Audyssey questions

[Ty_Tanium]

Not sure if I’m posting this in the right place.

So I managed to buy one of the last Marantz SR7015 receivers and did the the Audyssey calibration. I’m sorry to report my results were the same as everyone elses’ in that there’s absolutely no bass even though I have 2 15” subs. I remember reading there’s some kind of app available for $20 that’s not only a great help, but a necessity if you’re going to get the cal right. So I went to the Audyssey website, and guess what? There’s no mention of it except they say to go to the Marantz website. Huh? So I go to the Marantz website and guess what? There’s no mention of it at all!

I don’t get it. Why do they want people to have crappy calibrations? Why don’t they just include it with the unit? Odd. So people must be getting it from somewhere. Can someone help me out with the official name of it, where I can get it, and more information on it?

Thanks.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I think you’re looking for the Audyssey app.

‎Audyssey MultEQ Editor app

‎The latest Denon Marantz audio video products use Audyssey MultEQ for simple, accurate set-up calibration of your system to the room in which it’s used. But, now you can go further with the Audyssey MultEQ Editor app, going ‘under the hood’ to view and adjust settings for detailed tuning –...

apps.apple.com

Audyssey frequently nerfs your bass. This is one way to take care of it!

 

[wus]

This is the first time I read that "Audyssey frequently nerfs your bass." Ok., I'm not the big Audyssey expert. But in my system, Audyssey worked well to equalize bass response to linear. Unfortunately nowadays, after many years of walking around with headphones or in ears with extremely - and unnaturally! - strong bass reproduction, many people expect the same kind of bass reproduction from their AV systems and are disappointed if it doesn't deliver. But this exaggerated bass reproduction is against the idea of HiFi, where all frequencies should be reproduced equally. Audyssey follows this basic HiFi idea.

There are several ways to increase your bass reproduction level after Audyssey equ'ed out the worst room modes. The Audyssey app is basically an equalizer that allows to lift or lower frequency ranges within its graphic UI. Another possibility would be to simply turn up your subwoofer's level (AFTER Audyssey did its work!). Finally, at least some AV receivers also allow to turn up the subwoofer level in their settings. I'm pretty sure the SR7015, being Marantz's (newer generation) sister model to the unit that I have, a Denon AV-R X4500H, should offer this possibility, too.

In my setup, I had a strong booming room mode that resulted in a sort of one note bass. Audyssey was able to kill it, now my bass reproduction is clear and very defined without the resonating room mode. With the Audyssey app, I added a little boost only at the very lower end of the subwoofers frequency band, around 25 - 30 Hz. Now I have the best of both worlds, a mighty bass that is still very tight.

 

[MusicManLen]

I run Audyssey XT32 in my Marantz AV10 with (4) SVS subs and then make manual adjustments to the Audyssey settings using a Sound Pressure Level Meter and after the manual adjustments to the channel levels all is well with speakers and subs. I leave the distances set in Audyssey XT32 as is and only adjust the speaker and sub levels. Before starting the manual level adjustments I set my Marantz processor to 0DB volume level which is reference level. Just remember to reset your Marantz volume level to your normal listening level after making adjustments with SPL meter before playing back any movie or music selections.

I have the $20 Audyssey Editor App you are trying to find which is available in the app store and have it downloaded to my tablet.
The editor app will allow you to adjust a variety of the Audyssey settings and then send you preferences to your Marantz receiver.
Instead of using the built in Audyssey program in your receiver you run Audyssey using the editor app from your downloaded device. One great feature of the Audyssey Editor App is that it lets you disable mid range compensation on all your speaker channels.
Another feature that I like is the ability to set the range of the Audyssey room correction. For example you can set the range to be 500hz and below and Audyssey will only room correct your bass frequency's and leave your upper frequency's alone.

Hope this helps

 

[Spidacat]

@Ty_Tanium Unless you made some kind of error during the process, it's unlikely that Audyssey royally screwed up. Depending on what you came from, perhaps you're used to bloated bass or maybe your room without EQ has a nice boost in the 40-60 Hz range that you're used to? Audyssey is trying to provide a flat in room response. If you had some boom or sizzle that you're used to, it will take time to get used to "correct" bass. That being said, many people prefer more bass than stock Audyssey provides. You can either go into your speaker settings and add 3-5 dB to your sub trim or maybe turn on DynEQ (dynamic EQ).

I think the $20 app is available in the Google play store and is called MultEQ. It does provide some added flexibility, but the basic EQ process is basically the same. I don't know if the current version is "fixed" or now. Some of the versions measured the bass wrong and it always reported the sub trims to -12. If you buy the app and see that you'll need to search out a different version.


$20 Audyssey MultEQ app

 

[Ty_Tanium]

Sorry for the slow responses. We’ve had some very unfortunate family & relative events (deaths & illnesses) happening. I’m glad I can come back to this hobby to get my mind off of things at least for a little while.

Wus – I’m surprised this is the first you’ve heard of this. It’s quite well documented on this and other websites/forums and has been going on for quite some time. This is the first time for me dealing with it personally. I didn’t think the condition would be as severe as it is. Glad to hear you had a better experience with it.

Yes, the SR7015 does have the subwoofer adjustment that you were talking about. Although using the internal adjustment is easier, I personally prefer using the volume knob on the subs as it affects the output of the entire range of the subwoofer, not just a portion of it. Just seems to work better.

Spidacat – I understand what you’re trying to convey. I can assure you it’s not a case of being used to bloated bass. I’ve been listening to music on equipment easily above the norm for the past 5 decades and definitely don’t like bloated, muddy, or boomy bass. Just like so many others have experienced, Audyssey did royally screw up. Not only did it totally kill the bass, it thinks some of my bookshelf speakers are full range – and they’re not extreme high-end speakers to be sure.

Thanks for the link. I've been made aware of a more flexible PC version of Audyssey and I’m not sure which way I want to go. I want to do some REW measurements first too, to make sure I understand what I'm dealing with.

 

[Spidacat]

@Ty_Tanium do you happen to have REW? A few sweeps of before/after Audyssey might help show what's going on? Have you used other room correction software in the past and had better success?
BTW, Audyssey only reports the F3 of your speaker. The AVR translates that to small or large and picks crossovers. Many smaller rooms have enough boundary reinforcement to repost much lower F3 values than those reported by the manufacturer. Also, since you mentioned some of your speakers were reported as large, did you change them to small and pick a reasonable crossover? If your speakers are "large" there will basically be nothing sent to your subs. If so I'd start by changing all speakers to "small" and start with a standard 80 Hz crossover for all. See if that helps your subs come alive. If that works you can further tweak the crossovers and other settings to your liking.

 

[Ty_Tanium]

@Ty_Tanium do you happen to have REW? A few sweeps of before/after Audyssey might help show what's going on? Have you used other room correction software in the past and had better success?
BTW, Audyssey only reports the F3 of your speaker. The AVR translates that to small or large and picks crossovers. Many smaller rooms have enough boundary reinforcement to repost much lower F3 values than those reported by the manufacturer. Also, since you mentioned some of your speakers were reported as large, did you change them to small and pick a reasonable crossover? If your speakers are "large" there will basically be nothing sent to your subs. If so I'd start by changing all speakers to "small" and start with a standard 80 Hz crossover for all. See if that helps your subs come alive. If that works you can further tweak the crossovers and other settings to your liking.

Yes, I have REW. See my previous post. Still a greenhorn at it, but learning.
Yes, speakers were switched back to small as soon as I saw the error. Using my ear, I tried an 80hz crossover but that sounded too high. Tried 60hz but that seems to be a titch on the low side. I think 70hz would be ideal but I don't have that option. I've left it at 60.

 

[Spidacat]

When you can, post some screen shots of some basic REW sweeps or even the before/after Audyssey graphs. They're only predicted, but if your bass is really nerfed they might be good enough to see what's going on.