“Using two subwoofers and smaller satellite speakers makes this solution much easier, and that’s the setup we recommend. These nulls can be remedied by placing the speakers in a smart location, which Lemay said is usually near the 1/4-width positions. “The most severe are the middle and 1/4-length and width positions. Why? Because they occur in predictable locations. It’s only when we are exposed to a really good system that we are aware of what we are missing.”įinding these nulls in small rooms, however, isn’t that difficult. “As people, we have a natural ability to listen through distortion. The only solution is to move the listener out of the null, Lemay said. Small rooms resonate loudly at several frequencies, which equalization cannot cancel out. When placing speakers and setting up listener positions, you’re looking to avoid placing the listener in what Lemay calls a “resonant null,” or “a cancellation point for one of the room’s prime resonant frequency modes.” Basically, it’s the position where sound doesn’t sound as good. “A simple rule of thumb would be to measure the distance from the MLP to your center channel,” Pelz said, “and then set the left and right speakers that same distance apart.” Your left and right speakers should be 45-60 degrees apart. Keep seats away from walls and other boundaries, and make sure your center channel is in line with your main listening position (MLP). The subsequent folding of the bass sound waves causes severe resonance, which is the common ‘boomy’ or ‘ringing’ bass commonly heard in consumer theaters.” The good news is that these issues are solvable with proper speaker, subwoofer and listener placement.Įvery system can benefit from some level of calibration, even if it’s just moving the speakers and furniture around. “Small rooms have much more distortion because bass-frequency wavelengths do not fit inside the room. “The technical explanation is that large rooms do not distort the frequency response of speakers significantly,” Lemay said. If some notes fade away while others seem to “ring” longer, that’s usually a sign calibration is needed.Ĭalibrating small rooms, like your living room, is surprisingly more complex than calibrating larger venues. Can you hear clear, distinct notes? Or is it all a muddy, boomy blur of sound? When listening to music, notes should not be inconsistent (meaning that they should sound like they are coming from the same place). The next thing to listen for is the bass. If you’re constantly rewinding to have to listen to audio again, that’s usually a dead giveaway. “One of the complaints I hear most is about dialogue intelligibility,” Pelz said. In that regard, there are a few things to listen for.

It’s only when we are exposed to a really good system that we are aware of what we are missing. As people, we have a natural ability to listen through distortion. “Audio is an odd duck in that the only way to truly appreciate an improvement is to hear the difference,” Lemay said. However, you can’t calibrate a poorly laid-out system with equalization. An auto-cal system can do a good job if the speakers/sub and seats are intelligently positioned. This can very quickly improve the sound quality of the audio system. You want to physically move your main speakers, listening positions (where you’ll be sitting) and subwoofer(s) to their best locations. Without calibration, the audio won’t be optimal, and, as Adam Pelz, senior design engineer at REAL Audio Video, noted, “the difference between what the speaker is playing and what you hear at your listening position can be wildly different.” In short: where and how the speakers are set up is more important than the quality of the audio system itself.Ĭalibration should involve two separate processes. Speakers aren’t designed for rooms, they’re designed to be set up in rooms. This is why everyone should must calibrate their multi-channel audio system - no matter what or where it is. Imagine the performance difference in a sports car if the wheels are in the wrong location.” We have to decide where to put the wheels (a.k.a. “The difference is that the carmaker places the wheels on the car in the right place.” With audio systems, the components are only part of the car. We often think of great speakers as we do great cars - all the technology and state-of-the-art materials,” said Gerry Lemay, director of the Home Acoustics Alliance (HAA).

Audio tuner calibration