AVR Audio/EQ settings (Audyssey)

[weekendtoy]

I have made a sincere effort to get through Audyssey setup for this Denon AVR-X4300h and not been successful yet.
1. Incomplete (ran out of time)
2. Complete but whacky results (not careful with mic placements)
3. Incomplete - using measuring tape and mic stand, I got 1-2-3-4 done and suddenly on 5 it started telling me that Right Rear "ambient noise too high or level too low". Tried 5 times with no change. Stone silence in the room and no way to adjust level? I gave up.

In Google search I saw a recommendation to do a factory reset. I don't really want to do that now that I've got everything the way I want it.
What's the verdict? Thanks in advance.

Take your time first of all. I usually crack a beer and have the game on my laptop whilst doing an Audyssey calibration.

I use a tripod boom stand when taking measurements which can be used for both Audyssey and REW. This will ensure increased consistency and accuracy during your measurements. Personally, I do not prefer placing the mic behind my MLP anytime during the calibration. Keep the mic to the L/R and front.

I've never run into an "ambient noise too high" situation, even in a fairly noisy room. The fact that you state the room was very quiet is somewhat concerning. It could be a bad mic or indeed the AVR needs a reset.

AVS has a comprehensive Audyssey FAQ which you may find useful

 

[mandrix]

Having the time to do it is paramount, as the guys have said.
Really helps if there is not an Air Force base around that places you in range of frequent low-level flights (I get them sometimes from the base out at Eglin AFB, a good ways away)

With Dirac Live, I DO take measurements behind, but that's a conversation for another thread.

 

[DuncanS]

I have found that my new Denon X8500HA with Audyssey tends to boost the rears so that they are about 2.5dB higher than the fronts, yet the measurement Mic was in my seating position - so closer to the rears. It got all the distances correct as I checked, so why boost the rears, doesn't make sense. It also seems to have boosted the Bass, and I have 4 Monitor Audio Silver RS8 floorstanders (so quite a bit of low freq), a Silver RS centre, and 4 small B&W M-1s for the heights now. So I got a sound level meter, sat in my seat and adjusted manually using the Denon tones (pink noise I think) to give the same sound level for all speakers at my seat, seemed better. But the Amp didn't remember the settings, so next power on back to the old Audyssey settings.

Is there a bug in Audyssey reported anywhere?

 

[ar surround]

I have found that my new Denon X8500HA with Audyssey tends to boost the rears so that they are about 2.5dB higher than the fronts, yet the measurement Mic was in my seating position - so closer to the rears. It got all the distances correct as I checked, so why boost the rears, doesn't make sense. It also seems to have boosted the Bass, and I have 4 Monitor Audio Silver RS8 floorstanders (so quite a bit of low freq), a Silver RS centre, and 4 small B&W M-1s for the heights now. So I got a sound level meter, sat in my seat and adjusted manually using the Denon tones (pink noise I think) to give the same sound level for all speakers at my seat, seemed better. But the Amp didn't remember the settings, so next power on back to the old Audyssey settings.

Is there a bug in Audyssey reported anywhere?

It is my understanding (as reported on this forum by others as well) that Audyssey always boosts the surrounds by 3 dB. After calibration, I felt that the surrounds were too loud.

I checked all the channels with a SPL meter and my surrounds were indeed 3 dB too loud. So just reduce your surround levels by 2.5 dB.

Regarding the bass boost, you should be using the Audyssey App ($21) and have the program do its thing no higher than 300 to 500 Hz.

 

[timothyemerson]

For what it's worth:

I too remember dropping my surrounds after Audyssey did it's thing too. In my room, they're usually:
-4dB for 5.1 music
-6dB for quad music
+5dB for movies

Bass was a huge improvement after Audyssey too. Blends it nicely so that most of the time, I can't pinpoint where it is in the room.

 

[Albert Dagger]

It is my understanding (as reported on this forum by others as well) that Audyssey always boosts the surrounds by 3 dB. After calibration, I felt that the surrounds were too loud.

I checked all the channels with a SPL meter and my surrounds were indeed 3 dB too loud. So just reduce your surround levels by 2.5 dB.

Regarding the bass boost, you should be using the Audyssey App ($21) and have the program do its thing no higher than 300 to 500 Hz.

Audyssey should only boost the surround and height speakers if Dynamic EQ is set to ON. In my experience, the channel levels are accurate as long as Dynamic EQ is set to OFF. I double-checked the Audyssey results using an accurate SPL meter, listening to pink noise in the 500Hz-4KHz band (Audyssey calibrates the trims at 1KHz). I also checked the levels using REW and a UMIK 1. Even though the results were accurate, I did some listening and decided to lower the surrounds of about 1dB, it felt more cohesive, but the results were okay.

Using Dynamic EQ is a very personal choice. For me, it's always OFF. I like listening to the same volume most of the time, and since I listen to music more than movies, having to deal with changing the reference level to -5, -10, -15 on a regular basis is frustrating. Many people like it, though, and find that having Dyn EQ on, with a reference level of -10dB is pretty much what's needed for most 5.1 and recent Atmos mixes. In that case, some adjustments of the rear and height channel levels are mandatory. Keeping Dynamic EQ on raises another issue of choosing a target response curve. It seems that Dyn EQ on works well with the standard reference/flat curve. But if Dyn EQ is off, it's probably best to add a 5dB low shelf below 150Hz.

May I suggest double-checking all settings with REW and a calibrated UMIK1? It's the only way to make sure the settings are doing what they are supposed to do.

I've also used this tool to calculate room modes: amroc pro - THE Room Mode Calculator for non-rectangular rooms, and I double-checked the results with the waveforms I got from MultEQ-X and REW.