Get A More IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE From Your Home Theater by Doing THIS

One of the goals of every home theater is to have an IMMERSIVE sound. Unfortunately, Audyssey, YPAO, ARC and even Dirac Live do not always get it right. Today I will show you a simple tip that will help ensure that your theater room provides an incredible immersive experience.
Note: Some prefer to use C Weighting and Slow Response as it takes an average of the response which is fine as well.
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The SPL meters below have A/C weighting. Most of the less expensive ones on Amazon do not.
Budget SPL Meters:
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Mid Level SPL Meters:
REED Instruments R8050 - amzn.to/3cf5oet
REED Instruments R8060 - amzn.to/3g5MvMm
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My Home Theater Photos & Videos:
Theater Room Video Tour- • UPDATED 7.2.4 Dolby At...
Custom Cabinet Build Thread - imgur.com/gallery/Ly3SMdU
7.2.4 Dolby Atmos Build Thread - goo.gl/YShhGf
High Res Photos - imgur.com/gallery/Z2YE8vK
My 7.2.4 Dedicated Home Theater System:
Speakers:
(3) JTR Noesis 212HTR - bit.ly/JTR_Noesis_212HTR
(4) Klipsch RS-62ii - amzn.to/2ET4R2w
(4) Klipsch CDT-5800-C II Atmos Speakers - amzn.to/2P4PdEZ
(2) JTR Captivator RS2 Subwoofers - bit.ly/jtr-captivator-rs2
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150" Seymour Center Stage XD Cinescope (2.35:1) Acoustic Transparent Screen - seymourav.com/screensDIY.php
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PS5
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Theater Seating:
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Videos Referenced:
Valencia Tuscany Theater Seating Review - bit.ly/valencia_tuscany
Valencia Oxford Theater Seating Review - • Home Theater Seating w...
JTR Subwoofers - • Home Theater Subwoofer...
Marantz AV7705 Review - • Marantz AV7705 and Emo...
Pioneer UDP-LX500 Review - • Pioneer UDP-LX500 Revi...
Monolith 11X Amplifier Review - • Monoprice Monolith 11X...
_____
My Home Theater Photos & Videos:
Theater Room Video Tour- • Home Theater Tour with...
Custom Cabinet Build Thread - imgur.com/gallery/Ly3SMdU
7.2.4 Dolby Atmos Build Thread - goo.gl/YShhGf
High Res Photos - imgur.com/gallery/Z2YE8vK
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Disclaimer: Affiliate Links are used in the description of this video. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

[@Youthman]

The SPL meters below have A/C weighting. Note: Most less expensive ones on Amazon do not. Budget SPL Meters: VLIKE - amzn.to/3ccOe18 Galaxy Audio CM130 - amzn.to/3ccbYmg Protmex MS6708 - amzn.to/3ibJs7R Extech 407730 - amzn.to/34L6N8t Mid Level SPL Meters: REED Instruments R8050 - amzn.to/3cf5oet REED Instruments R8060 - amzn.to/3g5MvMm Ways You Can Support: Patreon: www.patreon.com/youthman Youthman Courses - www.youthmancourses.com/ Youthman Merch - teespring.com/stores/youthman/

[@JumpRopeLift]

My RatShack SPL meter is older. Lol.

[@JoshHare85]

Hey Youthman! Great video, just a quick question, when you say ‘point the db meter at the speaker’ do you mean from the sweet spot listening area or the same distance from each speaker individually? Thanks 👍🏼

[@Youthman]

Yes you want to measure from your primary listening position

[@JoshHare85]

@@Youthman thanks for the quick reply 😎 great. I have a 2008 Onkyo with Audyssey, it’ll be interesting to see if this makes a difference! The Daily Hifi podcast is great also 😉 Cheers from 🇦🇺

[@supreme9080]

I’m grateful for this video. All of my speakers were low. No wonder I was having such issue with punch. Thanks so much for this vid. I downloaded an app that had the weighted scales and measured from my viewing seat. Much appreciated.

[@jollyguy2323]

There are plenty of videos online about this setup BUT what makes your stand apart are the details that many other videos assume. Example, asking to set your db to Zero is said as a one line in other videos but you took the trouble to show what this means and how to do it. This makes us so much more clear fir folks that may. It know about this to begin with. Keep making these videos. Like your channel and more importantly love the small details you provide

[@Youthman]

Thank you Raj

[@ripleyhrgiger4669]

YES THIS RIGHT HERE - I was thinking "okay this is fine and all but where should my volume be set to take this measurement?" Thanks for covering that important detail. And holy smokes, I bet this is why I feel like my surrounds and atmos aren't as dynamic as they should be even with dynamic EQ enabled. I always felt something wasn't right... I'll be doing this tonight.

[@claypyrotech7473]

I agree he answered my question because I never seen a Receiver say Decibal instead of volume %. I was wondering my receiver says around 84% is THX reference I wonder if that's the same ?.

[@kaulikelani4937]

I think the most immersive thing I've done for my home theatre is I hired someone to fight me during fight scenes in movies. It's amazing, I feel like I'm literally in the movie.

[@vasanthpadmanaban9748]

Who did you hire?

[@michaelburke5750]

You made my day! Wow, that was funny.

[@cbriscoe658]

Great instructional video. I've watched a lot set up videos, but I have never seen setting your volume to reference level. Thank you for a clear and concise video.

[@Youthman]

You’re quite welcome

[@willo300]

Clear and easy to follow instructions thanks Youthman - I think I'll try this tomorrow 👍

[@jeffmatthews2398]

Great video, thank you! I will be saving up for this unit and cant wait to see the difference it makes.

[@desertplanet3320]

Thanks again for awesome info/procedure and tweaks. 😁 One thing to keep in mind with the Level tweak, is that when you use internal test tones after room eq, the internal test tones don't use the room eq.. So the levels will not be correct.. You need to have the room eq engaged while doing SPL levels to get correct levels. only best way is with external test tones. amd keeping your room eq ON. I recommend the the 2015 atmos demo disc.. It has all the test tones you need.. And this 2015 disc does not have the error on sub level that all the years after do... (the test tones on atmos demo disc after 2015 have sub test tone 10db to hot . So end result would make your sub 10db lower than other channels).. So you would turn on your room eq for input that will play your demo disc. Set master volume to - 10db for ref. The atmos demo disc is calibrated to get 85db if you set your master volume to 0db. Which is crazy loud. So using -10db instead set all SPL to 75db.. For each channel except subwoofer, unplug subwoofer power... when measuring all other channels. The reason, when each channel is played, it will steer base to subwoofer also at crossover you choose.. Which will give you wrong SPL for that channel.. So measure each channel with subwoofer unplugged... Now when you get to subwoofer, plug it back in and measure it.. I like to to use for all channels, C weight and Slow and point SPL meter to ceiling at main listening position. (this mimics your ears better as your ears are not pointed at each speaker) Hope this helps.. 😁

[@canweshoot]

You saved the day, brother. Or at least you saved me from typing all that. Another thing to watch out for, folks, is that the Radio Shack analog spl meters were notorious for undermeasuring bass (LFE test track) by 3dB. I have one that does that, and I used to think that it was an Audyssey miss, and jack up the subs 3dB unnecessarily. That will also screw up Dynamic EQ bass. Also, In the era of MultEQ-X, I have yet to see any trim need to be changed if using the Audssey Pro mic and in an ideal position #1 position. One last point: If your test tone source is a Dolby one, be sure to check in the AVR menu audio information to see if there is a DialNorm flag. If so, it will say how much (commonly -4dB), and you need to subtract that from your target (71dB vs 75dB). If there is no DialNorm flag, 75dB is proper.

[@voiceofreason9238]

This video is the first one I've seen which makes sense using an SPL meter AND Audyssey. Excellent demonstration and explanation. Thanks!

[@Youthman]

Thank you kindly

[@owlpix8273]

Ditto Voice of Reason. I have seen many videos and they skip these little details like turning the volume to reference and making slight adjustments. Youthman's video makes sense! Thanks!

[@raymondayala5355]

@@Youthman me too!! Thank you so much. I recently purchased the Denon 4700 and I’m ordering the SVS UTLRA tower theater package with 2 prime elevation speakers and the PC100 Sub. I wanted to know if you think the Denon has enough juice to power my system or if I need a separate amp? Would I just get a $500 amp to power to front, right, left and then use the Denon to power the surrounds and height speakers? Would I need an amp for the subwoofer? Lol. I’ve been passionate about home theater for quite some time now. I was a Bose enthusiast until I bought my first bower and Wilkins 600 series for my Vava 150 projector and became obsessed with audio. There’s something about going to a theater and hearing that crisp clear and deep sound without over bearing bass. Do you personally think the AVS ultra theater system is somewhat close to mimicking theater sound? Thank you so much for all that you do!

[@Youthman]

My advice is to power your set up with just the Denon first and see if it meets your needs. If Do you feel you need more power to get the volume that you like, you can always add an amplifier to the front three speakers. That would certainly help

[@Youthman]

Your subwoofer does not need an amplifier because it has a built-in amplifier on its own

[@mattgiunt]

Having used a yamaha 2080 and YPAO for room corrections I had an interesting experience going back to use a Radio Shack sound pressure meter.You are able to save two patterns on Yamaha so I kept one with YPAO settings and one where I used the meter for levels(and they were off a bit from YPAO) and I used a digital tape measure for distances(except subs which I kept the YPAO distance).Testing both patterns on same movies I actually found the YPAO settings were more pleasing to listen to vs. the measured settings.I think YPAO has come a long way in its higher end models. Sound was more expansive and bigger using levels set by YPAO even though they were off according to Sound pressure level readings.

[@rv112xy]

This gentleman is such a nice guy. It's a pleasure to listen his tips and improve your system. Thank you!

[@Youthman]

Thank you kindly

[@doublet147]

Great & simple run through. I can't believe I didn't think to go this route of leveling. I'm fairly new to home theaters. I think because I'm an audio/studio engineer, I just chose to use ear correction to my liking after software room correction. I'm interested in seeing how my ear adjustments stand up to instrumental adjustments. I actually may still may go with my ear. Because tuning your system should always in the end be what you like.

[@Youthman]

Do whatever works best for your system

[@fotophotographer]

I see others have commented on this as well, but it is interesting that Audioholics recommends the opposite (use C weighting and slow response). It might be interesting / worthwhile to clarify the difference between A and C, Slow and Fast and why you've chosen one setup over another. Overall, a great video. I really appreciated how you clarified the difference between dB volume scale and a number scale. I have watched so many level videos and yours is the first to clarify the difference.

[@MrKoolademann]

Thank you so much !!!! Sound is day and night. Woke up other speakers. Awesome video. Keep up the great work.

[@Youthman]

Fantastic! Glad you found the video so helpful

[@FenderStrat19711]

This video was VERY informative. I had never considered using a sound meter to properly calibrate my audio system, and I certainly never knew anything about the proper settings and measurements to use. Thanks so much for posting, I never knew any of this!!!

[@Youthman]

I’m grateful to hear you found the video helpful

[@victormuriel7266]

I guess this is going to help to improve my system a lot, and that's going to be an interesting experiment because I have all bookshelves and all the same model.

[@roguewarr4662]

Very informative on set up of speaker levels . For novice and advance people , with home AVR that can be some what intuitive to operate in settings . You made it looks smooth .

[@richardbeebe1861]

OUTSTANDING tip! Thank you

[@swcargill]

Whoa!!! Just Whoa!!!. This Extremely Informative video made all the difference in my movie watching experience. I don't have a dedicated theater room but an open living room with weird dynamics. I thought I just had to live with the ok sound. Fine tuning my speaker levels with your advice made all the difference and turned my ok sound from Audyssey recommendations into an awesome movie experience. Thank you for making good clean Rated G videos that I enjoy watching with my daughter.

[@CharloBagis]

I moved some furniture in my living room and planned to re-calibrate coming weekend. Thanks for the tip Michael 👍

[@Youthman]

Glad to help

[@johnscott4385]

Good information. Clear presentation. Thanks.

[@vanwilliams4028]

Great vid. Going through my system after a rebuild so I'm going back to the basics. Thanks!

[@victormuriel7266]

Great video Michael, thanks again for sharing this knowledge with us. Blessings. 🙏🏻 Best regards from Mexico 🇲🇽

[@Youthman]

Thank you kindly Victor

[@nedkulic2164]

Absolutely Awesome stuff Michael.... Thank you!!! 😊, this will definitely bring about a good balance of immersive sound.👏👏👏 🤜🤛

[@Youthman]

Thank you Ned

[@Jimbomania]

I just upgraded to SVS Prime Bookshelves for my front stage and without even knowing about all this I had bumped up my rears and Atmos channels. It helped a lot. Now I'll have to play around with matching the sound level 👌

[@jebo4jc]

Adding this to the to do list for the home theater. Thanks as always Michael!

[@Youthman]

Glad you found it helpful Jeremy

[@hometheaterjoe9489]

Awesome video!! Saving this one in my playlist. Thank you buddy!! It will help immensely!!

[@tahirhameed-mth1530]

I also find levelling same all speakers to your sitting area just by your ears also gives you immerse sound. SPL is best instrument to fine tune. I recommend many colleague and they amazed by this.

[@wolverine3344]

The information you provide to our community is beyond valuable. Love the analog SPL meter, same I had in the 90s lol

[@Youthman]

Appreciate the kind words wolverine

[@darrenloke5486]

Great guide, definitely beginner friendly. I would also suggest for folks without a physical SPL meter to use their phone too. There’s dB meter apps in the store that can help measure it, possibly may not be as accurate, but definitely doable.

[@tk45440]

Same here. I have had a Livingroom surround setup with a few iterations since well before 2010. 3.1, 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, and currently 5.1.4, all living happily with Audassy or AccuEQ alone. It wasn't until April this year that I actually bought an SPL meter and did this most basic of calibrations. Its like 10% effort above room correction. It takes so little effort to get the SPL meter and push a few more buttons, but makes a bigger difference that you would expect. Another great vid, I'm having a blast going back through your stuff.

[@Youthman]

Thank you kindly. Glad you found the video helpful and has taken your set up to an improved level as well

[@mystic7splace]

I downloaded an SPL meter app to my phone but even with complete dead silence the meter was jumping all over the place, from 35 to 85 dbl, so I decided to play it by ear. I always had my speakers at well over + decibels, I lowered them to something like -1 and my sub to -4 and the results were astounding. Super dry, tight bass and the front speakers now have an amazing depth of sound. I can even hear my surrounds now. In the future I'll try doing it with a proper SPL meter but for now I'm extremely pleased!

[@BOSS-UAQ]

Thanks man, you always help me with useful information. Thanks again

[@Youthman]

Glad you found the video helpful

[@macho9556]

Deffinetly watching this when I get home from work. Thanks Youthman!!

[@Youthman]

Thanks Macho

[@macho9556]

@@Youthman Thank YOU sir!!

[@HometheaterEnthusiast]

That was a simple but powerful tip, loved it 😍 I think those who have a umic with them can utilise it for the SPL measurement. All the best for the journey towards 100k 🤩🤩

[@Youthman]

Thank you kindly. Yes you’re correct you can use the REW and a calibration microphone to do the same thing

[@ricardogarcia869]

Great video Michael, thank you for all the videos you upload. They have really helped me build my home theater. Nothing like yours but it sounds good.I recently purchased a Denon AVR-X3700H which I am still playing around with the settings. I have always calibrated my home theater to reference level using the same radio shack spl meter you demonstrated. I do this after the audyssey auto cal. I have always used the C weighting and slow. I will try to do it your way to see if there is any difference. Is A weighting and fast a more accurate calibration?

[@jamiet74]

After calibrating to Reference Level, you will actually have an average of 85dB with 105dB Peaks (20dB Dynamic Range) The internal test tones in (most) AVRs are 30dBFS,traditionally they were 20dBFS but many found this too loud during the calibration process. Everything you said is correct, except that when at 0dB Master Volume with a calibrated system,you should have 85dB/105dB average/peaks

[@Youthman]

Thanks. I learn something new every day.

[@Christopher._M]

So in this video he set it at 75DB so his peaks will be 95 DB?

[@manamimnm]

@@Christopher._M If the test tone was set to -30 dBFS then the peak is at 105 dB. But remember that a program is mainly running on 2 channels so you have to add +3 dB.

[@MasterMark5]

Wow Youthman just level matching my speakers made a MASSIVE difference, i watched a movie and i could hear so much more than i did before. Thank you so much for the tip!

[@Youthman]

Glad your system is sounding much better now.

[@louis-philippeletourneau7689]

A great and useful video like usual. Thanks Youthman! 😊🎶

[@MrJunie64]

Once again you have helped me, and my system sounds better then ever. You rock!!!!!!

[@Youthman]

I appreciate the kind words.

[@DDS23]

Also manually adjust the distance of my speakers after Audyssey calibration. Tanks for your tips to correctly manually adjust my speaker levels. After adjusting my speaker levels i put a disc on and went back to adjust my rear surround speakers because I found them just a little louder than rest of my speakers.

[@shannonjennings1454]

If for no one else (which I highly doubt), you made this video just for me! I have been wondering what I could do to get the most out of my system because something seems off. After running Audyssey, I still wasn't pleased and felt let down by my system. Nothing seemed balanced at all and I knew there had to be a way of calibrating your system yourself. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I will do this on my days off. Keep up the great and informative content like this. I just subscribed because of this👍

[@Youthman]

Glad you found the video helpful Shannon. Let me know how it works out

[@shannonjennings1454]

@@Youthman Will do👍

[@GuitarGuy5000000000]

This was eye opening for sure. I knew already that auto calibration can mistake your speaker sizes and crossovers, but wasn't sure how accurate the levels were. Come to think of it, my surrounds could probably be a bit louder. I will test it like you showed here and see if I'm right! Many thanks for this video.

[@Youthman]

Glad to help

[@iscbts70]

I’ve always used my SPL meter set to C-weighting, slow. Not sure where I heard that (Audioholics maybe), but the Denon website recommends that setting. I also place the meter with the microphone facing up towards the ceiling at ear height.

[@Youthman]

Nothing wrong with that. Different people use different settings. C weighting will work fine because it takes an average. I just prefer to use A weighted Fast when calibrating my setup. The key is to have them all the same volume.

[@ZeonStar77]

I’ve always heard to use C Weight when doing this as well and never thought to question it. What is the difference in A and C weight anyway?

[@tb2324]

I’m pretty sure that is SVS’s recommendation as well. Or it was many years ago.

[@Doozer72]

Back in the old days, Home Theater magazine and others also suggested C-weighting/slow and the mic always pointed up at your main listening position at ear height.

[@alanlindsay8310]

@@Doozer72 This is correct. I've been doing room calibrations for over 20 years and this is the proper way when using a standard SPL meter.

[@LifeofBliss]

Level matching really helps with surround affects in my experience... great video and tips bud

[@airman6822]

Awesome vid. I'm anxious to try this. I have adjusted some by ear but my hearing isn't as good as it used to be. Probably because of loud movies, LOL.

[@samcoombs2402]

We level matched our system using this method what a difference it has made thanks youthman

[@sutraleticsssutraleticss5001]

Great video, very well explained. Audyssey set my levels to approx 77db. I used the SPL to level all channels to 77, then increased the centre by 1db. They sound awesome. Do I need to further tweak?

[@Mrsunshine1234]

I had ceiling speakers installed when we had the house built. Nothing fantastic but better than just the tv. After a year I finally ordered the receiver. It's a Denon AVR-S570BT. Nothing over the top, but it'll do the job perfectly for what I have.

[@BenjaminSherlock]

I never use audyssey... it never gets it right. I always have to re-adjust manually afterwards anyway, so I don't even bother. This was a great vid to assist in the process, though. Keep up the great work, man!

[@Youthman]

Thank you Banjamin. Nothing wrong with manual calibration.

[@troybryantIII]

Wow. Your channel has helped so much. I started off with bose. Was tired of the wires and the volume just wasn't right. Moved to Sonos but update after update became annoying. Then I saw one of your svs pb 16 videos and rest was history

[@Youthman]

Thank you Troy I’m glad the channel has been helpful

[@jolandogreaves2020]

Appreciate this vid bro..... loving what I'm hearing

[@JonathanMoore3fecta]

I really enjoy your measurement videos. I would love to see a similar video focused on 2 channel calibration for music playback.

[@mustangfred2006]

Thank you Youthman. So helpful. Didn't realize you should set your sub to 75 db as well. And your spl meter is way more than ten years old, me thinks.

[@Youthman]

It’s probably close to 15 years old because that’s when we built our home theater.

[@doctorD46]

Another great video Michael. Be Blessed.

[@ghambino1]

Let me just say this is the best video i watch that just took my new home theater to a new level and cant thank you enough. The steps were simple to follow and i bought on ebay a radio shack model and it was perfect. I am a huge fan of this channel and talk about you all the time about how helpful your channel is. Thanks.

[@Youthman]

Thank you for the kind words. I’m grateful my videos have been helpful to you.

[@brucericketts3943]

I just watched this video and oh my lord what a difference. So much better! I have a question on buying a separate amp. I have the Denon x4300h which does 9.2. My sweet spot is about 13ft from the tv and front sound stage. I want to do 7.3.4 and add a 7 channel amp to the system. All of my speakers are Klipsch and very sensitive as you know. Roughly 96 to 97db. My options are the Emotiva BasX A7 90 watts per channel $699, the Outlaw 7000X 130 watts per channel $1019, and the Monolith 7 channel 200 watts per channel $1730. Please help me make the decision. Thank you so much for the great videos you put out. Have a blessed day!

[@olivierc1310]

Very nice video. Gonna get me a db tester too. Great video like always.

[@mikeschramm]

Great video! Here I thought I knew all about this, but I never knew I should first set my AVR volume to 0 dB before starting. Thank you!

[@Youthman]

It’s cool, I’m sure my process isn’t the perfect way to do it either. I just know it has worked well for me over the past 15 years.

[@kujoomd2863]

Great video Mike, the room correction software never quite gets level or distance correct. Manually fixing these parameters really does make a difference, you explained this very well. I wanted to add that a umik-1 and REW also work very well for taking these measurements. The umik-2 you are giving away might even be better 😁

[@Youthman]

You are correct. You can use the UMIK-1 and built in SPL meter in REW.

[@voiceofreason9238]

Audyssey does not set distance for physical distance, it's set for time delay so at Reference level the sound from all speakers reach the listeners ears all at the same time.

[@zelko0768]

Sweet vid. So when you said point at the speakers you actually meant point at them. I remember doing this back in the day where the SPL was just facing forward for the readings.

[@VividTheater]

Awesome stuff Youthman! Since Audyseey is not getting the levels dead on, would the EQ settings need to be tweaked after as well?

[@calibre00]

Thanks for this one! I too hadn't been sure about the volume level setting on the Avr to do this process, so this is a great walk through, I did have to bump my centre up by about 5-6db! And right by 2db, Seems like a lot...it was just using an app, I might get an spl meter and fine tune. And this is after xt32 on a Denon x3700 calibration but... after a quick listen definitely sounds more cohesive and balanced though, so a great starting point. cheers!

[@Youthman]

Glad the video was helpful

[@MichaelGreco]

I've been doing C and slow for everything since I got my spl meter. I'll try what you mentioned in the video

[@markie4tv]

cheers for this, followed your guide and made a big difference , one thing , you didn’t mention distances from the seating to the speakers , would it make much difference if the distance was out a little?

[@mearle8756]

Thanks for another great video Michael, wondering your current thoughts on dynamic EQ?

[@Youthman]

I like Dynamic EQ if you do not use a house curve with miniDSP

[@JustinDgr8]

Yoooooooooo I did this on one of my systems 🤯🤯🤯🤯. The results are remarkable. Great video!

[@Youthman]

Glad they helped

[@neimansimmons9047]

Tha m you this is very helpful as when I use audssey I always tend to bump up the surrounds and I love my bass

[@coreyhurst469]

Many of your levels that audessy set are at -12. This means that the voltage on your prep outs is not matching up well with your amps. It is bottoming out in a manner of speaking and can damage your system. You need a line level gain booster for your system. You aren’t getting full power out of your amplifier. I had this problem with my Denon avr and anthem 5ch amp. I added a line gain booster and wow!

[@Triggaaar]

Hey Youthman. Nice video, cheers. When you were adjusting the SPL of your speakers, the pink noise from your centre speaker had a completely different tone to you front left & right. What was that about? I think you have the same speakers across the front, so maybe something to do with your room acoustics and EQ?

[@cliftonfriese18]

Ok well this is exactly what I needed to do. I only have a 3.1 because of family living issues. But I got the free app, adjusted all speakers the same dB. And listened to end of monster hunters and beginning of Godzilla and they are so much more dynamic. Can’t wait to get back to 7.1. Thanks YouthMan.

[@Youthman]

Glad to hear you’re set up sounds better with the adjustments

[@davidsleclair]

Awesome info! Thank you so much!!!

[@erickibler901]

Hi Michael, I’m trying to follow the steps you’ve laid out here to set reference level for my Marantz SR6014 receiver and the 5.1 system of speakers that I have consisting of Klipsch R625FA (L&R), Klipsch R52C, SVS SB1000PRO, and 2 JAMO satellite speakers for the rears. When done with all the steps of this process, 3 of the speaker level settings are on the plus(+) side. I read that levels on the plus side can introduce clipping and distortion on that channel. I’m not sure what to do. I’ve considered rerunning the calibration and leaving it alone, setting the meter level to something other that 70(60?) and then rebalancing, or setting the highest level back to -0.5dB and backing all the others back the same amount to maintain balance. What do you recommend?

[@yourpalfranc]

The SPL meter came yesterday, and I got around to calibrating with your instructions this afternoon. WOW!! What a difference!! I'd just gone with the Audessy setup for years. I'm so glad I saw this video. I have a question...whereas all your dB values were negative numbers, mine are all positive, except for my sub, which is a little hot at 0.0 dB (but where I like it). What accounts for that difference? The room? My AVR is a Marantz SR6015. Oh, I also was able to set up a library in Plex with some Atmos demo files that makes it super convenient to play them for demo or calibration purposes. Thanks again for the information, Michael!! ~Frank

[@Bryan-hd7nm]

Great video! After calibration do you normally boost your subs?

[@evilawkeye2215]

Michael, another great video! This is something that I need to do. Great detail and well explained. Just quick question, on each speaker level matching the spl points at the desired speaker! Is this the same for the sub? I have a downward firing sub! Thanks

[@Youthman]

Since lower frequencies are Omni directional, it shouldn’t matter which direction you point the mic

[@davidwiley6165]

Thanks man!! I need one of those hand held meters. Just to be clear you said point the meter at each speaker while sitting at my listening position when measuring?

[@JDG1971]

Again a great video. Thank you for it. Greetings from the Netherlands Limburg Maastricht and especially continue with High-end equipment and home cinema. ✌😘😉👌👍

[@Youthman]

Thank you kindly

[@JDG1971]

@@Youthman You're welcome Michael Stevens😉

[@djwolfville290]

I appreciate you going into detail with your explanations. I ended up downloading an SPL app. I did the calibration...and I absolutely hear the difference. Before this I guess some channels were louder then others and it would just cancel out sounds or could just barely hear sound coming from a speaker. After using this SPL everything is just balanced nicely around me. I guess sometimes just using your ears can make you way off

[@Youthman]

Glad you found the video helpful with your set up

[@rockenjoshy]

Awesome! I'll go check this now!

[@jaden9037]

youthman, thank you so much for giving this information. I’d like to ask do you have to do that for each surroundsound set up like Dolby atmos and neural X I have the Denon AVR-x 4700h just trying to dial it in for best action sound.. Thanks

[@tomconnell7154]

OK, so I watched this and then I got me a SLP reader from Amazon and followed your directions. I have never actually used a reader before and just went off earshot.... After the reader test and adjusting the levels... HOLEY sh**.... It DEFINITELY opened up the whole immersive sound of my home theater. Thanks bud for the guidance! Now it's Movie Time!

[@Youthman]

Awesome! So glad you now have a much better experience.

[@NathanBRing]

I did this with my phone and oh man, i just remember listening to my movies so much better, it really sounded like i was in the movie

[@joseagui6125]

I apologize. Your video is perfectly clear, it's just another issue, and I didn't know how to tell you. ”I mean the channel adjustment level option. exits by pressing the option button on the remote. do you have any way to adjust it? thank you first of all.

[@TheoneDragon51]

Sweet I will have to cheek that when I get back home.

[@charlesaldous5389]

Whereas, here in the UK, I used to use my Radio Shack digital meter, then when I got an Arcam, I used their auto speaker setup (not Dirac Live). Then my Denon AVR-X3300W has Audyssey on it, so I used that (XT32). I upgraded my phone so I could get the Audyssey MultEQ Editor App. So now I have perfect curves! Well, the amp that is, not me. But I'm blowed if I can hardly tell the difference! I have B&W speakers, but the differences between the different setup options is so negligible, that I can't really tell which is best!

[@kevinjacksonsr.9544]

Hey Michael, I will definitely look into getting one of those. Question I’m looking to get height speakers for atmos and the two I have in mind is SVS prime vs Polk reserve 900 which one would you recommend?

[@mikeberndt181]

I have the same meter. Bought it almost 20 years ago. Even had the one before it which was square.

[@REVERENCHAD9896]

I've been wanting to do this with my speakers however my receiver (sony strdh 590) doesn't have a option to set the volume to decibel so what volume should I put it at when adjusting levels?

[@wendellwendellb339]

Hey Michael, how are you? I just went through the level calibration you described. After the calibration, I popped in Godzilla KOTM. Wwoooooww! I heard a very distinct difference in sound as opposed to what I previously had! I want to thank you for the well put description you had to get the best sound possible. I currently have a Polk Audio front stage, Def Tech bi-polar surrounds, 4 NHT Atmos height speakers, 2 12” Klipsch subs in the front, and 2 10” Klipsch subs in the back. A Denon 3700H running my Atmos speakers and subs. Emotiva BasX A3 3 channel power running my front stage, and an Onkyo 2 channel amp running my surrounds!!

[@Youthman]

That’s great We dell! Glad you found the video helpful

[@wendellwendellb339]

Hey Michael, how are you? I wanted to do a recalibration on my home theater. Can or should I do a Audessey calibration, than make level adjustments, or can I just do level adjustments with the current levels?

[@RajeshGupta-zr4hn]

Thanks for a another helpful video...

[@victorjohnson8374]

Thank you this helps me a lot

[@faysalusman]

For subwoofer, should we aim for 75db while using the spl meter ?

[@michaeltamburello]

You missed a step and that is where exactly to place the SPL meter. I put mine dead center in the room to obtain a common level that's best for the overall room and various listening positions. Agree on the sub bump up. Center channels vary too differently among movies. Usually leave it a zero. Love your channel. Thanks

[@Youthman]

I stated in the video at ear level. I guess I assumed everyone would understand I was sitting in my primary listening position.

[@ark9515]

@Youthman aka Michael Stevens. I have 2 questions for you: A) Every other single video that I have seen on KZbin when it comes to SPL meters used to level match speakers in a Home Theater setting suggests to use a 'C' - weighted setting for level matching speakers on Slow Response. Even Jean from Audioholics has done the same. Why do you prefer to level match speakers with an 'A' weighted setting on on Fast response. B) What is your experience with the mobile app versions of the SPL meter? Can I mix and match doing calibration with an SPL meter (because I have one but A weighted only) and with an App version (Decibel X-pro with the C weighting for Subs) or vice-versa? How accurate are the apps?

[@marlonhouston6685]

Brother I was just thinking of that this morning and order a Promex MS6708 today to adjust my level. Man U must be a mind reader. 😄

[@Youthman]

Indeed I am. 🤣🤣🤣

[@Youthman]

Well maybe it’s more probability that one out of 76,000 subscribers was thinking about doing this 😀

[@AMERICOBECKS]

Very informative as always, quick question when connecting your subwoofers do you use the LFE input on both (dual subs) or rigth and left input? Does it make any difference? Thanks Mr Michael

[@Youthman]

I recommend using the LFE input on your subs (if they have one) and set my crossover in the AVR or Processor

[@mikegoddard7354]

That was the issue with my surrounds, unless the volume is cranked up crazy loud they hardly make noise. Someone told me I need to do that, guess im going to have to

[@m4nc1n1]

SPL meter within REW and using the Marantz tones with volume at reference like you said works much better than an SPL meter. AfterAudysey does its thing, this is how I do it.

[@Youthman]

Yes you can do it several ways. Test disk...REW and calibration mic. Just wanted to keep this as simple as possible.

[@junior-OG]

me too👍

[@royr5527]

I have been doing it wrong the whole time I have been using C weight for my speakers lol. Back to the settings. Thanks Youthman 😊

[@reezepees25]

Ik dont think you did it wrong. I think that Youthman had turned arround.

[@Youthman]

I just searched online and some use C and Fast while others use C and slow. Slow creates an “average” which would be completely fine to use as well. This is just the way I calibrate my setup.

[@jarodreddig63]

It’s ok you’ll be fine.

[@cliftonfriese18]

Great video. Alway find great content on this channel.

[@Youthman]

Appreciate it