that means with SPL meter, we play a pink noise and adjust the volume in order to reach 85db SPL level (without sub) and the volume shown at the AVR would be our Reference Level?

this means regardless of encoding of the movie is louder or softer than others, this is regarded as the volume intended by the director?

what i normal do after audyssey is to get a SPL meter (c weighted) (i am using my phone). Put it at MLP, run test tone put the vol to 75 and check speakers volume.. each speakers (except subwoofer) should return around 75db in ur phone.. do minor adjustment to those speaker which are not matching.. but becareful sometime the place ur stand acting as reflection that makes the reading inaccurate.

i do that with Umik but i find that doing volume matching has very low tolerance to sitting position. the moment i move slightly off from the sweet spot, the effect can really be felt. after trying out a few setting, i prefer to let the Dirac handle SPL matching. i usually watch with my family so i prefer a wider sweet spot.

as for the Reference Level, the reason that i am asking is because a lot of ppl tells me that Reference Level means 0 at the volume control. this is confusing as 83db sensitivity speaker would not give the same SPL as a 96db sensitivity speaker at 0 volume. thats why i would like to know how you guys determine the Reference Level of your system..

This post has been edited by Fusion: Feb 22 2021, 02:10 PM

this is confusing as 83db sensitivity speaker would not give the same SPL as a 96db sensitivity speaker at 0 volume
did you run dirac after you change the speaker? does the measurement / vol correction drop after you change from a 83db speaker to 96 db speaker?

the variable that i can think of here is the power.. we need to ensure that the amp/avr is driving at the correct power (watt) for different set of speaker to make it reference at 0 db.


Another side not on sensitivity is like the max speed/fuel consumption of the car.. manufacturer tends to have a number that consumer may or may not reach.. for 83db vs 96 db some use pink noise to test some just take a single freq where the speaker perform best for the lab testing.. i just use it for reference but i dont 100% trust on these numbers...


the moment i move slightly off from the sweet spot, the effect can really be felt.
what kind of effect? i tends to feel the same when i move out of the spot i tends to get more bass or more treble from certain speaker.. when i sit back to MLP.. it all balance out.. its challenging to have multiple MLP.. i will let other shifu to comment on that kind of setup

This post has been edited by kevinlim001: Feb 22 2021, 03:01 PM

the Dirac always use a single speaker as the reference point and the gain +/- will offset each speaker to this reference point. i always thought the reference point speaker would be calibrated to match the AVR volume control after running Dirac but it did not. after changing all the speakers to ATC, the volume is lower even after running Dirac.

the variable that i can think of here is the power.. we need to ensure that the amp/avr is driving at the correct power (watt) for different set of speaker to make it reference at 0 db.
This is true but if use external power amp, the loudness is determine by the Watt, Input sensitivity and Gain. My Arcam RCA output has very low voltage therefore i need a high gain power amp to achieve the the desired SPL.

let me guess. did u toe some speaker angle

instead of full manual tuning setup. i use audyssey to find the room situation. then i move all speaker position to compensate 1st result.

i run audyssey again (repeat above all) until i get a least correction result. final touch is a bit only.
like source db, reference offset according to own taste.

i dont mind 0db level since it is too loud in room.
channel matching can be done by left-right ear to one piece of front speaker

Atc b&w tannoy are brands that know which always hungry for power. I m not surprised. The HK hifi YouTube channel that I watched found out that even gryphon also insuffice to drive his atc. I am not sure what is ur exact setup but could it be possible that ur amp is already working at its max to drive these speakers?

Means what boss... u run dummy test then u do toe in?

keep moving speaker until every left-right result is same.distance, level,
the rest job will getting easier even u want several seat to balance volumes

Isn’t it easier to distance delay in your processor rather than moving the physical speaker

I see I got what you mean

i think he has the room.. distance delay is when we cannot place the speaker in the very ideal situation due to room layout or bad MLP positioning then we have no choice but to allow the computer to make the necessary adjustment.. if he physically can adjust the speaker the computer has less adjustment to made

yea thats right. i using audyssey "room" calibration.
not speaker calibration

i understand your theory but if you do channel level matching by moving the speaker around, you will create another set of problem which would offset the time alignment, phase corretion and you would need to compensate for all the deco in the room as well. why dont you do a complete Audyssey and manually correct the value to suit your need?
i think its possible if you have a symmetrical room with 5 speaker but it will be extremely difficult for non symmetrical room especially with Atmos setup.

This post has been edited by Fusion: Feb 23 2021, 10:38 AM

follow audyssey to change everything. not just level.
deco can move out remove away = no problem.

my room got high & low ceiling, 3 corner only, s curve wall, plenty junk etc.. a perfect example to learn practice

not sure about time align & phase. my audyssey is old version kut.
i can view 3 thing only. crossover, level, distance

Join Fb group of home theater and hifi Malaysia. You can get different opinion

distance is time alignment.. no phasing.. phase applicable for woofer only