Proceed PDSD - Manual (Page 44)

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With the advent of discrete multichannel digital audio, it is possible to have six
channels (or more) of information that contains deep bass frequencies. In many
cases, the only speaker in the system that can reproduce deep bass is a single
subwoofer. If one subwoofer is expected to do the work of six speakers, and the
listener-controlled volume is turned up fairly high, it is easy to imagine the
woofer being taken beyond its limits.
With the bass level manager , you are given an opportunity to establish a maxi-
mum volume beyond which you do not want the system to ask your subwoofers
to go. If you are reasonably judicious with your main volume control during lis-
tening, you do not have to perform this adjustment at all. It is provided to give
you the option of imposing an artificially low upper limit on bass transients (ex-
plosions, etc.), without affecting the perceived balance of bass at normal volumes.
1 ENTER THE BASS LEVEL MANAGER MENU AND CHOOSE
TEST SIGNAL: ON
You have the option of setting the bass level manager volume level arbi-
trarily, without the benefit of listening to a test signal; or by listening to a
low-frequency (bandwidth-limited) pink noise signal through the
subwoofer(s). After experimenting with the bass level manager, you might
want to reset it to its maximum setting (effectively disabling it). This would
be best done without having to endure an extremely loud test signal (e.g.,
test signal: off ).
When you choose to use the test signal by changing test signal: from off to
on , the low frequency test signal will be sent to your subwoofer(s) at a
modest volume. Regardless of the previous setting, the initial setting of the
bass level manager when you enter its menu is a low value of 30. This is
done to avoid a sudden, potentially speaker-endangering level of the test
signal being sent to your subwoofer(s).
2 RAISE THE VOLUME OF THIS TEST SIGNAL TO THE LOUDEST LEVEL YOU
ARE LIKELY TO WANT TO HEAR FROM YOUR SYSTEM, BEING CAREFUL
NOT TO OVERDRIVE YOUR SUBWOOFERS; SAVE THIS SETTING
This is a potentially tricky area, since you don’t want to limit the perfor-
mance of your subwoofers unnecessarily. At the same time, neither do you
want to overdrive them during the calibration of the system! (One way out:
have your dealer do the calibration, since he or she is more familiar with
the capabilities of the speakers you purchased.) Save the setting by pressing
enter , which also turns off the test signal and resets its next turn-on level to
30.
mode defaults The PAV/PDSD system also allows you to customize its default configuration for
each surround mode. Although the most accurate reproduction will be achieved
by leaving these adjustments disabled, their inclusion does allow you the option
of tailoring the sound of various surround modes to suit your individual taste. For
example, if you find yourself turning up the rear speakers whenever you watch a
movie, and then turning them back down to their normal, calibrated setting for
music, you may want to set the defaults for
pro logic and stereo surround accord-
ingly.