What You'll Need; How To Calibrate Your System - Rotel RSP-980 Owner's Manual

RSP-980
What You'll Need
You need two items: A test tone generator and your ears. The
RSP-980 already contains the generator. However, you will find
two additional items very useful — an On-Screen Display (al¬
ready included in the RSP-980) and a sound level meter.
Although you can perform a surprisingly accurate calibration
with your ears alone, we strongly recommend an inexpensive
sound level meter. You can purchase one at any Radio Shack or
other electronics supply store tor far less than a dinner at a mod¬
erately priced restaurant.
When using the sound level meter, set it to "Slow' response (to
better average continuous readings) and ~C" weighing (the "C"
scale is more accurate for the type of measurement you need to
do.) The following instructions will assume that you have a
sound level meter.
How to calibrate your system
Step 1: Once your system is fully installed and connected, turn it
on only AFTER you rotate the RSP-980's master level control fully
counterclockwise (Le., to minimum volume).
Step 2: Select Dolby Pro Logic operating mode by pressing the
remote controller's SRND MDDE < and > keys until the front
panel mode LED over Dolby Pro Logic is visible. (The On-Screen
Display will also show the operating mode as you select Pro
Logic.)
Note: You can only calibrate the RSP-380 in Dolby Pro Logic sur¬
round mode. No other mode, including THX CINEMA, can be
used for the calibration process.
Step 3: Press the remote controller's BAL CHK (Balance Check)
button.
Two things will happen: The test tone generator will send a "pink
noise" test signal to the Left Front speaker and the On-Screen
Display will automatically show a calibration diagram entitled
'Balance Check."
The Left Front speaker ID will blink to show that you can adjust
that speaker's relative level. As you begin the calibration pro¬
cess. you will notice that the small numbers under each speaker
ID read "O' to tell you that they are all set to their adjustment
midpoints. (This will not be the case after calibration.) For your
reference, the adjustment scale runs from -12 dB though +12 dB.
Place the sound pressure meter as close to where your ears will
be during normal listening/viewing. Hold it at arm's length to re¬
duce the impact of body reflections on the meter's readings. DO
NOT hold the meter close to your body if at all possible. (Note:
Most meters have a tripod socket to make stationary placement
easier.)
Set the sound level meter's sensitivity scale so that the meter it¬
self reads near its midpoint. (Begin with the sensitivity scale in
the 70 dB range. You might have to switch up or down one click
but this will give you a start.)
Make sure that there is no other noise in the room other than the
sound of the test tone coming through the speaker. Note the
meter's reading for future reference.
Step 4: Push the BAL CHK button again to advance to the Center
Channel speaker. The test tone will cycle to that speaker and the
On-Screen Display will change to tell you that the Center Chan¬
nel speaker can now be adjusted.
Note the sound level meter's new reading. If it is lower than the
Left channel reading, use the remote controller's VOLUME > but¬
ton to adjust the Center channel's output until it matches the Left
channel reading.
If the Center channel reading is higher than the sound level
meter's Left channel reading, use the remote controller's VOL¬
UME < button to lower it.
When the Center level equals the Left level (as read on the
sound level meter, NOT the numbers under the On-Screen
speaker IDsI), proceed to the next step.
Step 5: Push the remote controller's BAL CHK button again. This
advances the test tone to the Right Front speaker and changes
the On-Screen Display accordingly.
Note the new reading on the sound pressure meter. It should be
very close to the readings you've already noted for Left and Cen¬
ter. If it is not, use the VOLUME < and > keys to match the previ¬
ous readings.
Step 6: Push the BAL CHK button again. The test tone and On-
Screen Display will cycle to the Right Surround speaker. Adjust
that speaker's volume so that it matches the previous readings
as closely as possible.
Step 7: Push the BAL CHK button again. The test tone and On-
Screen Display will cycle to the Left Surround speaker. Adjust
that speaker's volume so that it matches the previous readings
as closely as possible.
Step 8: Push the BAL CHK button again. The test tone and On-
Screen Display will cycle to the Subwoofer. Adjust that speaker's
volume so that it matches the previous readings as closely as
possible.
Note: You will probably have to cycle through this sequence sev¬
eral times to get the best results. Don't worry
—
this is normal.
Just take your time and do this slowly as it is something you'll
probably need to do only once.
We suggestthatyou jot down the numerical readings for each
channel's relative balance so you can quickly restore them even
if you do not have the sound pressure meter handy at the time.
Remember that we also said that you can perform a remarkable
accurate calibration without a sound level meter? To do so, fol¬
low the steps above but use your "acoustic memory" rather than
meter readings as the reference as you cycle from one speaker