Speaker placement and levels for 5.1 DVD-A/SACD

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by leefarber, Jul 20, 2003.

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  1. leefarber

    leefarber Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Forgive my ignorance, but I'm still fooling around with my new Denon DVD-2900. One thing that's now becoming a more significant factor is speaker placement and levels, specifically where the rear speakers are concerned. I never cared that much with feature films, but with 5.1 mixed music, I want to make sure I get it just right.

    First of all, here is my speaker set-up (sorry, I know it's low-end!):

    Mains: Yamaha NS-10M
    Center: Yamaha NS-AC140
    Rears: Yamaha NS-A325
    Sub: Sony SA-WM20

    My receiver is a Yamaha HTR-5440

    Here are my questions:

    1. How do I know what the proper levels are for the rear channels?

    I've set the speaker size to small on the 2900, and accurately set the distance on each speaker (in my case, it's three feet from rear right and six feet from rear left... I have an odd-shaped living room that creates a problem for optimal speaker placement). I've tried using the test tones on both the 2900 and the receiver, and have done my best to even the levels of pink noise coming from each of the speakers. I'm sonically inept, so I'm afraid to pick up one of those meters from Radio Shack.

    I'm noticing quite a bit of volume coming out of the rear channels when I play a 5.1 mix (Steely Dan's "Everything Must Go" and Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon") and I'm worried that either I've got the levels too high on those channels or I'm sitting too close to the rears and too far from the mains. The way my couch is set up against the back wall of my living room, I have no choice but to sit opposite the mains and even with the rears. Or maybe the rear channels are supposed to be extremely prevelant in these 5.1 mixes. I'm confused!

    2. How do I know the proper bass level to use?

    I've got two knobs on the subwoofer: level and cut-off frequency. But neither knob has any markings on it. And I've got bass and treble knobs on the receiver. So it seems I'm forced to arbitrarily set a level for each and hope I'm doing it right. But now some discs sound too bass heavy, and some sound too bright. And when I play a CD from another source (say, using my laserdisc player as a CD player), I get a very different bass level. Is there a way to do it so I know I'm setting just the right levels that will convey the intention of the mixer/engineer/producer/artist?

    I'm so sorry to sound like such a novice (but I am!). I'm really afraid of anything too technical. In film school, sound class was the only one I couldn't quite get a grasp of. I'd like to make the most out of my (meager) system, but I don't know anyone who can actually come to my house and teach me these things, so, as the next best thing, I'm forced to rely on the kindness of the EXRTEMELY knowledgable folks at this forum to lend a hand.

    If anyone out there has yet to do their good deed for the day, please take pity and help out an audio dummy. Whatever layman's explanation you can offer me would be greatly appreciated.

    All the best,

    Lee
     
  2. lv70smusic

    lv70smusic Senior Member

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    I'm not sure what you mean by this statement, but I encourage you to purchase a sound pressure meter. I'm not especially technically inclined when it comes to this stuff, but the meter is easy to use and it comes with a small instruction manual. Pair that with the offsets provided in a recent thread here (the meter readings need to be adjusted because its response isn't flat), you will be able to set up your system properly -- within the confines of your room, obviously.


     
  3. sgraham

    sgraham New Member

    Location:
    Michigan
    If it's any consolation, I'm finding I constantly have to be changing the rear levels. And the noise-burst test signals my receiver and my SACD player provide really don't help much at all (strangely enough).
     
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