I've just run Audyssey XT32 for the first time in my new Denon 4311 receiver. I've never run Audyssey before so this was a new experience. I haven't had much time to listen so I can't offer a review but I do have some questions regarding the crossovers and speaker settings Audyssey and my receiver chose.

My M60s were set to large (which implies a measured -3db point below 40 Hz). My M2 heights were set to small at 80 Hz crossover. My VP150 center was set to small at 110 Hz. My QS8 surrounds were set to small at 120 Hz.

Do these sound right? What have others experienced when running Audyssey?

I ended up setting my M60s to small and bumped the crossover to 60 Hz - although I might play around with setting them at 40 Hz.

I was a bit surprised by the QS8 surrounds. Does 120 Hz sound right? My concern is whether my EP500 can fill in the full range below 120 Hz. Will the EP500 fill in the upper end of the bass below 120 Hz - say from 80 Hz to 120 Hz? This also applies to the VP150 which is set for 110 Hz.

Thoughts?

Bryan

Bryan, the surround crossover measurement is a notch higher than typical, but apparently in your mounting location that's their bass capability. Although the M60 measurement, as you say, apparently showed good enough response at 40Hz for the "large" setting, that doesn't mean that it's the best overall result. As Dr. Kyriakakis suggests, the mains should manually be set "small", with perhaps an 80Hz crossover, so that the sub can handle more of what it does best.

Assuming you took your measurement locations correctly from each location, in a dead quiet room, with nothing in the way of the mic to provide reflections, and none of the measurments were taken "outside" the boundaries of the speaker, I would say they don't seem unreasonable.

You were correct in changing the m60's to small, and bumping up the crossover, you might try 80hz even. I have used 60 and 80hz for my m80's and there is not a huge difference.

I think the first time I ran Audyssey, my Qs8's were set to 120hz by Denon (not Audyssey ) which is ok and has a lot to do with your room and how you measured. However, after rerunning the sweeps from more refined locations to create a "bubble" around the seating area, they are now set to 90hz, which is fine.

110hz does not sound out of line for the 150, but again I am not familiar with your room, and your measurement locations, so that may change as you become more familiar with the best practices of using Audyssey.

Whatever you do, don't lower a crossover below that which was set by your receiver. It is ok to bump it up, but if you go down you will be losing the room calibration from Audyssey above that point.

I would try repositioning your speakers trying to take advantage of boundary reinforcement from walls corners with your QS8s and the front wall or cabinet walls for your VP150. This might help your Denon detect them as going lower. Also trying different microphone locations as suggested might also help.

If that doesn’t get you lower numbers I would at least try lowering the crossover from 120 to 110 or even 100 for your QS8s and to 100 for your VP150. At least that way the speaker will try to play a little more of what would otherwise be a large dip in SPL above 100Hz where the EP500 drops off like a rock. The tradeoff is that there is no Audessey curve calculated below where the Denon set the speaker. Given a choice of no Audessey curve or a deep drop in SPL I would do without Audessey over that small frequency range.

Or go without Audessey entirely. I tried it and did not like the results. I went and did all the settings manually.

I thought about saying that but didn’t want to open that can of worms here again.

Bryan, yes you might try rearranging the mounting positions for greater bass support, if feasible. If not, your EP500, with the low pass filter set to the 150Hz max(my earlier model has a 100Hz brick wall filter)can cover those frequencies up to 120Hz, as required by the receiver crossover.

Thanks for mentioning that John. I forgot the redesigned it. I wonder why they still only show a graph up to 100Hz?

Bryan, I know your room and that QS8 setting is not unreasonable. I am a little surprised at the VP150 but again it is not unreasonable for your large open room. I suspect a little aiming of the VP150 might be in order, higher or lower and you might be able to get the frequency to drop a little not that you should be concerened, the VP180 will be the one taking it's place shortly.

Audyssey set my QS8's at 150hz!

You really should read the Audyssey FAQ on avsforum. It has step by step instructions to ensure optimum calibration.

Jake - yah, not surprised by the QS8s as they are a bit low and probably muffled a bit by the couch. I'm sure placing them higher would help with lowering the crossover and would probably also help with providing a better surround field above and behind me.

A little surprised by the VP150. I have it aimed to the listening position but now that it is higher due to the TV I might have to play around with its placement/angle.


I'm not sure if I'll be using the VP180 - now that I've physically seen it, the thing is huge and heavy. I put it up on the shelf and it seems to support it but I'm not comfortable leaving it until I figure out a way to better support it (see other thread).

What version of amp in the EP500 doesn't have the 100Hz brick wall filter? I did have my amp replaced last year due to a broken volume knob and the amp does show 150Hz as the highest crossover. Does this suggest I have the latest version of the amp and it should be capable of playing up to 120Hz?

Thanks for the help. So far I seem to be enjoying what Audyssey is doing. My sub feels better integrated and I'm enjoying DynamicEQ. Still playing with it though...

BTW - yes, I have gone through the Audyssey thread/faq/setup guide on AVS (as well as batpigs Denon site). But there's lots of information to digest and I've only run Audyssey once. I'm sure I'll be reading and re-running Audyssey a few times to become better acquainted with it. Thanks for the suggestion!

I'm pretty sure you have close to the latest version. It was only the original with the 100Hz filter, I think.

I have an 1100 sqft room and sit 7' from the front... Audyssey surprised me with

M22s: Small / 40hz
QS8s: Small / 90hz

I mean my M22s are close to the wall (3" ish) but 40hz? I don't think so. I bumped the M22s up to 80 and the QS8s to 100. Overall though, I'm happy with Audyssey's effect in my room.

snazzed

By, you might be surprised. As I've reported several times, in my setup the M22s have significantly lower, but still usable, response around 40Hz. You might try listening to 40Hz on a test-tone CD or other source of tones. In your smaller room with closer spacing to the wall it's entirely possible that room gain would result in an increased 40Hz level. For example, if your longest room dimension is 12', one aspect of room gain begins at 565Hz/12=47Hz.

The Audyssey measurement I got suggested 60Hz, but nevertheless I manually raised it to 80Hz to give my EP500 more to do and the M22s less.

Hey John:

That would explain why I was able to go so long without a sub... You may be right. I'll do some listening tests this weekend.

Thanks
snazzed