I think I may have missed this in a previous topic, I have been wondering just what is the frequency of the bass calibration tone produced by the 950? Do people generally use the spl meter to adjust the bass to the same 75db level as the other channels?

where the heck did u get 75db? there's a lot of nisnomers out there...but 75db..! BELIEF ME NOW...that's so far ahead of whut ur ears can 'ear'...that's friggin bleedin city! u need to do a google search...yahoo....pleese look up ...hell...dexible levels (decible's..ok?)..whoopst..(decibels..in engggg-lish) ok look up decibels....O ,being the ... place ya want ta bee./ decibel wuz ...the level that...grahamn 'BELL' figured out ...first...THX n' all a few years (don't laugh, the guys got a?) lay-toor figured out the db (de-ci-bels) that we....needddd to play our moviees at.. from there,....it gets..really complexxxxxxx!\
from: t burns

well,the system knoocked ne out again..wuz writin a ....glosarry of...alexander bell's .......raison d'etre. sory some body kicked me off. will try again this wkend.
signed...thermador k pascal

Thigg sets a new standard for surreal posts.

Light one of those things up for me. I'm on my way over, dude.


And Neal, check this out: http://www.hometheatersound.com/features/cinemacynergy/cc_20010201.htm

[This message has been edited by boblinds (edited February 21, 2003).]

Neal- The simple answer to your question is:

Yes.

Some people "reference" to 75, or to 85 dB. (I can't remember why there's a difference sometimes.)

I just "match" levels across all 7 speakers plus the sub. Also, some people use the 950 internal test tone, others use Avia, or Video Essentials, or some other test disc. I've found that there isn't much difference between Avia and the 950 on my system.

Thigg- This is just a "reference" point. I doubt most people listen to movies that loud.

Some test signals are -30, some -20, reference is 105.

Neal really brings up a good question if we nitpick it a little. First, I agree that you should calibrate to 75 as you do with the other channels. But, the question of what frequency is a good one because the radio shack meter is less sensitive to the lower frequencies. Should we be applying a correction factor here or not?

Personally, I believe the answer to my own question is "No" because the tone sounds like all frequencies, not just one. I'm calibrated to 75 dB all the way around and I'm quite pleased.

Thigg, sign me up

Matching levels is the #1 thing IMO. Calibration to 00 = 105 (00 = 75 @ -30) only gets you a 'the way it was mastered' sort of reference, but IMO if it's too loud, turn it down, too soft, turn it up. Most movies are too loud for me most of the time.

Charlie- I did not know that, thanks!

Well, here's what the RS cal looks like:

20 Hz: add 7 dB
40 Hz: add 2.5 dB
80 dB: add 1.5 dB

So maybe the real answer is, start by adjusting so that you get "matched" (or referenced) levels with the RS meter, and then keeping in mind the numbers up above, adjust the subs level to taste.

The sub tone on the 950 and Avia, etc, is some sort of white noise compendium of more than 1 freq.

thanks to all for the considered replies. There is no doubt that tweaks should result in what sounds best to the listener rather than following a rigid "rule" as engineer types are wont to do. I am still trying to get a feel for what various bass frequencies sound like, and am having difficulty wrapping my mind around the idea of a test tone being a compilation of frequencies.