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setting speakers to small filter lower frequencies.. does this imply that I should modify each channel's EQ to boost mid frequencies?

should I rely on the settings given by the automatic calibration process of the vsx-1018?

Oh, you even have the exact same receiver as I do.

Setting a speaker to small, causes the receiver to roll off frequencies below 80 Hz (by default; that is selectable, but the next lower 50 Hz seems too low for most speakers), while taking the information which is removed and sending it to the sub instead. There's no reason to change the EQing.

I found the MCACC does a wonderful job of calibration. Even better if you go to the custom, and allow it sample 3 positions for phase alignment. I also prefer the independent EQing for each channel rather than the symmetrical pairs. If you need help with getting it to run through that mode let me know, I'll give you a step-by-step when I get home.

Don't EQ the mids - not yet anyway. All you are doing by setting to small is rolling off the signal to the M22s. Don't just trust us, look at THX, Dolby, etc. They all suggest this. The PLUS setting could be an issue as Neon points out. What few sub-80hz notes the M22 is really generating may be cancelled out by the sub if the phase is off. That would give you a big hole in the range suck out the punch.

In my room, it turns out the plus setting is smoother, but I'm running tower speakers that can render good notes into the 50hz range. Go one step at a time. None of these are permanent, you can always go back to your original set up - which you don't seem happy with!

Even more so, the Pioneer gives you 6 memory locations, so you can easily A/B(C/D/E/F) the various settings.

Even better.

I did the calibration when I bought it but now I'm running with my own custom EQing. I may have made it worse.. who knows..

I'm not aware of the custom three positions sampling.. will investigate that.. thanks

Will have to open the manual for this, I don't know hot it works!

since you're having the same AVR, can you suggest your own personal taste regarding your listening configuration?

I use a xbox 360 for gaming and HD-DVD
I use a PS3 for all DVD and bluray

I normally listen to :
- music in extended stereo (5.1 stereo)
- movies, I use Auto Surround (for dvd,hd-dvd and bluray)

If you find it, be aware that the sampling order is: secondary, tertiary, and primary.

The receiver attempts to adjust for nulls and peaks a the primary first, and then the second and third as long as there is no conflict with the previous. The EQ adjustment is only measured from the primary.

If you hit the audio parameter button on the remote you can chose between memories M1 through M6. Some settings under that are specific to the memory location and others are global (the manual details this), but generally the ones listed first are specific and the global ones are later.

When running the MCACC in standard mode it'll store into the memory you currently have selected (you might be able to change this before running, I don't recall for sure). In the custom it asks you what you want to store where.

There's also a memory management where you can copy one memory location to another. That's handy for when you want to make a change but want to preserve the old settings to A/B.

EQ: On
S-Wave: On
Delay: 0.0 (but I have an HDMI 1.3 plasma so I use the auto-delay)
Mid/Ldn: Off (although it might be worth using either of these if watching a movie late at night and not wanting to disturb anyone--Midnight, or playing music at low levels and wanting a little bass boost--Loudness)
Bass/Treble: 0
S.Rtrv: Off (I don't listen to MP3s)
DNR: Off (Although I should have tried it with the first half of the Tori Amos live BD)
Dialog E: Off
Hibit: On (which is not the default)
Dual: Ch1
DRC: Off (also needs to be changed in the PS3, since you're doing LPCM)
LFE Att: 0
SACD Gain: 0 (but I don't have anything which can send DSD, may change when I get my Oppo)
HDMI: Amp
A. Delay: On (as I said above)


I force Prologic II Movie when watching video content (some is just stereo, but will de-matrix), and PLII Music with CDs (doesn't work with the PS3, because the music player leaves all 5 or 7 PCM channels active but silent; that gives the AVR nothing to process). These really come down to taste.

I changed my speakers to small, enabled loudness and it's a different world. I'm now a lot happier, even if I'm not done with experimentation.

but even with that, is there a big difference between a m22 + sub and a pair of m60 + sub or m80 + sub.. (in my small room)

I don't listen to anything at high volume, sometime I crank it to -15 db, but that's almost the max I'm going.