What's next?

[bribowsky]

So, short story, I am a new (about 2 weeks) owner of CS 18.1 S2. Gave it time to break in, and am enjoying a noticeable improvement after letting the beast get loosened up. Following is a graph with a couple of sweeps with REW and my digital RS meter. 10hz to 100, bass boost on, crossover for fronts at 80, Audyssey off.



It certainly isn't flat, but I think I need to try and level out that mess between about 50 and 80. It's all over the place though, so I'm not sure if this will be best, but I definitely feel that I could use more mid-bass slam. So what settings due you guys recommend?

I should also mention I did not load a cal file for the RS meter. That shouldn't make a big diff in the graph, should it?

[craigsub]

bribowsky - You really want to run it again with the Calibration files loaded. For example, your 20 Hz reading should be about 7-9 dB higher than it shows here with the calibration files used.

That will explain your perceived lack of midbass better than will the variations we are seeing above 50 Hz.

You will probably end up turning off the bass boost, too.

Let's start there, then look at some other fine tuning.

[F1Nels]

I would also try running Audyssey and see how it measures with it on. It does a pretty good job smoothing things out in most cases.

[boober]

Which version of Audyssey is it anyways?

[Mktheater]

Rerun the sweep about 40 db's higher to get a better look.

[bribowsky]

Thanks for all the replies.

bribowsky - You really want to run it again with the Calibration files loaded. For example, your 20 Hz reading should be about 7-9 dB higher than it shows here with the calibration files used.

Yeah, I actually downloaded the cal file first thing, but remembered reading from someone else that due to the RS meter rolling off like it does, not loading it was a easy way to give yourself a bit of a house curve. IDK. I'll load it for subsequent readings.

F1Nels- I left Audyssey off to get a raw look and be able to have a visual representation of what Audyssey is doing. I'm still not sure if I like what it does with the LFE, but I will be running them both ways.

boober- My version is Audyssey 2EQ; Onkyo 607.

Mk- lol, yeah I was getting messages all over the place about low db, but I was a little worried about overstressing things. Seems silly after cranking WOW! I will give it some juice next time around.

Any comments on the freq range? Should I bump it up or down on either end? And I think I'll turn off bass boost when I rerun with more volume, so this initial graph won't really be comparable, should I start a new thread (Mods)?

Thanks again. With any luck I can get the wife out of the house for a couple hours this weekend (shopping trip?) and I can post some new graphs. This hobby is already starting to get expensive (shopping trips)!

[tesseract]

should I start a new thread (Mods)?

It is good for you to have all this info in one place to keep track of changes more easily, and so you can refer to it quickly in the future if need be. It is also good for the next person that might have the same issues to have this experience to draw on and learn from.

But you may start another thread if you wish.

[bribowsky]

Ok, finally got a chance to redo this. Added cal file for the RS meter, got the db up where they should be, and let her rip. Bass boost still on. I know I am likely going to have to do this again, because I neglected to raise the crossover point, which is at 80. So I'm guessing everything above that is from my mains? Ugh, I'll get it eventually, but 80 and below is where most of the LFE content is anyway, right? In any case, here is the graph.



It looks like I'm getting pretty good output to about 12, so bonus there. BIG peak around 40, and BIG drop around 60. I thought this was my best location after initial sub crawl, but now I wonder if I might need to revisit that. If I can get a good response here, I would like to leave it; currently corner loaded front left (likely cause of large peak at 40?).

So, what do you guys think, bring down that peak at 40 and raise gain? Boost around 60? IDK. Any and all help is appreciated.

[tesseract]

Bribowsky - you have the right idea, try taking the crossover up around 80 and apply a cut around 40 Hz.

Another way to possibly bring that peak down is to move the sub out of the corner a little ways if space allows.

[bribowsky]

Bribowsky - you have the right idea, try taking the crossover up around 80 and apply a cut around 40 Hz.

Another way to possibly bring that peak down is to move the sub out of the corner a little ways if space allows.

tesseract, I can move the sub away from the back wall, no prob, but I have no space to move left or right from this position. Worth giving a go.

My crossover is currently at 80, so are you suggesting raising it further on a permanent basis, or just for the measurements sake? I did previously try crossing at 70 and 90 as well, and 80 gave me the best response.

And any idea how much cut? I don't really know how to figure that. I remember reading that you set your freq at the median of the range you want, so 38 or 39 for this one? Bandwidth and level, no idea. :doh! 1: Thanks for the help.

[tesseract]

tesseract, I can move the sub away from the back wall, no prob, but I have no space to move left or right from this position. Worth giving a go.

My crossover is currently at 80, so are you suggesting raising it further on a permanent basis, or just for the measurements sake? I did previously try crossing at 70 and 90 as well, and 80 gave me the best response.

And any idea how much cut? I don't really know how to figure that. I remember reading that you set your freq at the median of the range you want, so 38 or 39 for this one? Bandwidth and level, no idea. :doh! 1: Thanks for the help.

I missed that the crossover is at 80 Hz already. Try moving the sub first, to bring that peak down, it may very well raise the dip in the process.

If you still have that peak, try the EQ Freq. @ 40 Hz - Bandwidth @ .5 - Level @ -4.

Let us know what you get.

[bribowsky]

LONG!(sorry)

So, first thing first; I moved the sub.

To help out any others who may be getting ready to do the sub crawl for the first time, a little advice; use music for your test, not the receivers test tones. I have seen it written both ways. My first time, I used the tones built into the receiver, which gave me best results front left corner, confirmed with SPL meter.

This second time around, I used a couple of CD's I'm familiar with, and it was obvious this spot was no good for that midbass from the kickdrum. Really flat.

So, now I am in the right rear corner, nearfield to the sofa (LP) and that kick is much improved. Use some familiar music for the sub crawl, lesson learned!

With that being said, I ran several sweeps with REW in different orientations and graphed them out for all to see. What sounded best to me ends up looking to be the best starting point to me, that being the first graph, firing into the LP with NO corner loading.

Curious which orientation you would choose to work with, bass boost or no, and how to best flatten your chosen curve. Like to hear all input.

Note: For all graphs, red is bass boost on, blue is bass boost off. Other info is in chart title.











And a question for Craig, or whomever else may be in the know, why does the bass boost cause a more pronounced drop in output further up the frequency, around 70 or so? :confused:

[bribowsky]

Played around a bit, I think I have it looking pretty good.



This is with Audyssey doing its thing. Again, the red is with bass boost, blue is without.


So now I guess the question is, is there any reason to leave the bass boost on? I'll admit the result I got was not what I expected. I thought I might get a bump to 40 or so, not over the entire curve.

Recommendations?

[tesseract]

So now I guess the question is, is there any reason to leave the bass boost on? I'll admit the result I got was not what I expected. I thought I might get a bump to 40 or so, not over the entire curve.

Recommendations?

Bribowsky, that looks really good. Maybe bump up the low pass on the SA1000 a tad. You have a nice bit of gain around 16 Hz. As for the bass boost, the only way to tell is try it both ways. That is what I did, my ears and measurements told me to leave it on.

Make sure the subsonic filter is OFF, you don't need it. Although by the looks of things, it doesn't appear to be ON. :D

[bribowsky]

BFD help!

I had considered starting another thread for this, but figured I would just post here instead. Also posted over at the shack, hopefully someone can clear this up for me before I pull out what little hair I have left!


So, I am trying to put my newly acquired BFD 1124P into use, since I wanted to move the sub back to the front stage, and I am having issues.

Setup: RS SPL meter to audio in on PC; audio out to receiver aux in. REW sweep gives me a graph much like the Rocky Mountains to fix.

Set up eq, transmit over MIDI to BFD. I can see the progress, and if I power cycle the BFD, REW correctly tells me that it isn't set to store, or whatever the terminology, as the red "store" light is flashing. Fix that, resend, all appears well. But when I remeasure with what should be the newly added peq filters, there is no difference is graphs. What am I doing wrong here?!

I have been through all the guides and searching the forums didn't turn up anything as well, so any help would be GREATLY appreciated! I am at my wits end and don't know what else to try. TIA.