Denon/Audyssey/Dynamic Eq

[gadgtfreek]

What are your thoughts on dynamic eq. I've had this on from the get go, but found that sometimes it seemed that the fronts and sub blur the center, and I just didnt get as good of SQ. I've been running with it off for a bit, and while I do admit I dont have as much bass for normal tv viewing, I dont think its a bad thing.

With it off, i have a very clear center, the fronts sound good, and bass when I need it. Im actually not missing the constant boom with the sub not working all the time.

Just wondering what everyone else thinks about it so far.

 

[teachsac]

Dynamic EQ off. It is designed to level loudness across volumes.

S~

 

[gadgtfreek]

I just did some testing on Transformers, at about -9.0 db's volume. With it off, the bass punch is still there in the hard hitting scenes, but you seem to have less rumble always going on, which is a good thing because you seem to catch more detail.

Having it on definitely "sounds" better, but you have realize you are losing some detail, especially at lower volumes, at least I am. With it on, and around -20 db's, the boominess seems to hurt the highs. With it off at the same level, you dont have as much bass, except when you are supposed to, but the my fronts and center sound better. I think the higher bass sound is just prefered by most because lets face it, people like bass. The problem is, it almost gives you an artificial bass feeling.

I think in scenes where I have felt the center was muddied, was because of the excessive bass. I know this is better than the "loudness" of old, but its still the same deal in a way and I never used that. I now have Dynamic Eq and Volume OFF.

As always, YMMV.

 

[jayn_j]

I think in scenes where I have felt the center was muddied, was because of the excessive bass. I know this is better than the "loudness" of old, but its still the same deal in a way and I never used that. I now have Dynamic Eq and Volume OFF.

As always, YMMV.

The loudness switch and to a lesser extent have always felt to me to be sales tools in that they give the receiver that extra "punch". It seems to be the same as the "vivid" mode on displays.

When I get it home, I want clear and balanced sound, and the dynamic eq always feels artificial. Of course, I am living in a detached single family home. Might feel differently in an apartment where you might want to level out the loud and soft.

Again, its a tool, not an answer. It has its place, but probably not in my theater.

 

[gadgtfreek]

As someone that has used it for a few months, it is a little weird at first. You sit there wondering where the bass went.

 

[mike123abc]

I use it on 2 denon receivers. I like it since the rooms are odd and it really helped balance the speakers.

The first one worked great the first time. The second room lacked bass punch. I had a weak subwolfer in there. So, I put my THX 15" one in there and it took care of the problem. I think it does not have enough granularity in frequencies and goes by the loudest frequencies that the speaker can produce, so you end up with the upper bass being loud enough, but it does not boost the low end of the bass that might be needed. The THX speakers did a much better job at being uniform loudness across the range and the ultra low came in loud and clear.

 

[gadgtfreek]

I have found that I have to crank the volume louder (-14db's for tv as opposed to -20), and then the bass kicks in. The bass is not as loud, or as boomy, as with dynamic eq on, but the vocals seem more clear to me, so Im gonna keep it off.

 

[Ilya]

Let's not confuse Dynamic EQ with Dynamic Volume.

Audyssey Dynamic Volume evens volume level between programs, commercials etc.

Audyssey Dynamic EQ, on the other hand, is designed to compress the dynamic range, to allow you to listen programs at a lower volume, e.g. at night when you don't want to disturb others. It brings up sounds that otherwise would've been lost at a low volume.

Under normal listening conditions, when watching movies for example, both should be turned off for the best sound quality.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Im still enjoying EQ off. Never used dynamic volume.

 

[Ilya]

I have both turned off most of the time. However, Dynamic Volume is helpful when you are watching programs with a lot of loud commercials and are not very concerned about sound quality.

 

[gadgtfreek]

If Nascar was like it is on TNT all the time, Id have to use Volume for every race. Luckily there is only 10 out of 30+ that TNT carries, very annoying.

 

[Jim S.]

Since I usually listen at fairly low volume, I like having Dynamic EQ on, otherwise I get very little sound out of my surround speakers, but I sometimes have to turn up the center speaker level to hear the dialog clearly. Other people have complained about the same thing, so I don't know why this wasn't incorporated into Dynamic EQ in the first place!

On the other hand, my Onkyo 606 produces a buzzing noise in the surround speakers when Dynamic EQ is on, regardless of the volume level. In order for it to get bothersome though, I have to turn the volume up to a point at which it sounds fine with Dynamic EQ off.

 

[gadgtfreek]

I think since mine is a 3.1 system I dont miss much. By not using it, I only notice a less boomy sub.