Arcam AVR500 / AVR600 / AV888 Auto speaker Setup, Auto speaker setup, Problems, Using a subwoofer

auto speaker

setup

Auto speaker setup

There is a proprietary automatic loudspeaker setup function built into your AVR500, AVR600 or AV888. The Arcam Auto Speaker Setup function attempts to set all the essential speaker settings for all the speakers in your system. It also calculates room equalisation (Room EQ) filter values to remove some of the worst effects of resonant frequencies in the listening room.

Your AVR500/AVR600/AV888 package is supplied with a calibration microphone, which should be inserted into the AUX jack socket on the front panel and positioned at the main listening position. This microphone picks up the special calibration tones generated by the speakers when Auto Speaker Setup is run. The AVR500/AVR600/ AV888 then analyses the signal and computes:

<which speakers are present,

<speaker type,

<speaker distance,

<speaker level,

<crossover frequency to the subwoofer (or large front speakers if no subwoofer is present),

<problem resonant frequencies in the room which need control by filtering.

It also warns if any of the speakers are too close to the microphone or if the measured tone is clipped.

To help the system be as accurate as possible when performing Auto Speaker Setup, there are a few guidance rules that should be followed:

<Minimise any background sounds in the listening room and other nearby rooms.

<Close all windows and doors in the listening room.

<Turn off all fans including air-conditioning systems.

<If holding the microphone in the hand rather than mounting on a tripod or similar, keep your hand and fingers still to avoid generating ‘handling noise’.

<Position the set up microphone pointing upwards at roughly head height in the normal listening position. It is not necessary to point the microphone directly at the speaker generating the test tone. (It helps if you are able to position the microphone exactly where your head would normally be for listening, with the microphone in direct unobstructed view of all speakers.)

<If your system includes an active subwoofer, start by setting its output level / gain control to a value halfway between maximum and minimum.

When activated, a calibration tone is played through each channel in turn, including the subwoofer channel. The calibration tone cycles round each of the speakers twice. If you do not have a full 7.1 speaker configuration there will be periods of silence between some speaker channels. Follow the ‘progress’ information on-screen.

After all the channels have been measured, a summary of the speaker configuration will be displayed on-screen. You can then choose to accept the settings, re-measure your system again or cancel Auto Speaker Setup without storing the settings.

The Auto Speaker Setup function is found within the Setup menus, see page 37. By default, Room EQ is not applied to any of the source inputs. You should enable Room EQ on inputs you think benefit from this feature, as required, by listening when playing typical source material through each input. This is enabled from within the Input Config menu.

While room equalisation can help to reduce problems with listening room acoustics, it is usually far better to try to solve these problems with the room directly. Proper loudspeaker positioning, acoustic wall treatments and moving the listening position away from walls should produce far better results overall. However it may be difficult to do this in a home environment, so Room EQ is your next best choice.

Problems

We advise you to look over the reported measurements on the screen following Auto Speaker Setup for any obviously incorrect results, in particular to ensure the reported speakers match your configuration and that the speaker distances to the listening position appear look roughly correct. If the results are not what you expected re-run Auto Speaker Setup.

The Auto Speaker Setup function is normally quite accurate but occasionally false results can be generated. Problems may be as a result of:

<external sounds or rumbling / handling noises picked up by the microphone

<sound reflections off hard surfaces (e.g. windows or walls) close to the listening position,

<very strong acoustic resonances within the room.

If you are still experiencing difficulties or you wish to have the most accurate results for ultimate surround performance, we recommend using the manual method of establishing speaker distances and levels.

Using a subwoofer

If your system includes an active subwoofer you may need to re-run Auto Speaker Setup with the subwoofer output level / gain control set to a higher or lower value, if the summary screen reports problems setting the subwoofer up.

Auto Speaker Setup will attempt to choose a crossover frequency that allows the smoothest low frequency transition from the main speakers to the subwoofer. However if this does not produce pleasing results we recommend manually trying other crossover frequencies to find something more to your preference.

See the next sections for information of how to enter or change speaker settings manually.

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