DVD Talk Forum - Help with my front and rear speakers!!!!

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Originally posted by matrixrok9
I was just wondering if the front and rear speakers are suppose to be as loud as the center?

They should all be calibrated to the same reference level, but every movie's soundtrack is different, so you may notice changes from time to time.

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How should i set it up. Right now the rears' levels are at 10 and the center is at 3. Also, i can't change the setup for the front speakers, is this how it's suppose to be, or is the receiver just crappy?

This is common. You should calibrate using a sound pressure level (SPL) meter and test tones on calibration discs like Avia or Video Essentials, but let's assume you're going to do it by ear. Turn on your receiver's test tones and set the volume so that the L and/or R speakers are about listening volume. Should be fairly loud. Then, adjust the +/- db level for the center until it is the same volume as the speakers. Then, adjust the rear speakers the same way, until all the speakers are the same volume. Now, your setup is calibrated. That usually means that the center speaker is very busy and the surround speakers are occassional, non-distracting, and immersive during most movies.

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Also what's center and rear delay, crossover fqcy, lfe attempt, d_range for? Thank you in advance.

Delay is to set a slight delay in the surround speakers, since they are usually closer to your listening position than the main speakers and thus the sound arrives in your ears earlier. In most cases, 5-10 ms for rears and 0 for center is enough delay. See the Dolby website to learn how to calculate delay.

Crossover is for setting the frequency at which your main R and L speakers stop receiving information and the subwoofer starts receiving information. If the speakers are large, it could be 80, if they're small, it could be 100. Depends on your speakers, but since it's a HTIB, my guess is about 100. You can calibrate this crossover with a test disc as well if you're interested, otherwise set it by ear by finding the point where your speakers can't handle bass but your subwoofer can. If set too high, the sub will sound unnatural. If set too low, the sub will hardly ever engage at all. Find the right balance.

LFE Attempt? I don't know, but LFE stands for Low-Frequency Effets, the lowest of all bass (like explosions, etc., the stuff you feel rather than hear). My guess is that you can either send the LFE to the subwoofer or not, so choose yes -- better check the manual on this one.

D-range probably stands for Dynamic Range Compression, also knows as Midnight Mode. This effect makes the louds not so loud and the softs not so soft. It makes the volume pretty much even, which is nice when you'e watching late at night and you don't want to turn up the sound during dialogue scenes and turn it back down again during explosions. In other words, DRC can make the soundtrack more "tame". Keep it off unless you're disturbing the neighbors.

[Edited by DigIt on 04-11-01 at 03:48 PM]