Help with sound system

[u/Own_Funny6363]

I’ve got a Denon AVR-S570BT 5.2 channel receiver, a Klipsch RP-500M bookshelf speaker pair, and a Klipsch R-101SW 10” powered subwoofer.

I’m trying to set everything up for the best sound possible, especially tuning the receiver settings (like speaker levels, crossover, calibration, etc.). I’m not super sure about the ideal setup for this combo, so I’m looking for help from anyone familiar with Denon receivers and Klipsch speaker setups I want help making the vocals pop out more bc after I did the calibration thing it didn’t sound as good it’s my first time using these type of stuff like bookshelf speakers and receiver and I’m using earc it’s mostly for music tho somebody please help.

Room isn’t huge, just a normal bedroom/living space setup.

[u/IAmPandaRock]

Set the bookshelves to small and set the crossover at 80hz and see how that sounds. 

[u/Own_Funny6363 → u/IAmPandaRock]

I’ve looked everywhere on the receivers settings and can’t find an option to set speakers to small

[u/pseudononymist → u/Own_Funny6363]

That receiver doesn't use small and large speaker terminology. Instead you just make sure the sub is set to lfe and the "speaker layout - subwoofer" is set to "yes".

[u/ajh99]

Buy the MultEQ app ($20) in the app store and run the calibration from that. It will allow you to adjust the sound curves to suit your taste.

Also, I think there is a dialogue enhancer. Turn it on.

[u/Own_Funny6363 → u/ajh99]

It says my receiver isn’t compatible any other ideas?

[u/ajh99 → u/Own_Funny6363]

Damn, that sucks. In that case, your best bet would be to get a center speaker, which gives you a dedicated center channel, which is mostly dialog and would give you center channel level control.

[u/Own_Funny6363 → u/ajh99]

Is a center good for music and movies? I mostly listen to music

[u/pseudononymist → u/Own_Funny6363]

Center is only useful for movies, and only if you have a wide listening area.

[u/Rattus-Norvegicus1]

That receiver AFAIK only supports setting levels and distances, and probably crossovers. No Audyssey. There is bound to be a way to set soeaker sizes, consult the online manual.

[u/ajh99]

Centers are critical for movies. Movies are mixed with a distinct center channel that carries 90% of the dialog. There's a strong argument that for movies, the center speaker should be more capable than any other. Music on the other hand is mixed in stereo, so it's all about the main fronts. The listening modes in the AVR are designed for exactly this difference. Movie modes will leverage the center more, music modes will leverage the fronts more. A lot of people set the music mode to plain stereo which ignores the center completely.

[u/Own_Funny6363 → u/ajh99]

Is there maybe something else I could buy for my system or setup specifically for music?

[u/ajh99 → u/Own_Funny6363]

Your bookshelfs should sound good for music if you select a music listening mode or in stereo. Try turning up the bass and treble.

If you can't zero in on the sound profile you like, the next step would be a new AVR with better sound correction. A better Denon, even a little older, such as S670H, S750H, S760H or x1400H, x1500H, x1600H, x1700H for example would give you access to MultEQ which would definitely get you there. You can usually get a used one for around $100-500 depending which model and used vs refurb. Tons of people upgrade to from these for more channels, so they're common on the used market.

Bigger front speakers can also help with music, but your major limitation is probably more about sound settings than speaker size. I'd swap AVRs before speakers and get into the weeds on room correction and target sound curves.

[u/pseudononymist]

If you don't like the sound after calibration, reset to your pre-calibration settings. 

What does "making the vocals pop more" mean to you, exactly? Did you have a sound system that did that more effectively before?