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Audacy room correction. Corrected?


has anyone tried using the auto room correction feature on their receiver with out board amps attached?

I saw another thread recently about someone who bought an Audacy audio room correction/equalizer component as their gear did not have that facility built into their receiver. The person was quite impressed with the benefits once all the position testing and correction process was completed.

My Onkyo TX SR 805 has this auto room correction feature on board.

However, when I called to ask Onkyo about using the Audacy room correction feature in my own application, were I to use outboard amps, the tech (s) I spoke with said

"The Audacy (Audessey) feature does not work with auxilliary amps. Only when the 805 is connected directly to the speakers."

Hearing this info from a couple of Onkyo techs early on in my ownership, and prior to adding those amps, I dismissed the use of that benefit entirely, and never tried to use it.

So I was curious and emailed Audacy after perusing their website for more info on one of their room corection devices for myself. I told them of my situation, gear, and the info Onkyo tech support had provided me and was surprised to see them reply with this info:

“The Audessy feature on your 805 will work with or without outboard amps being connected to it. They also apologized for the misinformation.

Really? Whoa!?

Lovely. My problem now is having mislaid my micI can’t even find out for myself. lol

Audacy also said the mic supplied with the recievers was specific to the room correction system, therefore obtaining a better aftermarket mic would not perform as well. Their process is calibrated to the supplied mic. Further, they said the mic wire itself could be extended up to 25ft. Past that overall length they could not assure the results would be predictable.

Hmmm.

Do Other owners of Onkyo, Marantz, etc., receivers with this Audacy benefit built in, also hear such misinfomation about their Audacy supplied units not being capable of room correction in conjunction with out board amps too?

Has anyone tried to use the feature while amps were connected to their receiver?

Neither have I seen mention of this in any reviews on such featured receivers.

Now, if I can just find my mic!

Thanks. Hope this helps.
blindjim
srwooten's avatar
srwooten
694 posts
 
I have done exactly what you ask about with my Onkyo 905. I use Pass X-600 monos' for the L & R front channels. I used the room correction, but found I preferred the sound with the correction off running in Pure Audio mode. I did keep the delay setting however.
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,685 posts
 
I am surprised. Now, do not take this personally but, imho, most people who feel this way have either done the Audyssey setup poorly (I messed up my first time and from time to time even though I have done it many times) or are simply adapted to the anomalies that Audyssey is correcting. Take a look at the AVS guide to see what the issues are and see that it is not "point and shoot" despite what is implied in the user's manuals.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14456895#post14456895

Kal
blindjim OP
3,092 posts
 
Kal

My post here was because I found a total lack of info or misinformation on this particular application in my owners manual, reviews and in the Audiogon threads. As well as via the factory support arm.

As to your remarks...

1 My audiogon handle is reasonably accurate, unlike many, "blind jim". I use a screen reader which speaks text to me… It sure sounded like Audacy…no one is perfect.

2 Having once been a tech, I believe factory tech support should know what they are talking about… or now, at least I used to.

3 I believe in following directions as wwell so in advance of performing some operations not clearly covered in the owners manual, I tend to want to ask the factory about it… eg., Audessey + aux amps. Their info, twice from two different techs, intimated to me the above information

4 Mind telling me what is a “preamprocessors”… sounds like 'preamp scissors', to me. I’ll assume it is preamp/processors.

“Find your mic and do it”

Now that's just special.

Do me a favor Kal, Next time you want to look for something around your house or office, try doing it with your eyes closed. You and I will be on the same page then just about. Brieffly. you of course can simply open yours if frustration sets in or the search becomes too lengthy.
andrewdoan
223 posts
 
I didn't have much experience with the Audyssey room correction set up ( done only twice with the Onkyo 805) but I did not like the way the Audyssey sets up my crossover of on of my NHT M5, so I manually set them all at 60Hz as the M5 manual recommended . My room is an empty bedroom 14x16. There is not much correction done after the Audyssey was performed, not to say the room is perfect acoustically. With the MACC (PIO SC05), all my speakers while they are seven (7) of the Def Tech SM450s. They were set as Large and crossover at 80Hz which is fine with me as I am watching the movies as in "MACC memory 1" but when I am listening to DD/DTS music, I manually have changed the setting to Small ( all 7 of them) and have the cross-over at 50Hz as recommended by Def Tech and I have these data store in "MACC memory 2" . I do not listen 2 channel audio thru the receiver since I prefer no sub-woofer involved. I may or may not have the MACC done correctly but I have it done twice with the same results. Yes, the micro-phone was on the 24" speaker stand at level of my ears with no obstruction within the measurement boundary except the equipment rack itself against the front wall and I was on the floor away from the microphone. The Radio Shack SPL meter came handy to verify the channel level calibration after the MACC was performed. While it is a hi-tech and impressed method of room correction and speaker set up but I believe either the Audyssey or the MACC , one will need to verify for accuracy after its performance was conducted. There is nothing as fool-proof technology. So have the Audyssey or Macc set up but then verifying the data before having the data stored in memory set up. Any advice is welcome.
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,685 posts
 
First, I apologize for assuming otherwise as I did not take your handle literally. I will try to write more carefully.

A preamp/processor is, virtually, an A/V receiver without amps and, therefore, a device which works only with external amps. This is similar to the operation you propose.

I do appreciate your dissatisfaction with factory telephone service reps but many of us have learned to take their comments with a grain of salt. Most are reading from scripts and do not really know anything technical.

My suggestion that you "find the mic and do it" was meant to encourage you to run Audyssey because I believe it will make a huge improvement in virtually any system or room. My post was serious but,unfortunately, was not written with a full understanding of your situation. Consulting those links will be tedious but the actual procedure is described in detail. It includes specific guidelines for mic placement which is critical. If you were a neighbor, I would volunteer to help as I have done it many times with several different types of equipment. This makes me fairly adept at it but it also makes me respect the difficulties.

Here are some important points:
1. The mic should be on a mic stand or tripod so that there are no large objects (walls, cushions, human bodies, etc.) close to it.
2. It must be pointed straight up to the ceiling and sit at the same height as your ears and/or your tweeters.
3. The first mic position must be at your listening seat and the others should be at least 2 feet away but never wider than the positions of your main left and right speakers.
4. None of the mic positions should be within 2 feet of a wall or other large reflective surface.

There's lots more in the guide posted at AVSforum.

Kal
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