Speaker Setup; Audyssey Auto Calibration - NAD M17 Owner's Manual

OPERATION
USING THE M17 – SETUP MENU

SPEAKER SETUP

After connecting all ancillary sources and other combinations, the Speaker
Setup menu will guide you on how to manage and setup your speakers in
order to achieve optimum sound acoustics in your listening environment.
The following are the Speaker Setup Menu sections.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
The M17 is an AV Surround Sound Preamplifier and therefore has no
speakers. The mention of "Speaker(s)" in this manual refers to the
speakers of your external amplifier as interfaced with the M17.

AUDYSSEY AUTO CALIBRATION

It has been shown that many, if not most, surround sound systems are not
accurately setup and calibrated. To conduct properly, calibration requires
special knowledge and instrumentation that the average person probably
doesn't possess.
The Audyssey Auto Setup and Calibration featured in M17 uses a
microphone, along with sophisticated digital electronics built into your
M17, to automatically setup and calibrate the M17 to the exact speakers
and speaker placement of your own unique Home Theatre.
The Left Channel of AUDIO 1 IN is the assigned port where the supplied
3.5mm female jack to RCA plug Adapter can be connected. Plug in the
Audyssey microphone into the adapter for Audyssey Auto Calibration.
18
The following measurements are performed:
• Detection: Speaker configuration is detected including number of
surround speakers and whether a subwoofer and center channel is
connected.
• Size: M17 crossover is set based on each channel's signal handling
capability and the subwoofer crossover is automatically set.
• Level: SPL of each speaker is matched within 1dB at the microphone
position.
• Distance: This is accurately set to within 1 foot (30 centimeters) of the
microphone for each speaker position.
• Polarity: The setup program will detect and notify the user if any
speakers are connected improperly. Incorrect polarity can ruin the
illusion of realism offered by surround sound.
This is a one-time set up, unless speakers are moved or changed, in which
case the calibration should be performed again.
AUDYSSEY MultEQ XT ROOM ACOUSTICS CORRECTION
Sound reflecting from room boundaries can disturb the spatial illusion
of surround sound, and can also distort the tonal balance of the system.
Professional Acoustical Engineers often add wall treatments and even move
walls and relocate speakers to improve system performance, but for the
average Home Theatre, this is either too expensive or just not a practical
solution.
Audyssey MultEQ XT features adaptive low-frequency correction and uses
16x high-resolution equalization filters for satellites and subwoofers. Using
multiple measurements from actual listening positions, and processing
this information with sophisticated digital signal processing, Audyssey
MultEQ XT is able to "precondition" the signal to effectively make the walls
disappear. This creates a "family size" sweet spot where the sound and
spatial cues are very accurately reproduced.
The Audyssey Auto Calibration wizard will guide you through a simple
step-by-step configuration. Once setup and calibrated, the next greatest
improvement in performance is obtained by eliminating the acoustic
interference caused by room boundaries interacting with your speakers.
MEASUREMENT IS THE FIRST STEP
The sound at each listening position (up to 8 positions) is calibrated using
the same microphone used during the setup phase.
A special test tone is sent to each speaker and the data is memorized by
the M17. The duration of calibration may take some time depending on
the number of speakers as well as the number of measuring points. After
all positions are measured, the DSP calculates the ideal system response for
your particular room and speaker setup.
If some inconsistencies or discrepancies are detected during the Audyssey
calibration, the process maybe interrupted or the problem is shown in the
particular setup window. A notice screen is correspondingly displayed.
After following and undertaking the displayed instructions, re-start the
Audyssey calibration again. When the measurements are finalized, Audyssey
calculates the ideal system response for your particular room and speaker
setup.
NOTE
The test tone emitted during measurement is loud. If you cannot
withstand the test tone level, it is advisable that you stay away from
the room or location where the speakers are being calibrated. Return to
the room or location after each calibration to change the microphone's
position or to finalize the calibration.