Acoustic calibration

[Jim-surround]

Hello,

The higher end Pioneer and Yamaha receivers have acoustic calibration features (MCACC and YPAO). Has anyone used either one? If so, were you happy with the results?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[sdecker]

I have a Pioneer VSX-56TXi. I tried to auto setup and was less than pleased. While it was ok for movies, music sounded harsh and forced for a lack of better term.

I did a manual calibration with the internal tones and found them to be totally different. The auto calibration boosted all channels to +6 or greater except the sub which was set to -10. The eq settings were all major boosts. When I did the manual calibration all levels were at least 5db lower and the sub was set slightly higher. It sounded much better, at least to me. I was dissapointed with the auto MCACC.

I set all speakers to small, crossover to 50hz. I use 7 floorstanding speakers(Klipsch KG 5.2's (mains and surrounds)and 3.5's(rears), center is a 4.2) and 3 SVS subs.

YMMV

Earle

[aud19]

I look at it like automatics and manual transmissions in cars. Automatics are great for people who wouldn't otherwise or are unable (for whatever reason) to put the effort in to manually shift and people who aren't in to the hobby or enjoyment of driving. They think of a car as a transportation device, not something to be enjoyed. They work great for their intended purpose but doing it yourself brings more grins to an enthusiasts face

[Jeff]

My friend of mine has a Yamaha. The auto calibration only works fair. It doesn't mess with the eq setting which is nice. You would need a very good
micophone for the Pioneer to perform an accurate calibration on eq settings.
I spend several hundred dollars on an eq mic. It's not considered top end.
I use it in professional settings, not for HT. My point is the mic those mfr's include with their receivers IMO would be considered below average. As Aud19 pointed out, those are for the people who want the machine to perform adjustments,
for better or for worse. IMO it should be a general improvement in audio but not an exact calibration. I don't have any experience with other mfr, only my buddies.

It's something you should experiment with. If you understand the settings on your receiver, you don't really need the help. But it can be fun to play with.

[Jim-surround]

I didn't think those options would work well.

Thanks for the feedback.

[Kingdaddy]

The Distance and Level auto-cal on my Halo work perfect, zero flaws. However, Room correction like these units mentioned are trying to do is best done with an outboard device and only on the subs. I use a Behringer Feedback Destroyer and a modified SPL meter with great success, and it's provable by re-testing the SPL readings after correction.

The only Full Room Correction systems that have been peer reviews and are said to work properly (that I know of) are the Tact RCS and the DEQX, both very expensive. As Jeff mentioned the mic is the weak link, the units I mentioned have calibrated high quality mics that cost around $1K