Right distance values for speakers and subwoofers

Love4sound

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Dear fm’s

I have been using the distance values that is set by audyssey.It may not be accurate but gets the job done. How about others I mean do you use any other method to set the right values after running audyssey.Main reason to come up with this question is I would like to know if there is any method or tool that can be used to get more accurate sound especially for the sub. I did try experimenting different values and can’t come up with one right value since for each value some scenes perform better and some are bad for the same values. So if I calibrate the sub for one particular action sequence the same distance value doesn’t perform well in other. My sub is located 8 feet from my MLP and the audyssey always arrives at values in between 14-15.5 feet. So I have tried with values from 9-17feet.
 
I wd personally leave sub distance set by audyssey as it is,as that's how the Audyssey reads it and anyways worked fine for me.
Also use Y splitter for ur dual subs to get more accurate calibration by audyssey,as it reads them as a single sub.
 
There's a guy on YouTube by the name of subwoofer101, he has posted many videos related to subwoofer hacks in his channel. In one of his subwoofer hack videos, he told to keep the subs distance 2 feet more than the actual distance. I tried this hack and it did work for me. It did improve the bass quality during action scenes in movies.

This is the link to that video
 
I wd personally leave sub distance set by audyssey as it is,as that's how the Audyssey reads it and anyways worked fine for me.
Also use Y splitter for ur dual subs to get more accurate calibration by audyssey,as it reads them as a single sub.
I don’t have a dual set up. I don’t think you need a y splitter for avr’s like mine.
 
There's a guy on YouTube by the name of subwoofer101, he has posted many videos related to subwoofer hacks in his channel. In one of his subwoofer hack videos, he told to keep the subs distance 2 feet more than the actual distance. I tried this hack and it did work for me. It did improve the bass quality during action scenes in movies.
Yeah I have seen his videos. For me audyssey value, +/- from audyssey values all work. It’s just the bass character changes in different action sequences
 
Any idea if the AVR uses the distance for any calibrations beyond setting the DB levels ?
 
Yesterday I was setting up Denon X1400H with Yamaha Sub YST-315 (temporary setup). Exactly same thing happened. My Sub was at 3.3m. In first iteration of calibration it was 6.2m (almost double similar to your case). In second iteration I strictly followed all environment condition (switching off tubelight too) and switched Sub position from left to right speaker side, then it came exactly 3.3m. Though my ears not good in differentiating audio quality, to my surprise I found a good improvement in Bass. First time I do audio calibration - so just for the sake of enjoying - repeated again. Then the twist came. Third time I calibrated with position 4,5,6 mic set at higher position which I mistakenly ignored in first two steps - again Sub distance was wrong - 6m. But Bass was still same. Then adjusted Sub distance in settings manually to right value, no difference in performance. confusion dot com :cool:

When I get all my speakers (blocked in Chennai customs clearance due to Indo-china tension) I will repeat again multiple times to ensure that it detects all speakers distance properly. It is a learning session.
 
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In my experience,If the placement of sub is good enough for the room,the Audyssey sets it's right. ,Otherwise it may not.In a living room ,even it's very difficult to get a good response.
I have many times cross checked with REW. I suggest to get an UMIK and run REW.Try with different placement option of sub according to ur room ,and play with different distance on AVR .If ur sub has variable phase settings try that too.
U can see the sub response changes with different distance settings . From that u can able to setup best distance for the sub of that particular placement. ( Run the above on pure direct mode).
After this process run Audyssey,u can get good results compartively.
 
Yesterday I was setting up Denon X1400H with Yamaha Sub YST-315 (temporary setup). Exactly same thing happened. My Sub was at 3.3m. In first iteration of calibration it was 6.2m (almost double similar to your case). In second iteration I strictly followed all environment condition (switching off tubelight too) and switched Sub position from left to right speaker side, then it came exactly 3.3m. Though my ears not good in differentiating audio quality, to my surprise I found a good improvement in Bass. First time I do audio calibration - so just for the sake of enjoying - repeated again. Then the twist came. Third time I calibrated with position 4,5,6 mic set at higher position which I mistakenly ignored in first two steps - again Sub distance was wrong - 6m. But Bass was still same. Then adjusted Sub distance in settings manually to right value, no difference in performance. confusion dot com :cool:
Audyssey doesn’t set the distance values based on physical distance. Based on room acoustics it sets the distance on when the bass reaches the MLP along with the sound from your speakers. No matter how many times i run audyssey the speaker values are the same (9.1-9.5 feet LCR, 5-5.5 feet for surrounds and 7-7.5 feet for overhead speakers ) and almost accurate to the physical distance.
Any idea if the AVR uses the distance for any calibrations beyond setting the DB levels ?
Don’t get your question sorry
In my experience,If the placement of sub is good enough for the room,the Audyssey sets it's right. ,Otherwise it may not.In a living room ,even it's very difficult to get a good response.
I have many times cross checked with REW. I suggest to get an UMIK and run REW.Try with different placement option of sub according to ur room ,and play with different distance on AVR .If ur sub has variable phase settings try that too.
U can see the sub response changes with different distance settings . From that u can able to setup best distance for the sub of that particular placement. ( Run the above on pure direct mode).
After this process run Audyssey,u can get good results compartively.
Sure have to get the mic from your area don @rainbowsong2000
 
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Do we need to set Sub phase switch to normal or 90 deg during calibration? It may make some difference. In general many people advice to leave the distance calculated as it is.
 
He means whether AVR uses this distance data to set the volume level (dB) only or for some other purposes also?
As per my understanding it tries to set the speaker levels to be 75db at the MLP
Do we need to set Sub phase switch to normal or 90 deg during calibration? It may make some difference. In general many people advice to leave the distance calculated as it is.
Phase settings it’s best to leave it at 0. We can experiment for sure trying both values
 
Any idea if the AVR uses the distance for any calibrations beyond setting the DB levels ?
Yes ,to set the delay . Because sound travels at a speed of 1125.33 ft/ sec .So for time alignment it needs adjust the distance.Thats the fact behind it I believe.
 
I don’t have a dual set up. I don’t think you need a y splitter for avr’s like mine.
I thought u upgraded frm dual Bic subs to dual xtzs.
Even though modern avrs have dual sub outs, but connecting duals frm single out is easier for audyssey to tune, as mentioned by many av experts like sound and vision. Coz in few cases ppl have got not so smooth response as audyssey was reading the 2 diff sub outs differently.
But again its all trial n error,cd work just fine for others.
 
Generally, the AVR sets the Sub distance to much more than the actual distance because, it has to compensate for the time the DSP in the subwoofer's Plateamp takes to process the signal before sending the amplified signal to the driver.
 
As per my understanding it tries to set the speaker levels to be 75db at the MLP

Phase settings it’s best to leave it at 0. We can experiment for sure trying both values
Yup , Swamytk phrased it better. I wanted to understand if the distances are meant to also have an effect on features such as "Virtual Height" simulation or just setting the DB level to reach a reference setting across the speaker set at the seating position .
 
Do we need to set Sub phase switch to normal or 90 deg during calibration? It may make some difference. In general many people advice to leave the distance calculated as it is.
In case of only Audyssey calibration, set it to "0" leave it Audyssey to set it.In case of multiple subs placement , if your want to tweak ur sub then you can change the phase setting of sub .For example ,in case your sub is placed behind your main listening position then some times you may need to invert it (180 deg) for better time alignment.
 
I have been using the distance values that is set by audyssey.It may not be accurate but gets the job done. How about others I mean do you use any other method to set the right values after running audyssey.

For me, Audyssey gets the distances and levels spot-on.. Haven't faced any issues with multiple subs either.. The only values that i bump up slightly more are the sub values, post Audyssey calibration..
 
Main reason to come up with this question is I would like to know if there is any method or tool that can be used to get more accurate sound especially for the sub.

Distance adjustment for the sub post Audyssey is usually done to improve the integration of the mains and the sub around the xover area.

For HT, here's what to do:

1. Measure center and sub independently.
2. Measure center and sub together (bass management on).
3. If you find that there is a dip in response in/around the xover region when center and sub are measured together as opposed to independently, then there are phase issues between them.
4. Increase the distance on the sub 1 ft at a time (up to 7 ft, IIRC) and measure the combined response. Set the distance of the sub to whichever response looks the best.

Enjoy!
 
Distance adjustment for the sub post Audyssey is usually done to improve the integration of the mains and the sub around the xover area.

For HT, here's what to do:

1. Measure center and sub independently.
2. Measure center and sub together (bass management on).
3. If you find that there is a dip in response in/around the xover region when center and sub are measured together as opposed to independently, then there are phase issues between them.
4. Increase the distance on the sub 1 ft at a time (up to 7 ft, IIRC) and measure the combined response. Set the distance of the sub to whichever response looks the best.

Enjoy!
Measure independently as in using rew?
 
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