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Auto speaker setup, English – Arcam Handbook AVR surround amplifier/AV processor AVR600 User Manual

Page 39

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E-37

English

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:

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which speakers are present,

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speaker type,

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speaker distance,

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speaker level,

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crossover frequency to the subwoofer (or large front

speakers if no subwoofer is present),

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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:

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Minimise any background sounds in the listening

room and other nearby rooms.

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Close all windows and doors in the listening room.

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Turn off all fans including air-conditioning systems.

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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’.

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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.)

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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:

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external sounds or rumbling / handling noises

picked up by the microphone

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sound reflections off hard surfaces (e.g. windows or

walls) close to the listening position,

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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.