Difficulty calibrating subwoofer in 5.1 system…low freq pink noise level is different on each channel?

I just bought the radio shack analog SPL meter. Im running the Avia Guide to Home Theater disc to calibrate the sub level. Using Onyko TX-SR601 receiver. Sub is connected via LFE

Problem is that the low frequency pink noise is varying significantly from channel to channel. Seems like I’m getting practically no bass when played with the center channel, and too much bass when played with the rear surround channels. And although it may not be a significant difference, there is a noticeable difference in bass between the left and right front channels

For example:

Left front high = 70db
left front low = 70 +-2db

Center high = 70db
center low = 60 +_2db

right front high = 72db
right front low = 74 +-2db

Right rear high = 70db
right rear low = 78 +-2db

Left rear high = 70db
left rear low = 78 +-2db

Any ideas as to what’s going on?

Kudos for you for doing this.

In general you want 1 source of bass in your room. Use your subwoofer. Go into the receiver setup menu and define all your speakers as SMALL. This way the sub will take care of all the low frequency duties.

If you try to make the speakers do the bass – you get complex room interactions and as you have seen – large swings in volume. This is why you DONT mix large speakers and subwoofers.

Also – when you define the speakers as SMALL, the receiver wont send the power-hungry low frequencies to the 5 speakers. This frees up power for the midrange and tweeters.


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