Who Has an SPL Calibrated System?

[poneal]

I feel properly calibrating my system with the trusty old radio shack SPL meter and the AVIA DVD has increased my listening and moving watching experience. Plus its down right fun to mess around with this stuff. It makes me feel like I have accomplished something. I haven't taken a survey on how many use this useful tool but I bet its only about the top 10% of people on earth. I highly recommend it to all.

[depressed]

This is a good topic.I just recently bought my home theater system, and honestly, I didn't even know about the difference proper calibration can make. I visited a couple of audio sites, talked to salesmen in the high-end stores and realized that it can make a difference. Unfortunately, my wallet can't please my ears, so I bought a "cheap" HTIB. Now I have two questions:
1. Would buying the SPL meter and calibration make sense for a cheap HTIB? 2.Is the YPAO from Yamaha the same thing?

Thanks!

[Jim Clark]

I'm with bruther Slosh. Anyone who spends the time reading these boards and who considers this a hobby is spinning wheels without a simple meter and test disc.


On a slightly different matter-the poll is flawed. If you can only vote once (right?) you can't poll that your system is calibrated AND recomend it as essential. This will lead to skewed results.

jc

[bikehikefish]

depressed - yes definitely calibrate your HTIB with an SPL meter

YPAO does this and more. In addition to setting the level and delay for each speaker, it equalizes each speaker; i.e. flattens the curve. This may or may not be to your likeing. Since it changes the the relative volumes for different frequencies, it may change the way your speakers sound. I saw a review recently where the writer complained the highs were too "forward" after using YPAO.

I haven't heard a system with YPAO, but it sounds like a great idea.

[AZHT]

You can vote for more than one choice on the poll.

[depressed]

depressed - yes definitely calibrate your HTIB with an SPL meter

YPAO does this and more. In addition to setting the level and delay for each speaker, it equalizes each speaker; i.e. flattens the curve. This may or may not be to your likeing. Since it changes the the relative volumes for different frequencies, it may change the way your speakers sound. I saw a review recently where the writer complained the highs were too "forward" after using YPAO.

I haven't heard a system with YPAO, but it sounds like a great idea.

Thanks! I had my doubts about calibrating my "cheap" HTIB. After re-reviewing my speaker's and receviers specs and comparing it to others, I found out that my system is pretty good, especially the receiver (HTR-5640) I found a detailed calibration guide on the net. Trying to save some money so I would appreciate if you could tell me if this would be sufficient: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW