still does the same thing.
I can faintly hear sound from the rears, but it's like it's only playing the front three channels. The AV displays Dolby Digital and shows all speakers and the sub.

It muast be the DVD, I have not had time to try another DVD, but I know everything was fine before I watched this one.

It sounds like the DVD just didn't get much of a surround effect put on it. For an outstanding music DVD, try one of the Eagles offerings. I have the Farewell Tour from Melbourne and it is a great DVD to show off the surrounds, sub, the entire sytem.

Sometimes I like some of Denon's built in special options like 5 or 7 stereo mode, that will bring out those surrounds.

Me too Randy, 7-channel surround is occasionally a nice change from the more subtle mixes. I also watch a lot of sports in 7-channel surround when the signal is not broadcast in 5.1.

Jason

I have the Eagles "Hell Freezes Over" and their "Farewell Tour"

They are brilliant for showcasing surround sound.

I really like Pink Floyd and was looking forward to watching it in all the surround sound glory, but it was very disappointing.
While the concert itself was excellent the sound was just not there. At first I thought I had done something wrong with the settings but it is just the DVD

In regards to the SPL, this is how I used it...

I mounted it to my tripod and placed it on the chair I sit in, Switched it to C Weighted and Slow.
I then started the DVD, which has an AV setup with pink noise. I had the SPL facing the center speaker and starting with the left speaker I set the volume to 80db according to the SPL, then I went to every other speaker and changed the level setting on the AV until they were all around 80db.
The AV setup said to have the Sub about 9db louder than my speakers but I cannot get it that high as it sounds like crap.

I am unsure of the sub and how to set it up, I will take some pics of the subs back panel today, I want to make sure I have it connected correctly as it has to options for connection.

I forgot about that, I will have to try it out.

Graeme. I would set the sub at the same level as everything else and then gradually bump up the sub until it sounds right to you or maxes out.

Graeme,

One other thing you might like is to bump the center channel by ~3-4 dB. It helps with dialogue intelligibility on most movie soundtracks. If you like it the way it sounds, there's no reason to change it, but bumping the CC is a common adjustment after you equalize the rest of the speakers.

Jason

A sub 9db louder than rest is way too hot, I have mine 2db and my center channel sits about the same 2- 3 depending on the material.

I think how hot you set your sub depends a lot on your in room response curve. The meter is biased towards the loudest frequencies in the curve. In my case, I have a +20db peak around 52Hz.

I find that I have to turn up the EP350 a lot (from 9 o'clock to 11:30 on the dial, +15 clicks) to get good rumble in movies. I havn't checked how many db that is, but it will be interesting to see how things change if/when I tame that peak.

Thanks for the advice, I will make the adjustments when I get home from work. I will also try to get those pics of the subs back panel, As I don't think I have it right.

Well I have adjusted the CC a couple of DB more than the speakers, so far it's good.

I have the pic of the Sub's rear panel, can you take a peek and let me know if I have it set correctly? On the AV in the sound setup menu, I have the meter set to the max position. Maybe I should bring that back inline with the speakers?

I would turn the LP Filter up to 100 so as to not have it interfere with the avr crossover, other than that it is up to you and the SPL meter to decide if the volume level of the sub is set as loudly as you like it, 5 is a good place to start if you think it isn't loud enough just turn it up a little more. I would also take a guess that the other input bypasses the LPfilter on the sub leaving you only the volume adjustment working.

Thanks for the reply, I wasn't sure if I had it connected right. I still have to get a decent length of cable so that I can do the Crawl. I have tried several settings but it always seems very course, the port noise is the most annoying at high volume.

Port noise is always a problem when approaching the limits of the subwoofer.

I agree, set the crossover to 100 as to not interfere with your receivers crossover settings, usually 80hz.

Graeme, just looking at the picture and not having access to the manual(if you have it the connections should be described), I'd be inclined to agree with Jay that the other input labeled "XOVER INPUT" is the one intended to be used when a receiver is doing a crossover. So switch the cable to that input, which then bypasses the internal sub low-pass filter and makes that setting on the sub control irrelevant.

I have the manual but still can't figure it out ( Just call me stupid )

This is what is says....

Low-Level RCA Input Jacks

The two RCA input jacks allow you to connect your subwoofer to EITHER

1.) The Subwoofer output of an AV Receiver/Processor

OR

2.) The Subwoofer output of an External Crossover.

Note: When using the External Crossover input, the subwoofer Level Control and LP Filter Control on the subwoofers rear panel are bypassed and have no effect on the subwoofer. In this mode, the adjustments are made using the controls on the External Crossover.

I figured it would be option 1?

It's only 100 watts and if I try to have it up it is really annoying. The result is really crappy base and distorted.

I wish our friggin dollar would hurry up and regain some ground so I can get my EP500.

Thank you all for your patience and advice, I really appreciate it.

That language is a bit ambiguous, but from the Note it does appear that the other input(2.)should be used since the receiver is doing an external crossover and the internal sub low-pass filter would just interfere if it wasn't bypassed.

Thanks John I will change it over and see how it goes.