# Speaker distance/level cal



## fviola (Oct 1, 2012)

I have had an onkyo receiver for a while now, but I recently moved into a new apartment and out of respect for my new neighbors, I want to adjust my speakers so it doesn't bother them.

Under speaker distances, I have adjusted the values to equal the distance from the main listening position... I assume that is what this setting is for.

Level calibration is where I am confused. I don't think I quite understand what the difference between - and + dbs are. This is what i set my speakers to:
Left: 0db
Right: 0db
Sur left: 0db
Sur right:0db
Center: +5db
Sub: -1db

I left everything at factor settings but changed the center speaker to +5db since dialogue was too low for movies and I didn't want explosions and other effects to get too loud. I lowered the sub to -1db since I didn't want to rattle the floors as much.

Is how I am approaching this correct? I've read of people with -db levels for all speakers and I have read that you shouldn't have speakers in the +dbs since sound could get distorted.

Thanks for any help.


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## Kal Rubinson (Aug 3, 2006)

1. You want to set the actual measured distances from each speaker to the main listening position. Odd's are that they are not equal.
2. You want to set each speaker's level so that they measure equal with a sound level meter (or your ears) at the main listening position. Odd's are that they are not equal.
3. Many Onkyo AVRs come with a microphone and a built-in routine to measure and set these properly. What model do you have?


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

To add to what Kal says, if your receiver has the "dynamic volume" setting use that also. If not look for "night mode" or some other setting that limits the dynamic swings in volume level from the soft to loud passages during movies. That will help a lot.


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## fviola (Oct 1, 2012)

Thanks for the responses.

I have an Onkyo R391, not the greatest but suits my needs for an apartment. After moving into the new apartment, I do not know where that microphone to adjust the speakers is, I will try to find it or just use my ears as I have been doing.

I do have a night mode, but I thought that only affects Dolby signals whereas I am using LPCM from my PS4. I have read on many forums that LPCM was the best way to go.

thanks again


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## tcarcio (Jun 27, 2007)

If you can find the mic then running the auto EQ in the receiver is the best thing to do. After you do that then you can recheck the distances with a tape measure and then if you don't have an SPL,sound pressure level, meter just leave that setting the way the receiver set it. To be kind to your nieghbor just use your volume control and don't play your system to loud.


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## fviola (Oct 1, 2012)

I've searched all over and I can't find the mic.

I'm not that worried about speaker distance though as I've already measured the speakers and adjusted the distance values.

But does leaving everything at 0db and only raising the db of the center speaker and lowering the db of the sub an okay thing? Or does stuff get out of whack? I obviously am going to keep the volume lower for my neighbors, but I want to be able to hear the dialogue over the loud effects even at a low volume.

Thanks again


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Ideally no, you need to use an SPL meter. Even an SPL meter app on your phone will work. Sitting in your listening position and adjusting every channel to be 75db on the meter will give you the best results.


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## fviola (Oct 1, 2012)

I didn't realize I could get an SPL meter on my phone, that's pretty great

I know they will probably not be the most accurate of tools, but has anyone has any experience using one?

I have find two of them that seem to be popular, Sound Meter by Smart Tools and Sound Meter Pro by Mobile Essentials

They both say that anything above 100dbs will not work since smartphone only detect up to 60dbs, but Sound Meter by Smart Tools says that it has calibrated the app for certain phones, including mine, to compensate... but still, has anyone used either of these?


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

I have the spl app by smart tools and I think it's great. I used it to calibrate manually my speakers ( even though I went back to Audyssey since it sounded better than manual calibration) and it's as accurate as my radio shack meter.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

The smart tools app is a good one, I have it also as well as most of the audio tools app they have out.


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## fviola (Oct 1, 2012)

Good, I'll give it a try after work today.

A couple of questions about using the app:

Do I need to do anything to the app before using it? I know that they have calibrated the app to my phone, but I wasn't sure if there was a way to tell the app exactly what phone I am using.

And, how should the phone be positioned? It makes sense to have mic facing the front of the room but, again, I'm not sure if the screen should be facing out to the receiver or up to the ceiling.


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## gazoink (Apr 17, 2013)

fviola said:


> Good, I'll give it a try after work today.
> 
> A couple of questions about using the app:
> 
> ...


Phone SPL meters are only roughly calibrated, and they usually do have a way to set your phone model to get close. It's not an absolute calibration, but that's not important here.

The mic should face forward, pointed at the sound source. The phone should be in your main listening position, head height. 

The goal here is to set the speaker levels to match each other, and get reasonably close to a reference level of 75dB SPL. 

Though setting your speaker levels and distances is a good idea, none of this will help your neighbors, though, unless your system was seriously out of calibration, which is unlikely. 

Dynamic Volume or Dynamic EQ was mentioned before, but your AVR doesn't have those functions. You do have "Late Night", and that will help you a lot. The Late Night function lets you listen at much lower volumes and still hear everything. It does this by reducing the total dynamic range so the loud parts don't get too loud, and quiet parts are boosted. There are three settings for Late Night: Off, Low and High. Try Low and High. There's also an Auto setting that affects Dolby TrueHD audio, you'd want to pick that choice as well.

Bass goes through walls far easier than mids and highs. The typical apartment wall construction doesn't even consider sound isolation for anything other that speech, which has no bass, and they've probably chosen the lowest cost wall construction that accomplishes barely adequate speech isolation. That means bass will go through your walls quite easily. 

So during times where neighbors are more likely to be disturbed, you need to control bass. If Late Night isn't sufficient, you might want to reduce bass using your AVR's controls. There are three controls that affect bass: the Bass Tone control (affects only the front speakers) the Subwoofer Level control (only the sub) and the Ex Bass setting. If you want to make an adjustment, try reducing the Bass Tone control and Sub control downward. Leave the Ex Bass setting alone for now. That would be your "Extreme Late Night" setting, and you can return to normal by resetting your tone control and sub control to "0" when cranking up the volume isn't such an issue.

It's up to you to control your volume level, and bass level, that's really the only solution. As an really reasonable alternative, a good set of headphones can provide you with a very immersive experience at theater volumes with absolutely no impact to the neighbors, and at a very reasonable cost.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

gazoink said:


> a good set of headphones can provide you with a very immersive experience at theater volumes with absolutely no impact to the neighbors, and at a very reasonable cost.


Thats very good advice, I have a set of "cans" that are amazing with great imaging but they do cost around $250


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## gazoink (Apr 17, 2013)

I've heard good things about these, though I can't personally comment on them:
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=108&cp_id=10823&cs_id=1082302&p_id=8323&seq=1&format=2

At that price anyone can give them a try.

There are lots of great headphones below $250...or even below $100.


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## fviola (Oct 1, 2012)

Thanks for the help everyone, I think I have everything the way I need it to be.

I tried using the SPL app, but couldn't get reading past 65dbs even though my phone supports up to 81 and my receiver should be at 75... but I adjusted the individual speakers to be at dbs that work for me

I am also using the night time mode set to light so I can hear dialogue a bit better

Thanks again


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