Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions best SPL meter

When I find some spare time I want to run REW and see how different the readings are from the new place to my old house.

i think that the first and foremost reason a calibration done with Audyssey or MCACC or whatever is the fact that when the calibration is actually done, there is no one in the room to make additional reflections and holding the SPL meter in the hand; this can make quite a difference in the resulting sound.

Huh?

What happens if I actually want to sit *in* the room after calibrating in this manner, you are suggesting what I'll be hearing is something other than what the auto calibrate adjusted for?

I never could get REW to work with my setup. The best I could get is a loud humm.

Rick, your system should be enjoyed ONLY when you're standing by the pool.

right, changes in the room do change the acoustics.
holding a spl meter in the hand can only give rough, or approximate readings;
if one wants to make good calibrations, then one can't hold a meter in the hand, because our body both absorbs sound and creates reflections; and also because low cost SPL meter are not precision instruments, they only give relative readings.

if i was to stay in the av room while calibration is going on, i would crouch down behind the couch and make no noise and i would not move either;
if you stand up in the room, this could easily skew the calibration because you create reflections of the sound waves at many different frequencies and different position, depending on which speaker is being calibrated at a specific moment.

of course, if you were to sit in your MLP during calibration, that would be best, but then where would you put the mic, when it must be put right at the MLP, i.e. in between where your ears are supposed to be?

the MLP is the only spot where you could be during calibration without creating disturbances and where the calibr. would be best, but one cannot do that for obvious reasons.

so, the best thing to do is to leave the room (stand just behind the door opening) while calibration is going on and use the remote control to start the each part of the calibration.

if you'd like to be a perfectionist, position a couple of pillows on the chair, at the spot where you usually sit; position the mic halfway between where your ears would be, leave the room and start calibrating.

please read section VI on this page:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14456895#post14456895

Pillows would work to replace me, but what if I had a rock-hard body like Grunt after a workout?

Grunt, you will now be replaced by a bag of rocks.

MarkSJohnson, I just have to tell you I love the ultraman avitar. I bought the entire series on DVD not long ago. What childhood memories. Where's my beta capsule when I need it?

I bought the series as well, as Amazon had it for dirt cheap.

Unfortunately it, like almost every other series I've ever bought, sits on a shelf having never been watched. (I watched a few episodes on the first disc, but never got back to it!).

Someday, I'll have time....

Rick, the major problem is the absorbent effect of clothing. If you insist on being in the room during the auto calibration/room equalization measurements, you should be totally nude.