sound on front speakers cannot be altered !!

[mpk200]

On my yamaha 620 amp the front speaker volume cannot be altered in the set up menu (just centre and rears can be altered)
When i try to balance sound so they all sound the same volume do i lower the rears and centre to match the fronts?
I've done this but my rears are down to -8 is this about right or do i need to go through setup and set rears and centre to small(set to large at the moment)

Thanks

mike

yamaha 620
marantz 3100
celistion f2 floor standers
gale centre
cheap technics hifi rears

[Just]

The amp is taking the two fronts as the reference point. Therefore you would never want to alter the level of them (in theory anyway) only the main volume.

Balance allows you to bring the two fronts in line with each other, then the centre and surrounds to those. If the rears are way down that is fine as long as it sounds right.

[Neon]

Yes - you should balance out the centre and rears to match the fronts. It also sound like you may need to set them to small as well. You should only select large if they are full-range - the amount of low frequency energy on modern soundtracks may cause overheating of "small" speakers and for little audible benefit. Your f2's are quite capable of providing the fill-in bass - so put the LFE (.1) channel to these (if you haven't already done so), set the centre and rears to small and balance levels to match your mains.

With the speakers being mismatched in terms of sensitivity (as well as sound quality) you can expect large variations in channel balance. I've got the 620 with M74's, M7DS's and M7C1 and I haven't had to raise or lower any channel's level compared with the mains.

[mpk200]

Thanks for your comments neon

Would i be better looking to upgrade my centre and rears to match the celestion series (not sure which ones but there should be some to match )
i'm quite new to home cinema and just took the advice from richer sounds.

Thanks

mike

[lynx]

Originally posted by Neon
Your f2's are quite capable of providing the fill-in bass - so put the LFE (.1) channel to these (if you haven't already done so)

:confused: :confused: .Isn't the .1 supposed to be fed to an active sub???

[Mr Nice]

Isn't the .1 supposed to be fed to an active sub???

This is a common misconception. It is called the LFE (low frequency effects) channel, not the sub channel :) . Its job is to support the other channels by providing more bass, not replace the bass in the other channels. In theory, if you have a sub, this should be fed the .1 and the low end of the other channels, below 100hz or whatever is a suitable cut off for your mains. (Which is why your sub isn't completely silent for films in 2.0 surround or whatever). But if you have no sub, there is nothing wrong with splitting the .1 channel between which ever of your speakers have the best bottom end. Sure, it won't kick as much as a good sub, but its better then nothing.

[Neon]

<center><b>Would i be better looking to upgrade my centre and rears to match the celestion series (not sure which ones but there should be some to match )</b></center>


Yes - you should always go for matched speakers if you can - otherwise they will just sound different and the effectiveness of the surround sound may be diminished. This is why most manufacturers produce sets of similar sounding speakers for home cinema use. That's not to say you can't mix and match, but you do need to be careful.


<center><b>i'm quite new to home cinema and just took the advice from richer sounds.</b></center>


Hmmm ...

[john316]

Originally posted by Neon
<center><b>i'm quite new to home cinema and just took the advice from richer sounds.</b></center>


Hmmm ...

I would think the same - I can't decide whether the guys at Richer Sounds are really giving you advice that benefits you or their suppliers!

[mpk200]

Thanks for all your advice!!

I tend to agree about richer sounds even thoe there kit is cheaper than most places.

Lat night i tried to setup all the speakers to match and couldnt get the rear speakers lower enough in volume to match the fronts the rears are now down to -10 but still seem to be slightly louder than the fronts .My room size is 25 feet by 15 feet and i sit smack in the middle .I know i am only setting up by ear rather than a spl meter but is this quite common with mix and match speakers? front speakers are set to large everything else small and no sub

Thanks

Mike

[Just]

Originally posted by john316
I would think the same - I can't decide whether the guys at Richer Sounds are really giving you advice that benefits you or their suppliers!

Richer always give advice these days to suit their suppliers, mainly because Richer own most of their suppliers. If I were you, go to an independent hifi shop and get advice, then if Richer are cheaper, buy there but ignore advice.