speaker

Home theater calibration guide: Manual speaker

Setup

Today, entry-level A / V receivers are likely to have some sort of automatic tuning system that allows you to make important speaker settings by plugging in a microphone and pressing the rotate button. Sounds tempting doesn’t it? ? Why would anyone want to spend hours reading the manual, blowing the tape measure, and removing the decibel meter when

Auto-Tuning can easily do it for you?

Unfortunately, the measurements and crossover settings on these systems are not always accurate, and EQ adjustments are usually made that do not always improve the sound quality. In fact, using automatic tuning can make the excellent speaker sound worse. With a few tools and a guide, even the most electronic people can manually adjust their speakers for the best sound quality. Here is our general guide to doing just that.

Step 1

Make sure the On-Screen Display (OSD) is shown on the TV.

Installing a receiver with a small LCD screen is a hassle and is not necessary. Instead, make sure that the receiver’s screen is displayed on the TV. Most modern receivers display the screen via HDMI, but some older receivers (more than five years old) require an outdated video connection. If you do not see the menu on your TV when you press the “Menu” or “Settings” button on the remote control of the receiver, prepare at least one cinch cable for the composite video output of the receiver (yellow cinch connector) for your video composition. entrance.

Step 2

Info the menu on your receiver

Sure, you can spend some time researching the manual, but there are some key benefits to getting hands-on: experience with the receiver’s menu, track it down and hack it with the remote. After browsing for a while, you will remember how many menu options you have before accessing them. Don’t worry if you don’t understand the meaning of some terms. Let’s explain some of them below.

step 3

Turn on the speakers

We understand that the room the speakers are located in can determine where the speakers should be placed and their location can vary depending on the type of speaker used. Some of us have entertainment centers with seating for the speakers, or we only have a few free seats to sit with the speakers. With that in mind, follow the basic rules for speaker setup.

First, look at the following simple images of a speaker layout:

Keep in mind that the seat channel should be placed directly below or above the TV. Since almost all dialogue comes from this speaker, it should be as close to the TV as possible to preserve the abuse that voices emanate from the picture itself.

Try to place the left and right speakers as close as possible to the center of the TV listening position to create an equilateral triangle between your head and the two speakers. Most of the chair’s center listening position is in front of the TV. If this is not appropriate, choose a place in the room where the majority of the hearing should take place. It is also helpful to place the top of the speaker about 40 inches above the floor (average height of the ears).

Then place the surrounding speakers at ear height (between 48 and 72 inches) and just behind the listening position. If you have surround speakers (sixth and seventh channels), view them in the same places as the front speakers, but behind you on the wall.

Step 4

Spacing of the speakers

Speaker length refers to the distance between each speaker and the center listening position, as defined above. This setting is important to ensure that the sound from each speaker reaches both ears at the same time. Get a pencil, notebook, and tape measure. If you are sitting in the main listening area, measure the distance from the front of each speaker to the main position, then record all the measurements on a laptop. After all the measurements have been made, add them to the receiver. The receiver encourages you to enter the distance in feet, half a foot, or sometimes up to 1/12 of a foot behind the speakers. Round up or down as needed.

Step 5

Crossover speakers

Perhaps the simplest and most critical setting for an A / V receiver speaker is where it intersects. In this case, “joint” refers to the point where the receiver stops sending bass to all speakers and starts sending bass to the subwoofer. Proper crossover arrangement depends on the ability of your bass speakers to produce bass. Most speakers have specifications that indicate where the speakers stop to create bass. For example, you might say something like “Response frequency: 60Hz-20kHz. In this example, the manufacturer claims that the speakers can sound at 60Hz, but the bass is often much weaker at the lowest nominal point than the rest of its performance. Then you can increase the number by 20Hz for added safety.

With speakers, the front speakers are generally larger to the left and right than the surrounding speakers. In this case, assume that you make different crossover arrangements for each speaker. For those whose systems use exactly the same speaker for each channel, set the same crossover frequency for each speaker.

Loudspeaker connection

With older or cheaper receivers, it may not be possible to set a specific crossover frequency for each speaker. Instead, they often allow a simple choice between “large” or “small”, with a split point for each “small” speaker. For the purposes of this guide, a large cabinet (often placed on the floor) is a high-frequency speaker that can produce many subwoofers. Everything else would be a small speaker. Set the speakers high or low, then select the lowest bass frequency on the smallest speaker as the transition point for all “small” speakers. For example, if you have front speakers that operate at 80Hz, but your room is smaller and only plays up to 100Hz, you need to set the breakpoint to 100Hz. This ensures the best performance.