Audyssey and avoiding the "voice of God" phenomenon
The Voice of God Phenomenon...
This was first reported back in the initial report of Audyssey DSX:
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article/first-listen-audyssey-dsx
I have found that speaker placement and also the time delay and levels are key to creating a good surround effect, but yet, avoiding this.
There is no exact formula, that I can write on the proportion of delay and speaker level. You need to tweak the settings after Audyssey has done their calibration, then take out that trusty SPL meter, and adjust.
The aim, is to let the surrounds be just heard, not too prominently, and then avoid having them too close to your ears, or setting the time delay such that you don't have them feel like a pair of headphones placed right next to your ears.
Then the height is also key. The relative difference between the fronts, the sides and rear backs is important. To allow for a good transition of the sound from front to back and vice versa, the relative heights mustn't be too far. The Dolby suggested heights are a good start. And something that can spread sound will be better, that's why I prefer a dipole / bipole to a monopole for the sides. If you use a monopole direct radiating design, then you must allow enough distance for the sound to spread outwards.
Try that and experiment with speaker placement until you get the desired effect.
So for those of you who can only place speakers at a certain position, or are reluctant to change positions and can only use certain heights or types of speakers, then I guess you will have to compromise on the surround sound.
I have no financial interest or other interests in any of the items / events I write about.
This was first reported back in the initial report of Audyssey DSX:
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article/first-listen-audyssey-dsx
I have found that speaker placement and also the time delay and levels are key to creating a good surround effect, but yet, avoiding this.
There is no exact formula, that I can write on the proportion of delay and speaker level. You need to tweak the settings after Audyssey has done their calibration, then take out that trusty SPL meter, and adjust.
The aim, is to let the surrounds be just heard, not too prominently, and then avoid having them too close to your ears, or setting the time delay such that you don't have them feel like a pair of headphones placed right next to your ears.
Then the height is also key. The relative difference between the fronts, the sides and rear backs is important. To allow for a good transition of the sound from front to back and vice versa, the relative heights mustn't be too far. The Dolby suggested heights are a good start. And something that can spread sound will be better, that's why I prefer a dipole / bipole to a monopole for the sides. If you use a monopole direct radiating design, then you must allow enough distance for the sound to spread outwards.
Try that and experiment with speaker placement until you get the desired effect.
So for those of you who can only place speakers at a certain position, or are reluctant to change positions and can only use certain heights or types of speakers, then I guess you will have to compromise on the surround sound.
I have no financial interest or other interests in any of the items / events I write about.
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