Page 13
SETTING THE REFERENCE LEVEL
Step 1
TURN THE MASTER GAIN ON THE REMOTE TO -50dB AND
THEN TURN ON THE MONITORING SYSTEM
Step 2
If you are not already in the SETUP MODE,
hold down the
SELECT button for 5 seconds to enter SETUP MODE. Then press
SELECT 1 time, or until the display reads “CAL CHANNELS”. Now
press the up arrow button and confirm that the LEFT, CENTER,
RIGHT, RIGHT SUR (right surround), LEFT SUR (left surround) and
SUBWOOFER GAIN are set to +0.00dB, as shown below. Use the
“+ “ and “-” buttons to addjust levels if necassary.
(please note that the SUBWOOFER GAIN should not be confused
with the SUB OFFSET, which should be set to -10.0dB.
Step 3
Assign the 500-2.5kHz pink noise signal to the center channel only.
Confirm that all of your speakers are turned on and that the gain on
each speaker is set to a moderate level. Slowly bring up the gain
with the master gain control knob on the BMC remote until you
measure 85dB on the “C” scale, with the response set to “Slow”.
SPL should be measured exactly at the reference monitoring
possition, at ear level, with the SPL meter at arms length, angled
up at approximatly 45 degrees and pointed towards the source
/ up towards the ceiling. Note the gain displayed on the remote
when the center channel is at 85dBc. If the display on the remote
is at less than -20dB turn the gain on the back of the center channel
down and increase the level of the BMC until a good compromise
is reached (make a note of this final setting). Typically using a
reference gain setting of -10dB is a good choice between overall
electrical headroom, input signal level, output signal level and
giving the user an additional 10dB of system gain when necassary.
Step 4
Once the “REFERENCE LEVEL” setting has been determined, turn off
the pink noise signal, make a note of the SYSTEM GAIN reading on
the remote. Set the gain controls on the rest of the monitors to the
same level as the center channel (subwoofer may need more gain
due to the offset setting).
Step 5
Saving the reference level:
If you are not already in the SETUP
MODE,
hold down the SELECT button for 5 seconds to enter
SETUP MODE. Then press SELECT 3 time, or until the display reads
“SETUP”. Press the down arrow button once, or until the display
reads “SET REF GAIN”, as shown below.
Turn the master gain control knob until the SYSTEM GAIN equals
the gain noted in step 4. Release the knob, being careful to not
nudge it and then press YES, when the menu reapears. You have
now successfully stored the preset “REF” level. Press CANCEL to
exit setup and then press the REF button to confirm the setting is
correct. The display will read “REF GAIN”, with the gain setting
below (shown below). The REF LED will also be ON.
SYSTEM ACOUSTIC LEVEL SETTING - INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING BAND-
WIDTH LIMITED TEST FILES
(using MOVIE / DVD RELEASE level settings for
this example)
Step 1
If you are not already in the SETUP MODE,
hold down the
SELECT button for 5 seconds to enter SETUP MODE. Then press
SELECT 1 time, or until the display reads “CAL CHANNELS”.
Step 2
Turn the gain knob on the remote to the “REF” setting, as determined
in the previous section. Assign the 500-2.5kHz pink noise signal to
the left channel. Push the up arrow button once, until the display
reads “LEFT 1 GAIN”. Adjust the gain using the “+” and “-” buttons,
until you measure 85dBc / SLOW at the mix position (adjustments
are made in .5dB increments). SPL should be measured exactly at
the reference monitoring possition, at ear level, with the SPL meter
at arms length, angled up at approximately 45 degrees and pointed
towards the source / up towards the ceiling.
Confirm that the master gain setting has not been changed from the
“reference level” setting. Repeat this step for the remaining MAIN
channels - Right, Left Surround & Right Surround.
Step 3
Feed 40-80Hz pink noise signal to the CENTER channel only.
Adjust the subwoofer level
control (on the back of the sub) and
“SUBWOOFER 1 GAIN” in the “CAL CHANNELS” menu, until you
measure 85dBc. SPL should be measured in the same way as was
done for the center channel. The meter will bounce around a little,
so you will need to do a mental average (I tend to filter out the peaks
in my mind, so I don’t set the sub too hot). The other channels will
measure about the same and no additional adjustments needs to
be made using the 40-80Hz pink noise signal.
Step 4
You can play the full-bandwidth pink noise, assigning it to any of
the main channels (not at the same time). You should measure
about 85dBc. It may be a little higher, because below 30Hz the
room may have a little extra gain.
No adjustments should be
made with Full Bandwidth pink noise, unless you have an RTA
(real time analyzer) - see instructions on Page 14.
Step 5
You are finished and the calibration process has been completed
– enjoy!
Please make a note of all settings!