Well my 1050 came in yesterday! Spent 5 hours running new wire and setting everything up. What fun, hehehe. My local RS had 12 gauge speaker cable for .99 a foot, hahahaha, went to Lowes and got a 100 foot roll for $35.00, way better deal for sure, because I used 100 feet!

Got everything powered up and started pressing buttons, without reading the manual! All is well, for the 1050 was so easy to use that I had no need for them. Sure I browsed over the online manual a few times in the past, but all the buttons were pretty much self explanatory.

I went to balance my speakers by ear and found out that the 1050 does not have separate adjustments for the front two right and left speakers! Guess I have to tune SPL to match my fronts? Is that right? I don't read too much on this subject in the manual.

I am working on tuning without a sub. I could tell right off hand that I would need to get one now, this unit does not like to send a lot of bass to the front and rears. Even with the options on the 1050 to turn off the sub and lower the x-over range to I think 60hz, and also to turn the bass trim up. I found if I set my front or rears to "large" though it does sound alot better. Guess that makes sense, since I don't have a sub yet.

I put in the Skinny Puppy, Rabid, cd and was prepared to be amazed! Well I was for sure! I heard things I never heard before on that cd. All the background talking that was going on I could totally hear now. All beats on the electronic double bass were clear and pronounced. Awesome sound! Cant wait till later today to really crank it up, tune with an SPL meter, and then pop in a good DVD.

All in all this is a GREAT unit! Sound is superb and ease of use is fantastic.

You got it -- balance everything else to match the fronts.

As for tuning without the sub, you will need to set your fronts to "large" to avoid losing all low frequency. I have used a similar arrangement with my 1050 -- I run my mains as "large" and have the sub turned off. Then I set the crossover for whatever best matched my center and surrounds.

Enjoy!

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Guess my next question after tweaking some more would be, What should I mach my center to, my surrounds or fronts?

The way I have it hooked up now is, my fronts (two ways)and center (two ways) are the same brand speaker, and the surrounds (three ways) are another. Should I try another way?

My rear surrounds are a bit on the quiet side while playing music, but SPL at the same as the fronts, while testing. I find this odd. I listen to music in the "Natural" mode.

[This message has been edited by Miller (edited May 04, 2002).]

I believe that you should calibrate your center channel to be the same as your fronts. Often times, people turn their surrounds up too loud. The surrounds aren't always in use (there's no material in the soundtrack sent to them). The surrounds, when used properly, should add to the soundstage, not overtake it or become obvious or distracting. It's good that your front three speakers are by the same manufacturer...they should blend seamlessly.
Happy tweaking !!!