Hyde Audio Consultants

Calibration of a home cinema sound system is the process of getting the sound system to sound as good as possible for all of the different types of content that will be played. Content can vary from mono or stereo lo-res material from YouTube, TV, and MP3 files, up to better quality Dolby Atmos content streamed from subscription services or played from Blu-ray discs or a server like Kalaidescape.

The aim of the process is to ensure that dialogue can easily be followed, the sound is clear, exciting, has impressive bass, but is also not fatiguing. These should apply at low, or high volume levels. We're aiming for total immersion, whatever's playing up on the big screen!

In it's most basic form, there are just three points to get right, to get you most of the way there..

1) Set the high and low pass filters for the speakers and bass management

2) Set the levels for all of the speakers and subs

3) Set the distance or delay for all of the speakers and subs

If the room acoustics are reasonable, the subwoofer(s) are in good positions to benefit the listening area and the system isn't too shabby! Then the above could be all that's required.

Moving on from the list above takes you into 'auto-EQ territory', or 'run-room correction' features. Systems such as Dirac, Odyssey, Room-Perfect and Optimiser are available and they can take the audio experience to incredible heights.

The tricky part is recognising when enough is enough and not to keep tweaking all of the options and tools you have available to you.

This is where an experienced calibrator/sound engineer can be invaluable. To a calibrator, the systems above are just one of many tools that may come in handy, and can be used sparingly, like herbs and spices in a recipe. To a novice, EQ is a very attractive gadget that's fun to apply and play with, but will eat away at your signal and often leave you with a poor sound. Even though you feel you've just created a masterpiece of cuts, boosts and curves!