MultEQ Pro with Onkyo PR-SC5509

This is a very interesting discussion and thank you Paul for bringing up this topic.

Chris, can you please answer the following questions?

I have a THX U2 set and I am setting the crossover frequencies always to 80 Hz after the Audyssey measurement. Sometimes I am listening with the ones Audyssey has measured but I found that going back to 80 Hz, gives me a more tight sound and more precise bass.

My questions:

What is the effect on Audyssey when changing the X-over frequencies manually after the measurement? How does this affect the overall sound/measurement? BTW this method is recommended in the Onkyo manual - setting the X-over freq. manually to 80 Hz for a THX speaker set after Audyssey measurement - consumer version.

In my case, Audyssey always finds X-over points which vary clearly according the speaker type, I am using. Surround-dipoles are usually 80 Hz, larger L/C/Rs are 60 Hz etc. Is this correct to have different X-over frequencies in the same set? Or should I see this more as a HPF for each speaker?

Wouldn't it be a good idea to have a 'THX speakers' button before the measurement starts?

Some AV magazines were writing that you should use THX speakers without any Audyssey - aka pure. What is your opinion?

Thank you in advance for answering my questions.

Best -

Markus

Hi Bob,

Yes, that's correct.

Chris, I read earlier posts that suggest raising the crossover up to something higher (i.e. 80Hz) than the 40Hz Audyessy measured after setting my Center and Fronts to small is "good thing because the MultEQ filters have 8x higher resolution in the sub channel and will produce a better bass response in your room". 

So in other words, I should get a better base when using the sub versus using my fronts/center to their full potential?

Hi Bob, yes that's exactly what I'm saying.  You should change them to Small (i.e., select a crossover frequency) otherwise no bass will be sent to the sub.  

Chris, my Denon does set my speakers to large after running Auddyssey, but since I have a subwoofer in my system, I thought I needed to change them to "small".

Hi Bob,

My recommendation for 80 Hz is the response to people whose AVR is setting their speakers to Large (Full Range).  Without knowing the actually roll off point of their speakers, 80 Hz is a good number to pick.  If the AVR is not setting your speakers to Large then you should stick with the roll off that the measurements found.

Hi Chris,

I'm a bit confused regarding crossover frequency settings.  I thought I read on the board in several places that you recommend setting crossover to 80Hz but then in your comment above to Paul you indicated its best to go with crossovers that the measurements found. 

My equipment is as follows: Denon 3312CI, Fronts - Bowers & Wilkins 683s, Center - B & W HTM61 and Subwoofer - B & W AWS610.  I don't have surrounds.

After running Audyssey and then setting my speaker configuration to "Small", the crossovers for both my fronts and centers is 40Hz.  Should I leave it at 40Hz or reset it to 80Hz?

Thank you very much Chris. This fully answers my questions.

Happy Easter holidays for all of you at Audyssey.

Markus

Hi Markus,

Changing the crossovers has no effect on the Audyssey filters.  However, if you move the crossover to a value lower than the roll off that Audyssey found then you will have no correction applied below the roll off point.  It is absolutely correct to have different crossover values.  The speaker roll off depends on the placement of the speaker.  Two identical speakers in different locations and wall distances will have different roll off.  That's the whole point of measuring and not going by the brochure!  Even THX speakers that are designed for an 80 Hz roll off will have different behavior due to room placement.

Anyone writing that you should not measure the room doesn't understand room acoustics...

Hi Paul,

The recommendation to turn down the subs by 4.5 dB is when you are running them in unison as "one".  That model also allows you to run them as discrete subs.  Perhaps you selected different option when you ran the internal XT32 vs the Pro version.  We recommend running them together as one for best performance.  

Hi Trankill,

Please take screenshots and forward this post to techsupport@audyssey.com.

Best regards,

Luke

Audyssey Laboratories

Installer support

Thank you Chris, on Blu-Ray music The double bass or guitar, drums do sound cleaner and when it does drop then the real bass comes in.

When I carry out XT32 without pro the Onkyo PR-SC5509 say's to turn down the subs 4.5db yet on the pro software it does not surgest this?? Does pro do this automatically ? And do you turn each sub 4.5db down or 4.5db between the two?

Last thing sorry :) why do you not put a plotted graph on print out's so you can see where 60Hz,80Hz 2.5Khz and so on is

Thank you for your time.

Hi Paul,

It's best to go with the crossover settings that the measurements found.  The crossover represents the best blending point between the acoustical response of the speaker and the sub and so it doesn't have anything to do with content type.  80 Hz is not any kind of reference. It's the recommended setting for THX type speakers, but even for these the in-room placement may change the roll off point.

Can I ask this, I have done my first XT32 Pro calibration on the 5509 and all seems very very good :) it set the fronts to 50Hz Centre to 60Hz and sides/backs at 70Hz great I get all that, but before I had the pro kit I would select 80Hz for all speakers as I thought this sounded better, now (I think) that putting the front three speakers to 60Hz might sound better.
Well it does sound cleaner for DTS Master audio sound on Chick Corea (Return to Forever) 80Hz seems to add a bit of bloom to the sound, but would 60Hz across front three speakers be ok for films ?? As 80Hz is a kind of reference for cinema.
Would I need to use 80Hz for films then switch to 60Hz for music ?
I do know that it's also down to personal preference but I would like to be technicaly correct as possible.

After saying all this the 16 point calibration I took was a big big step up in performace, I find this Audyssey stuff mind blowing thumbs up to you all ;)

Hi Alvin,

Please email me at techsupport@audyssey .com.

Regards,

Luke

Audyssey Laboratories

Installer support

Dear all,

I also experienced problems with the Audyssey Pro software connecting to my PR-SC5509 via IP on my LAN. But I was able to solve the problem by a fixed IP address for the Onkyo. Choose an address outside of the DHCP area of your local router. This worked for me but I don't know if it can solve your problem.

Good luck!

Markus

Hi,

I have the same problem as trankill except that I have already uploaded a session of measurements using pro xt32. I want to edit the target curve of the loaded filters as I left the midrange compensation unchecked. I would like to see if it will sound better to me using midrange compensation.

When I select the list of available units, I just get an Ip address and the control port number. I them check what is the actual from the pre pro and check if they are the same.. the weird thing is that the pr sc5509 can be detected by the network icon from the laptop I am using with audyssey pro. Why can't I pass through the initial component selection. I have had 2 sessions of measurements already and saved both files with the laptop. Its was working before, what gives?

Alvin

Hi Markus,

Please contact me at techsupport@audyssey.com.

Regards,

Luke

Audyssey Laboratories

Installer Support

Hi Luke,

I would also be interested to know, when the 5509 will be supported in the installer section for purchasing licenses.

Thank you in advance - as always :-)

Kind Regards

Markus