# Sticky  How to Properly Setup Your AVR



## Dale Rasco

*AVR Setup*​
First off, this will be an evolving thread that is not complete and that will be updated. Additionally, there are some basic terminologies that everyone should know. For consistency I have used definitions already that are already on the site from other Official Articles or from the HTS ‘Glossary’. 

*Source:*
The source for your AVR can be your Blu-ray player, a game console (PS3, Xbox), an Over The Air (OTA) antenna, and cable/satellite box. The key to this is that you want your source to be able to match the highest possible resolution of your AVR. If your AVR is capable of outputting HD content, it would be worthwhile to invest in technologies capable of producing HD content such as a Blu-ray player, an HD cable/satellite box an HTPC or any host of gaming and streaming devices. 

*Input:*
‘Input’ is the connection that ‘Receives’ a signal from the above-mentioned ‘Source’.

*Output:*
Output is the connection that ‘Sends’ the signal to a display, projector or an external amplifier. 

*Connections:*
If available, HDMI is the preferred medium between all of your interconnected devices.

Connecting your other devices can be tricky depending on what you are looking to accomplish. For instance, in our living room we have a 5.2 surround setup with a Denon receiver however; my bride like to watch TV without the surround on so I needed to set up the Dish receiver to support component and HDMI to the receiver. 

Some older components don’t have HDMI so you will be restricted to using what ever the highest resolution connection available is. Additionally, if your receiver isn’t capable of upscaling the video, you will have to run the same connection to your display. For instance, if you have a VCR and it only has composite for the video out and your receiver does not upscale SD connections, then you will need to run a composite cable to your TV and watch on that input.



HDMI: 
 

Component Video - RGB, (Red, Green, Blue):
 

Composite:
 

Analog Audio (RCA):
 

Digital Coax:
 

Toslink/Optical:
 

Coaxial:
 



*Speaker Placement:*
Speaker placement can often make all the difference between good sound and great sound. There are many things to take into consideration when placing your speakers in your room however, a good rule of thumb that I tell people is to think of your room as a clock and your video display sits at 12:00. With that in mind, your speakers should layout as follows:

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=7780[/img]

*5 Channels*
Left Front – 11:00
Center – 12:00
Right Front – 1:00
Right Surround – 3:00
Left Surround – 9:00




*7 Channels (Add Red)*
Left Front – 11:00
Center – 12:00
Right Front – 1:00
Right Surround – 3:00
Right Rear – 5:00
Leaft Rear – 7:00
Left Surround – 9:00






*THX Speaker Placement – From THX Website:*



> *5 Channels*
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> A 5.1 system setup uses 2 surround speakers. Placed between 90° to 110° to each side and 2 feet or higher above the listener, the left and right surround speakers are what recreate the enveloping sound and intense special effects that you experience at the cinema.
> http://extranet.thx.com/home/setup/speakers/51.html
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> *7 Channels*
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> A 7.1 system setup uses 4 surround speakers. To get the most out of your 7.1 set-up, the SBL and SBR should be the direct firing type, placed together on the back wall. This allows the THX Advanced Speaker Array, or ASA technology to deliver its maximum effect.
> http://extranet.thx.com/home/setup/speakers/71.html




*Calibration:*

Most AVR manufacturers these days have some sort of auto calibration tools and ship with a setup microphone. The purpose of this is to take measurements from one or more listening positions in the room so that the system can calculate the results and establish an overall baseline/best listening experience. These results can vary and some systems offer an advanced mode to help the consumer refine the sound even further. 

While opinions vary as to which calibration tool is ‘the best’, everyone agrees that a system must be calibrated to ensure the best performance.


*Speaker Settings:*
Once a calibration has been performed, there are some setting changes that should be done that will help the system respond more accurately. The screen shots I am using in this section are from the Audyssey menu and sub-menus within a Denon 1912 that I am currently reviewing. The screens will vary by manufacturer.










*Speaker Size:*
‘Speaker Size’ denotes the frequencies your speakers can handle. For instance, a speaker setting of ‘Large’ means that your speakers can reproduce lower frequencies usually between 40 and 50 Hz depending on the AVR manufacturer. However; for best performance it is recommended that you change them to ‘Small’ or to ’80 Hz’ on the crossover frequency depending on how your AVR labels the setting. The reason you want to change this setting is to increase the efficiency/headroom of your AVR’s amplifiers because the AVR then won’t be required to produce the sub 80Hz frequencies.

As I mentioned, these are very manufacturer dependent. For instance, my Onkyo TX-NR3007 doesn't go by 'Speaker Size' but instead accomplishes the task by having you change the 'Crossover Frequency'. The Denon on the other hand has two places to change the setting in order to get the desired results. The 'Speaker Size' and the 'Crossover Frequency'. It may sound confusing but the desired result is to have EVERYTHING below 80Hz go to the sub.

This is not however a two way street. If your system runs through the calibration and discovers your speakers to only be able to handle say 100Hz or sets them to small, then you may want to set the crossover to 120Hz. A friend of mine had a set of older BOSE speakers and his Denon set the crossover to 240Hz so there and since his sub would not go above 150Hz there was an entire 90Hz spectrum that he was missing. 








*Crossover Frequency*
A speaker's crossover frequency dictates at which point the AVR will send a signal to the subwoofer vs sending it to the speaker. Again, these settings are manufacturer dependent and may have to be set in more than one location. 









*Level Calibration*
If you are going to change this setting, it is highly recommended that you procure a sound meter. The purpose of changing is to make sure the levels of all the channels are equal at the listening position. For instance, if you notice your right front speaker sounds much louder than the left or center speaker, you can go through this menu with a sound meter in the listening position and set the volume for each channel to the same level, i.e. 70db, 75db, etc. Many people will state that it "has to" be set to 75db but the truth is that they all just need to be set to the same level.


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## JustaSheep23

Newbie here with a newbie question.

Why does Audyssey set the crossover to 40hz on floor standing 3-way mains if 80hz is desired (and seems to be pretty standard/common knowledge)?

Can I force Audyssey to leave the crossover point at 80hz? I assume this will effect the rest of the calibration, too.

Thanks all!


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## Dale Rasco

You can set it to 80Hz and the general consensus is that you should however, keep in mind that this is to improve efficiency of the AVR. That being said, plenty of people prefer the setting on Large/40Hz. Audyssey is designed to capture the frequencies the speaker can produce, not make a decision that is subjective in nature. 

Anyone else that has an opinion about this please jump in.

Thanks for the question and I Hope this helps.


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## WooferHound

You may want to include "Optical" in your list of connections.


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## Dale Rasco

Thanks Wooferhound, I should have recognized that most people don't recognize that Toslink is the industry name for Optical. I'll make the edit and thanks again for pointing it out, much appreciated. :T


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## informel

After setting up my new Onkyo and running the setup, I notice that all speakers level are in the minus.
front are at -9DB, center -4DB and surround at -1DB, it looks like it is is adjusting the level of each speaker so 0DB correspond to refernce level for THX, am I right in assuming that, because if it was only leveling speaker so they are at the same intensity, then the front would be at -8DB and the surround would be at 0DB


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## Dale Rasco

It gets a bit complicated, but here is a link to an article I find helpful on the subject. It doesn't have anything to do with THX but it does have to do with keeping harmonic distortion at or below 1%. If anyone has an easy explanation please don't hesitate to jump in as it would be most appreciated.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/understandingdb.html


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## tonyvdb

It is interesting that THX still has the surround back side by side on the diagram. This is incorrect for proper setup with the new uncompressed formats. They should be a minimum of 4' apart.


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## tcarcio

I just got a new Onkyo 809 and was wondering, On my Marantz I had a audio choice called "auto" which would just choose what the source was sending automatically but I see no such choice in my Onkyo. Is there such a choice and I am just missing it or do I need to choose something else with the 809? Thanks, TC.


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## tonyvdb

In the user menu there is a setting that you can tell it what to default to when it get DTS MA, TruHD and other feeds. I cant remember what sub menu its under but if memory serves its in the input settings.


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## tcarcio

I can't seem to find it. I go into the menu and I can choose different decoders but I can't find one that just lets the reciever do it automatically. I guess I just need to keep searching.


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## tonyvdb

Does it not already default to the correct processing? 
TruHD > TruHD
DTS MA > DTS MA
Dolby Digital > Dolby Digital
and so forth?


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## tcarcio

Well it say's dolby digital but I am still getting voices from the left and right channels also. Maybe it is just the way the tv station is sending it out so I will try a blu ray and see.


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## tcarcio

OK, I put in a BD with DTS and the reciever say's multi channel audio. I would think it should say DTS?


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## tonyvdb

What does it say in your receivers setup menu for DTS?


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## phreak

tcarcio said:


> OK, I put in a BD with DTS and the reciever say's multi channel audio. I would think it should say DTS?


This should mean that the player is doing the decoding for you. If you change the output settings in the player the receiver will do the decoding and the DTS light will shine on your receiver. Either way, you probably won't hear a difference. But feel free to try it and let us know if you do hear a change.


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## tcarcio

phreak said:


> This should mean that the player is doing the decoding for you. If you change the output settings in the player the receiver will do the decoding and the DTS light will shine on your receiver. Either way, you probably won't hear a difference. But feel free to try it and let us know if you do hear a change.


Funny, I had forgot that I had my Oppo set to output LPCM so as soon as I went into the player and changed it to Auto it let the reciever do it's thing. Brain cramp..OUCH.....:doh: Thanks guy's.


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## gdstupak

tonyvdb said:


> It is interesting that THX still has the surround back side by side on the diagram. This is incorrect for proper setup with the new uncompressed formats.


The THX site shows 2 different 7.1 setups. 
They do show that for the new uncompressed formats, the rears should be apart.

http://www.thx.com/consumer/home-entertainment/home-theater/surround-sound-speaker-set-up/


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## wgmontgomery

tonyvdb said:


> It is interesting that THX still has the surround back side by side on the diagram. This is incorrect for proper setup with the new uncompressed formats. They should be a minimum of 4' apart.


I was thinking the same thing; given the THX recommended set-up for 7.1, it seems that 6.1 would work just as well. 

I do LOVE dipole (or bipoles) for sides; I recently added a pair of NHT dipoles (NHT HDP-2s) that I picked-up for <$75 (INCLUDING 50 ft. of brand new flat speaker wire)...what a difference!!


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## 8086

WooferHound said:


> You may want to include "Optical" in your list of connections.


I'm probably forgetting a few things. 

Banana Plugs, Spades (speakers), Binding Posts (multiple types), _S-Video, SCART (Plenty of Euros on HT Shack), *Balanced XLR (analog and digital, AES EBU)*, DVI (D, A, Dual Link, may or may not have HDCP)_ are also missing from the list of connections. 

RJ45 (CAT5e, CAT6) and Display Port may also be worth mentioning, due to the HTPC crowd  and it's ability to act as a Swiss Army chameleon. 1394a (aka i.link & Lynx) was and still is used by certain AV components like some video sources/TVs, cable boxes, and SACD players. 

Pictures for those connectors are free under Wiki creative commons.


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## Sancho Panza

JustaSheep23 said:


> Newbie here with a newbie question.
> 
> Why does Audyssey set the crossover to 40hz on floor standing 3-way mains if 80hz is desired (and seems to be pretty standard/common knowledge)?
> 
> Can I force Audyssey to leave the crossover point at 80hz? I assume this will effect the rest of the calibration, too.
> 
> Thanks all!


THANKS YOU for this thread...

my Fronts were set to LARGE & 40hz, also; had already changed FRONTs to SMALL, will try 80hz, too


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## Sancho Panza

gdstupak said:


> The THX site shows 2 different 7.1 setups.
> They do show that for the new uncompressed formats, the rears should be apart.
> 
> http://www.thx.com/consumer/home-entertainment/home-theater/surround-sound-speaker-set-up/


also moved my surround backs to 4', they were at 28", need to rerun Audyssey...


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## Sancho Panza

did the above and reran Audssey; much improvement; THANKS again  :clap:


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## AudiocRaver

Good, methodical detective work. Glad you got it figured out.


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## Sancho Panza

AudiocRaver said:


> Good, methodical detective work. Glad you got it figured out.


not really, was all in the owner's manual, had I taken the time to read that part...I'm also going to try large and 40hz...

like LARGE and 40hz better...(sounds better)...but, I switched back to SMALL and 80hz...


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## tgetahoun

I was thing the latest Audio and video equipements do the calliberation for you in rather quick time.


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## Bretcoe

Please delete, I found a better thread to post this in.


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## DEANO222

I've also found that "Onkyo" receivers benefit changing the frequency to one group setting. In my setup that is 50 hz. Mind you I built my own center channel and refurbished my fronts Electrovoice Status 50's. I tried thr THX setting of 70hz or 80hz but the bass from the subs was overwhelming. 
I seriously think group settings help by alleviating the processing load on the receiver. Picture of my new center









Sent from my SM-T113 using Tapatalk


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