[Transmico]

I just bought the week an Onkyo HT-S3300 system. I think it's an amazing system. Last night I had some friends over and we plugged in an ipod into the front Auxiliary port to listen to some music. My friend noticed that we had to crank the volume upto 50 to get a good sound. Keep in mind we are about 18 people in first floor of my house. Room is about a 14 feet by 30 feet long. This sound system volume range starts from 0 and I think the max is 80, I've never actually tried to fully crank it and i am not planning to. My question is this the normal volume level or is it really high and maybe something is wrong with the amp?

Thank you for any help.

T.

 

[eljay]

Last night I had some friends over and we plugged in an ipod into the front Auxiliary port to listen to some music. My friend noticed that we had to crank the volume upto 50 to get a good sound.

Was the volume on the iPod turned up? When I similarly hook up my Zune to my receiver (that is, from its headphone jack to the aux. input - or split to a L+R analogue input - on my receiver), I usually turn its volume up to ~16 (out of 20), which roughly matches the input levels of my other devices.

 

[Transmico]

Yes it was to the maximum level. Do you have the Auddessy EQ on or off?

 

[eljay]

It makes no difference in my set-up whether Audyssey is on or off.

Out of curiosity, what volume level do you normally turn your receiver up to for DVD/Blu-ray and other types of inputs? Are those levels comparable to the level required for the auxiliary in?

 

[Transmico]

Around the same, what I tried this weekend was turning up the speaker levels to +12db on all speakers, except subwoofer. It improved greatly the sound volume and now I keep it around 15-20. Do think that's ok to do?

 

[eljay]

If 50 (out of 80) was the level you were using for all components attached to your receiver, then there clearly isn't an issue with the auxiliary input or with your receiver. It just means that 50 is approximately the volume level you need for "good sound" in your relatively large room.

Boosting the channel levels so that the display shows a lower volume number doesn't actually "solve" anything, particularly since there doesn't appear to be any "problem" to solve.

My suggestion: Use Audyssey to calibrate your system and, aside from doing a bit of tweaking - say, to level-match certain speakers against each other - leave the settings alone.

 

[Transmico]

Thank you for all your help and support, stupid question since I am not really experienced in this yet. What do you mean by "level Match" ?

 

[eljay]

After running Audyssey, it may happen that you find one channel sounds softer or louder than another. For example, your center channel might sound muted compared with your main speakers. In this case, you would bump your center channel level up one or two dB to match the level of your mains.

For accuracy, it's best done using a sound pressure level (SPL) meter...

...but, if you don't have one, you can level-matching by ear.

 

[Marc]

you can boost the individual input levels in the setup menu. I did that after the mic calibration process prevented me from going louder than 65/80.

 

[Transmico]

Hi Marc,

Thank you for your help. I am actually thinking about getting a sound level meter, I just have to find one somewhere. What do you use to test the sound, a specific CD or DVD or just use the test tone? And what volume level do you set the receiver to?

Transmico.

 

[57]

This unit has Audyssey. You should use the included mic and run Audyssey (if you haven't already). This should yield better results than any SPL meter. You could then increase a certain channel - say the center if you're having difficulty hearing the dialogue simply by increasing a dB or 2 as indicated earlier. Some people also like to hear more or less surround sound, which you can also increase or decrease after you've run Audyssey.

 

[Transmico]

Hi 57,

When you say "run" the Audessy, is their a procdure that I have to follow? All I noticed was Auddessy EQ on/off.

T.

 

[eljay]

When you say "run" the Audessy, is their a procdure that I have to follow? All I noticed was Auddessy EQ on/off.

Plug the microphone that came with the receiver into the microphone jack, crack open the manual and follow the instructions on how to run the Audyssey auto-calibration program. Once it's all done, you store the results and then apply them (Audyssey EQ on) or not (Audyssey EQ off).

You should also be able to review the various settings (speaker size, distance and level, etc.) and adjust them as required...*if* required. (This is where the bit about "level matching" comes into play.)

 

[Transmico]

Microphone! I didn't even know it came with one. I will double check the box and let you know later tonight. Thank you all for your help.

Transmico.

 

[eljay]

Actually, never mind the whole microphone thing. I just checked the manual and apparently that receiver doesn't come with Audyssey's auto-calibration program. It seems to come with some sort of pre-loaded, adjustable settings.

So, basically, it's back to adjusting the levels using your ears (or an SPL meter) and an audio source. If there's a built-in tone generator, you can run that; else, you can use the "THX Optimizer" option found on a number of DVDs (Pixar and Disney movies tend to have it) or you can buy a calibration disc such as "Digital Video Essentials (DVE)" and use the test tones provided on it.

 

[57]

I just downloaded the operating manual. I was assuming from the Audyssey indicated in the specs that there was a mic and you could run Audyssey, however, from the operating manual, there are only a series of "presets" That's not Audyssey!!!

Sorry for misleading you. The speaker level adjustments are outlined on page 33 of the OM. You may wish to start simply by ear before spending money on an SPL meter.

At least eljay and I are on the same page, just a couple of minutes apart.

 

[eljay]

At least eljay and I are on the same page, just a couple of minutes apart.

Sorry to steal your thunder, 57!

 

[Transmico]

Thank you both for your help. I really appreciate it, if I do decide to get a meter, what volume would be a good reference?

I love the unit and for the price it couldn't be beat. Maybe as I get to know this stuff better I will upgrade in a few years.

T.

 

[eljay]

... if I do decide to get a meter, what volume would be a good reference?

It's been a while, but I believe you would simply set the receiver volume to your normal listening level (which seems to be around 50 out of 80), then go into the audio menu and, using the audio source and the SPL meter, adjust the individual channel levels, one at a time, so that they all register ~75dB on the meter.

 

[Transmico]

Awesome, thank you for the answer.

Have a great day.

T.http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif