So, a few days ago I ran the Audessey MultEQ XT feature on my Denon AVR-3808CI receiver. The sound was simply amazing. Then yesterday I ran the set-up manually using a Radio-Shack sound meter and measured everything by hand. The sound I got was not at all as good as the Audessey configuration, but after comparing the results, the crossover settings seemed really odd to me.
Here’s what it gave me:
Front (M60’s): Size: Large, Crossover: 40Hz
Centre (VP150): Size: Large, Crossover: 40Hz
Sub (EP500): LFE+Main, Crossover: 80Hz
Surround (QS8’s): Size: Small, Crossover: 90Hz
Surr. Back (M2’s): Size: Small, Crossover: 60Hz
Crossover settings confuse the heck outta me, but I’m very happy with the results the Audessey is producing. Do you guys find these numbers a little strange? Would you change them?
The crossover simply specifies where the sub takes over from the speakers. Below 40Hz for example, the 500 takes over from the M60 & VP150.
I personally would tweak but I would keep careful notes of what I hear. And I would trust my ears over measurements. Use the measurements as a baseline to start your tweaking.
I'm envious of your 3808 by the way. Maybe MultEQ could help out with some of my issues but I kind of doubt it.
My Audessey MultEQ did the same thing, I don't understand the reason for all the different settings, but I still prefer it's overall sound compared to when I calibrated myself with an spl meter.
I would recommend the VP150 and surrounds be bumped up to the usual 80hz crossover and the mains to 60, as the graphs show the speakers are not that good below those frequencies. But certainly note how it sounds now then do some adjustments with the crossovers and see where you like it best.
Maybe with all the tweaking that Axiom does so often, the response of the speakers have changed and now they go lower. Maybe everyone should upgrade
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My Audessey sets my M22's (my mains) @ 110Hz
. It also sets my VP150 kinda high (90, I think), and my QS8's to 120! I lower them all to 80Hz to match with my subs: HSU MBM-12 (x-over @ 80Hz) and VTF-3 HO.
Any idea why Audessey thinks my Axioms should be crossed over so high?
It could very well be due to your room acoustics.
I tried some tests with the Audessey settings as is, then changed the corossovers to 80Hz on everything but the mains--I upped those to 60Hz. I couldn't hear any difference.
One thing I did notice was that when I watch movies, the sound is pretty much the same with the Audessey and with my own calibrations. But music is a totally different beast. My settings sound like garbage, but the Audessey settings rock.
Next week my HT seats will be here. I'll have to run it all over again then.
I can't wait to see what the seats look like.
[quote=Bayne]I tried some tests with the Audessey settings as is, then changed the corossovers to 80Hz on everything but the mains--I upped those to 60Hz. I couldn't hear any difference.
One thing I did notice was that when I watch movies, the sound is pretty much the same with the Audessey and with my own calibrations. But music is a totally different beast. My settings sound like garbage, but the Audessey settings rock.
[quote]
Well there you go, they must use some frequency testing as well.
Yes, the Audessey xt has a multi band EQ for each speaker also, but you cannot see what settings it is using. I suppose it's all part of the "magic".