Is automatic speaker calibration overrated?

[Sehnzeleid]

I mistakenly did a factory reset on my Onkyo 805 receiver yesterday and now without the Audyssey calibration with a few manual adjustments (crossover and such) I noticed everything seems to sound better...?

Transparency between channels seems more fluid, the sound is simply "more", and the subwoofer is much richer. Hell, I thought my sub was broken or confused somehow with Audyssey, it was barely audible...

[Ruined]

Odds are you did not set up Audyssey properly.

You need a tripod minimum, boom mic stand preferable. You should not hold the mic or it put it on your couch. There should be no items in the line of sight of the speakers being measured. First measurement should be from the center of primary listening position at ear level; if it is a high backed couch with headrest, then it should be 2" above couch. All items that generate noise must be turned off including refrigerators and flourescent lights so it is near silent.

There are also specific positions you are supposed to measure from, and you should measure with at least 6 of them:

Audyssey: Frequently Asked Questions

Originally Posted by Audyssey

How many listening locations can be measured?

The equalization performance increases with the number of measurements. Audyssey recommends a minimum of 4 with most rooms performing best with 6 measurements. The maximum number of measurements is limited by the available memory in the receiver or controller and in some products can go up to 8.


What are the recommended measurement positions?

The first microphone position must always be in the center of the listening area. Then we recommend moving the mic about two feet to the left of that first position for measurement two and two to the right of the original spot for measurement three.

If you are running MultEQ or MultEQ XT you should use all six or eight measurements available. The next three should be taken about two feet in front of the first three. The final two measurements (if available) should be about one foot to the left and right of the first central measurement and about one foot forward to form a triangle.

You should avoid taking measurements that are too far off to the side and outside the front Left and Right loudspeakers even if there are seats there. These measurements will suffer from a drop in high frequencies and can cause the room correction filters to compensate for that unnecessarily.

Also avoid taking measurements too close to the back wall even if the only listening seats are up against the wall. Move the mic at least one foot from the back wall to avoid the bass build-up that happens there.

[plissken99]

Whenever I do my calibration, I place the mic on my head, and keep very quiet and still lol. I guess a tripod would be better, but where to find one that would work cheap? And if ear level is about 3-4in below the back of the theater seats, the mic should still be 2" above the headrest? And the mic must always be level right?

I never got around toi asking how to properly do this myself. My calibration always comes out good though, except it tries to set the sub level to like -11, I put it at 0. I figure it's because it's a downfiring sub, maybe the calibration doesn't take that into account properly. Also from that FAQ, the rear seats should be measured 1st?

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by plissken99

Whenever I do my calibration, I place the mic on my head, and keep very quiet and still lol. I guess a tripod would be better, but where to find one that would work cheap?

Putting it on your head will totally screw up the EQ measurements. The cheapest camera tripod at Best Buy works fine, the Audyssey mic that comes with the Onkyos has a standard camera thread on the bottom.

Right now I'm trying to find a cheap boom mic stand that works well, because that makes the process a ton easier.

And if ear level is about 3-4in below the back of the theater seats, the mic should still be 2" above the headrest?

Yes, because otherwise the couch will interfere with the measurements.

And the mic must always be level right?

Level and the non-threaded opening should be pointed towards the ceiling.

I never got around toi asking how to properly do this myself. My calibration always comes out good though, except it tries to set the sub level to like -11, I put it at 0. I figure it's because it's a downfiring sub, maybe the calibration doesn't take that into account properly. Also from that FAQ, the rear seats should be measured 1st?

If you have multiple rows of seats, yes - so long as the rear seats are not directly against the back wall.

I would do the first three measurements along the rear seats, the second three along the front seats, and then make a trianagle between them for the last three.

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by Ruined

Putting it on your head will totally screw up the EQ measurements. The cheapest camera tripod at Best Buy works fine, the Audyssey mic that comes with the Onkyos has a standard camera thread on the bottom.

Great info!

Peace...

[plissken99]

Well the tripod I got at BB didn't have the right threading, so I made the fuck work with Extreme Velcro. I only have 3 listening positions atm, so should I still use all 6 and start behind the listener positions?

[chlngr1970]

Originally Posted by plissken99

Well the tripod I got at BB didn't have the right threading, so I made the fuck work with Extreme Velcro. I only have 3 listening positions atm, so should I still use all 6 and start behind the listener positions?

I would just calibrate for the listening positions you have...

j

[Sehnzeleid]

Thanks for the help guys!

I ran the calibration using 6 positions with a tripod. It still set the sub FAR too quiet and the equalizer (which is most likely a bunch of BS) still makes the sound muddy and very crowded. It's like it chops off the extra edge on the sound that makes great recordings sound great in the first place. With it ON the sound is flat, boring, and uniform. Perfect for casual users.

I'll eventually get an SPL meter and set it up *correctly*, but as for Audyssey's equalizer section, what a load of overblown trash. I'm very happy you can turn it off.

[Ruined]

The Audyssey does have a low pass filter for movies. This is why you are hearing the highs rolled off. To disable it, set the preamp to THX Ultra2 mode and disable Re-EQ.

[Sehnzeleid]

Originally Posted by Ruined

The Audyssey does have a low pass filter for movies. This is why you are hearing the highs rolled off. To disable it, set the preamp to THX Ultra2 mode and disable Re-EQ.

...but why go through that when I can just turn it off?

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Sehnzeleid

...but why go through that when I can just turn it off?

Because then you also lose the standard room EQ which is very useful.

Onkyo should allow Re-EQ to be turned off permanently but in the current firmware they do not, you have to keep turning it off AFAIK.

[fitzcaraldo215]

Originally Posted by Sehnzeleid

I mistakenly did a factory reset on my Onkyo 805 receiver yesterday and now without the Audyssey calibration with a few manual adjustments (crossover and such) I noticed everything seems to sound better...?

Transparency between channels seems more fluid, the sound is simply "more", and the subwoofer is much richer. Hell, I thought my sub was broken or confused somehow with Audyssey, it was barely audible...

My experience is quite, quite the opposite on a > $50K system in a good room. I am a huge Audyssey fan. You probably did not do an exactly correct Audyssey calibration to start with. It's easy to do, but if you do not follow the rules exactly, it's easy to screw it up, too.

There is an official Audyssey thread at AVS Forum. It's huge, and many people have had the same issues as you. Once they did the calibration right, they became big Audyssey fans, just about all of them. The major findings of that forum are at the Mother of All Audyssey Setup Guides at:

"Official" Audyssey thread. - Page 191 - AVS Forum

I would suggest you retry the calibration scrupulously observing all points. If you still have glaring problems, I would might try posting at that forum. Audyssey's CTO himself helps unravel problems. If you have done everything right, and you still do not like the sound, then just leave Audyssey off, and be done with it. It is not unheard of for people to prefer the sound they have, even though it is not as smmoth and balanced in the room as the Audyssey curve.

But, try this post-recalibration. Play some acoustic music (preferably high rez SACD or DVD-A) from a live session in surround, not a studio mix. Classical music is ideal, if you can tolerate it. (I love it.) Compare the sound with Audyssey off an on. Give it a few days to accustom yourself to the Audyssey sound. Then make your decision. Movies are hard to use as a reference standard, because we usually do not have a live basis for comparison for their sound, like we do with music.

I am convinced that Audyssey works great if properly calibrated. Also, check out Kal rubinson's Music in the Round columns on the Stereophile website. He's a fan, and he's pretty hard to convince.