SV Sound
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But what’s “too high”?? Tastes vary, and do movie soundtracks, but your SVS subwoofer is capable of tremendous levels of low distortion, low fre- quency bass — far more than most subs in this size or price class. Take advantage of this, especially if you like action movies with lots of “.1” channel (LFE) bass action, and give the sub a bit extra gain during calibration. Keep in mind too that the human ear is relatively insensitive to low frequencies. This, coupled with the fact most folks don’t watch movies at full “theater lev- els” means raising the bass up a few decibels (dBs) usually yields a more satisfying movie and music experience.
What bass levels do we recommend? If you watch movies at moderate sound levels, a good start is a range of +1dB to +3dB above your other channels (as measured with your sound meter). This means the test tone will waiver about 78 dB for the subwoofer portion of the calibration run using your receiver test tones.
Note too that many modern A/V receivers allow a variety of subwoofer level settings, depending on the “listening mode” you are in. With “Dolby Digital” as your “mode” use the above calibration routine. You may well find that CD “Stereo” music calls for a lower bass settings. The above is a guide… ex- periment! The louder your master AVR volume however, the more you should reduce the subwoofer’s playback level to compensate. You should always avoid your driver “bottoming”, resulting in a loud “clack”!
Location and measurement. You should take the above measurements from your typical preferred seat for watching movies. Be advised, strong bass levels can vary tremendously simply by moving your seat, or your sub- woofer, just a short distance. Such is the nature of long wavelength, deep bass sound. Do not hesitate to try different locations and different levels for your subwoofer.
Setting playback levels on the sub which are too high (and often, too low) is the most common theater/music setup error.