Calibrating Channel Levels - Parasound AVC-1800 Owner's Manual

Calibrating Channel Levels

Manual calibration requires independent adjustment of the output level for each of the six
channels of your AVC-1800 so that all channels have the correct signal strength at your
actual listening position. The AVC-1800 has an internal pink noise generator that you can
manually advance from channel to channel.
If you wish, you can calibrate your system with the aid of a sound pressure level (SPL)
meter such as the Realistic Sound Level Meter (Radio Shack catalog # 33-2050). When you
use an SPL meter for calibration, you should hold it upright directly in front of your head
and make adjustments while you are seated in your listening position. If an SPL meter is
unavailable, you can still adjust levels by ear with satisfactory results.
1. Press and hold the Cal button on the remote control until the screen turns red and the six
channels and their levels appear in the on-screen display. The noise generator will
automatically start with the L channel.
2. Each time you press the Cal button, it will advance to the next channel in the order of L,
C, R, LS, RS, Sub. Note: If you have selected Center None or Sub Off with the bass
management switches, they will be deleted from the display.
3. Press Volume or
will not advance to the next channel until you are finished setting the channel level.
4. After the Sub channel has been calibrated, the next time you press the Cal button, it will
terminate the calibration procedure, turn off the noise generator, and the calibrated settings
will be stored into memory.
Assigning Digital Inputs to Sources
You can assign any of the four digital or analog inputs to any of the AVC-1800's seven input
sources. For example, you may want match Video 1 Source with audio from Digital Coaxial
Input 1 from your DVD player. The AVC-1800 memorizes the last selected digital input to
the source input. When you select the input again, it will automatically select the last stored
digital input. You can also store the Pro Logic surround mode to analog sources.
Programming a Digital Input to Source Inputs
1. Select the input source you want to automatically link to a digital input.
2. Select the digital input you want to assign to that input source with the Digital button on
the front panel or remote control.
3. The AVC-1800 will recall that digital input the next time the input source is selected
To Calibrate the Center Channel Delay Time:
1. Measure and write down the distance in feet from your listening position to your Left,
Right, and Center channel speakers.
2. Note how much shorter the distance is to the Center speaker.
3. For each foot of distance, press the C Delay button on the front panel one time. Each mS
of delay corresponds to one foot of distance, from 0 to five feet.
4. Once set, there is no reason to readjust the center channel delay.
Analog Input Level Adjustment Procedures
Analog Input Level Adjustment sets the incoming signal level to prevent distortion caused
by overloading the input of the internal analog circuitry. You can adjust the analog input
level from –10 dB to 0 dB. Press the Input
level to the analog input circuitry. Press the Input
analog circuitry. If the Overload LED illuminates, be sure to turn the input level down to
prevent distortion.
buttons to adjust that channel to the desired level. The noise generator
button on the remote control to increase the
button to decrease the level to the
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