Audyssey Step 1: Get Ready

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Audyssey takes about half an hour, and most bad results come from things set wrongly before it starts. Ten minutes here saves re-running it.

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Buying hardware

Compatible Audyssey hardware

Denon and Marantz models from entry level to flagship, with the Audyssey version each one has.

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Before you run Audyssey

Beginner

  • In the receiver’s Speakers menu, tell it which speakers you actually have: fronts, centre, surrounds, heights and how many subwoofers. Audyssey only measures what’s switched on here.
  • Connect every speaker and check each one plays. Audyssey can’t fix a speaker that’s wired wrongly or not playing.
  • Find the setup microphone in the box. It plugs into the SETUP MIC socket on the front of the receiver.
  • Don’t bother setting crossovers, levels or distances first. Audyssey ignores and replaces them all.

Set up the subwoofer

  • If the sub has a Direct, LFE or bypass mode, turn it on. That hands control to the receiver.
  • If it doesn’t, set its volume knob to about halfway and its crossover (low-pass) knob to the highest setting.
  • Turn off the sub’s auto standby, so it can’t switch itself off during the tests.

Make the room quiet

Switch off fans, air conditioning and anything else that hums. Close doors and windows. The test tones are loud, so warn anyone else in the house.

Source: Denon’s manual and Audyssey’s own help pages. Menu names vary a little between Denon and Marantz models.

Next step

Step 2: Place the microphone

Everything’s connected and quiet. Next, decide where the microphone goes.

Continue to Step 2
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Audyssey versions and why settings get replaced

Advanced

Denon and Marantz use three versions of Audyssey. Cheaper models have MultEQ or MultEQ XT. Higher models have MultEQ XT32, which uses much finer filters, especially for the subwoofer, and handles two subwoofers separately. Your model’s specification page says which one you have.

Audyssey’s own help pages are clear that any crossover, level or distance you set beforehand is ignored. It measures each speaker, then writes its own values. You can change them afterwards, and Step 4 covers what’s safe to change.

Many Denon and Marantz models can also run Dirac Live as a paid upgrade instead of Audyssey. See Which System Do I Have?.

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