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Step 3 continued:
You can tweak the placement from there and see if you can improve your response graph
before moving on to the next step.
NOTE:
Use caution when playing sine wave test tones through your subwoofer. They can damage
your subwoofer by overheating the driver's voice coil if the volume is too high. Set the master volume
to yield average readings of around 80 dB at 40 Hz for the sweep. If you start at 10 Hz (well below
human hearing and the capability of most subwoofers) you may feel the need to raise the master
volume, so start by playing a 40 Hz tone and adjust the master volume to 80 dB, then proceed with the
entire sweep.
Set the meter at the listening position and set it to 'C' weight and 'slow'. Start the meter's range at it's
lowest setting at the beginning of the sweep and notch the range up as the frequency of the tones rises
(the volume of the tones will increase as the frequencies rise to the frequency range of the capability of
the subwoofer).
STEP #4: LEVEL ADJUSTMENT
1.
Use the calibration menu in the Pre/Pro or receiver setup menu and use the on board
calibration tones of your preamp to adjust the subwoofer level (or a setup disc, if you
prefer) and remember to set the master volume to '0' before you begin this step.
2.
Many people like to 'run the subwoofer hot', that is, louder than it should be. This is a
personal preference, but not an option at this point in setup. You're looking for the
reference setup for your subwoofer. You can always change the level later, but you'll have
the reference settings to fall back on if you aim for the flattest in-room response during
setup.
3.
The goal here is to level the volume of the subwoofer to the satellites to as close a degree
as possible, given your limited measurement tool (sorry, Tandy).
NOTE
: Most people whose opinions I respect believe that the RS meter is approximately, on average, 2
dB off when using the rumble tone pink noise calibration tone. This would mean that if, for example,
your satellites are calibrated using 75 dB as the reference volume with the tones you're using to
calibrate, you would calibrate your subwoofer level to read 73 dB.
I tend to agree with this assessment as the proper method at this point in the setup procedure.
