In playing around with the volume (I sometimes play DVD's at a rather high volume when I am running on a treadmill) I noticed that the 950 dial stops at 10 decibels. It is loud but not deafening and at least not as deafening as before. My speaker system are golden reference pinnacles that have an RMS of 200 watts so they should be able to take anything that the 950/770 can throw at it.

Did I do anything inadvertently that threw the volume off so that it goes down to -85 db but "only" up to 10 db's.

John

Try and recalibrate using the 950's test tone per the manual. I would bet you will never see +10db on the panel again.

I believe it was Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel who summed it up best: "we like to turn our amps up to 11" - or words to that effect.

Jeff Mackwood

That is where it is supposed to stop (at 10db)

If it isn't loud enough for you, calibrate for 85 db SPL using the internal test tone. That should do it.

How do you calibrate for 85 db ? Could you run me thru the process, if you don't mind. Thanks alot.

There's a pretty good set of directions on page 27 of the 950's manual for calibrating speakers -- setting the main volume to 0dB, going to the CHANNEL CALIBRATION menu, and using an SPL meter (such as this meter from Radio Shack) and the 950's test tones to set each channel's level to 75dB. In most systems and for most users, calibrating in this manner (calibrating to 75dB) works very well, but in large rooms or for users who like it loud it is sometimes not enough. In those cases, you can calibrate to 85dB -- adjust all of the speaker trim settings upward so that the test tones measure 85dB when the volume control is set to 0.

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Thanks for the responses. My system is in a large room (14 feet by 22 feet by 8 feet high) with wall to wall carpeting and curtains. The source material also seemed a factor. When I played another DVD the system was plenty loud.

I have a treadmill in the room and when I am running I play the system rather loudly, especially to hear the dialogue (also my wife has been away and I rather cranked it up).

I think what I'll do is increase the volume of the center speaker.

I should mention that I am in the process of buying a front projector and screen so I may be living in our family room over the next several months exercising both front projector and my Outlaw 950/770 system quite a bit.

Thanks again.

John

John,
I've got a room just about like yours, except the ceiling is higher. Calibrating to 75db is more than sufficient. If you don't calibrate the system per the manual, you will most likely be disappointed in what you hear and you're not going to get the true intention of the soundtracks of the DVDs you are watching. The Radio Shack sound meter is reasonably inexpensive, well worth the investment and takes all the guess work out of it. Just make sure, as indicated in previous posts, that you start with the volume at 0db when you begin your calibrations.

I do have the radio shack sound meter and I equalized all the speakers (7.1) with the exception of the center which I raised by 2 decibels (to 77 db) and this slight difference was enough to make the system much clearer when I am on the treadmill.

John