Revel Sub 30 - Manual (Page 22)

SYSTEM OPTIMIZATION
The REVEL ULTIMA SUB 30 includes built-in 3-band paramet-
ric equalizers for use with sound measurement equipment having
at least one-tenth-octave resolution at 20 Hz. Do not use crude
measurement devices, such as most real-time or one-third -octave
analyzers, to measure low-frequency performance in a listening
room. Room boundaries often cause modes or standing waves with
very narrow-band peaks and dips that are beyond this equipment’s
measurement-resolution capability. Adjusting the parametric equal-
izers based on this data can result in very misleading results and
degraded sound quality.
PLACEMENT OVERVIEW
Below 300 Hz, the relationship of loudspeaker placement and
listener location has a profound impact on the way sound is repro-
duced. All rooms have “standing waves,” where certain frequencies
are emphasized or diminished. Their complex patterns, along with
the effect of surfaces near the loudspeakers or listeners, can combine
to introduce tremendous sound coloration at low frequencies.
Revel’s unique parametric equalization system offers a powerful
tool to help compensate for these effects. However, no electronic
system alone can fully compensate for the dramatic effects of room
acoustics. Every room will have locations where “nulls” at specific
frequencies occur. These cancellations of the sound are like “black
holes,” which no amount of equalization can fill. The best results
are always achieved through careful placement of both the loud-
speakers and the listening position. Optimum placement can be
determined through the use of computer modeling programs, or
by trial-and-error measurements. If at all possible, find the best
loudspeaker and listener locations before proceeding with adjust-
ments of the Revel parametric equalizers.
To help determine good locations for the subwoofer(s) and the
listener(s), we recommend making high-resolution in-room response
measurements by using either the REVEL LOW FREQUENCY
OPTIMIZER (LFO) software, or other high resolution (
1 ⁄
10
-octave
or better) measurement systems. The latest Revel LFO software can
be downloaded at
www.revelspeakers.com . This system pro-
vides the high-resolution data needed for useful low-frequency mea-
surements. Traditional realtime analyzers (RTAs) or
1 ⁄
3
-octave mea
surements have inadequate resolution, often resulting in misleading
data and degraded sound quality.
REVEL ULTIMA SUB 30
Owner’s Manual
22
IMPORTANT