Surround Sound Studio Calibration

Studio Calibration is an incredibly important part of creating a surround sound mixing environment and in this blog I will be going over why it is important as well as how you calibrate a studio! Calibration is something that is more specific when working within the world of film, television and general video production. This is due to the universal specifications that are set up for video based audio production, the industry follows the ITU or International Telecommunication Union specifications. Effetely this allows the piece of film to communicate the same experience through every Cinema. This is done through the calibration and balance of each speaker in the correct surround setup, having the right setup allows the mix you are working on to be translated clearly and effectively to a Cinema or large surround environment.

So, How Do You Calibrate A Studio?

The calibration is actually quite a straight forward process! All you will need is a set of surround sound speakers, a SPL Meter or Sound Pressure Meter, a Stand, Tape, Tape Measure and some Hearing protection. You will need to have the studio set up to your own standards and individual needs, effetely you will just need enough space for the monitors and a "sweet spot" where you will calibrate the room to. Once you have this idea location and all the right gear, its time to calibrate the room!

1: SPL Meter and Sweet Spot

Effectively the first step to creating your calibrated studio is getting the sweet spot ready. You will want to place this somewhere behind the desk or control surface you're using. Some find that setting the sweet spot a little behind where one would usually sit is great for Clients, though personally I would place it where I sit behind the desk.

Once you have found the spot, get out the Tape and Mark it on the floor! I find that it is important to keep the spot marked as this is something you will want to do every few months or half year as calibration is incredibly important, it is also an effective way of checking the health of your Studio Monitors and Room!

Now you have the mark, place the stand above it and attach the SPL Meter. You will want the Meter to sit directly above the sweet spot at ear height (of your preferred position, maybe at ear height to when sitting on a chair). You will want to set the SPL Metter to C-Weighting as it is most closely related to the way a human ear works.

2: Speaker Placement

This is the most difficult part of the Calibration, making sure all the speakers are in the exact position. Below is a photo of how you will need to place the speakers around the sweet spot.

This will involve a little bit of tedious work as they all need to be the exact distance apart, which is why you need the tape measure!

3: SPL Calibration

You will need hearing protection for this part! You will need to turn on all the speakers and route a pink noise generator though each speaker (except the sub woofer, that needs some special treatment). You will want each speaker to be measured separately, making sure that they reach a level of 85dB RMS (as close as possible). Once this has been achieved for each monitor, your speakers will be calibrated, now don't touch those monitors!

The Subwoofer needs a little bit of extra attention when it comes to calibration. You will need to get the subwoofer in about +4dB above the reference 85dB RMS we set each monitor at. This is due to the way a subwoofer is setup, a subwoofer has a internal filtration system where all low end is filtered from the monitors in the studio. Allowing the monitors to give a clearer response for the mid and high range response, but it puts the subwoofer at a disadvantage as it only has one driver producing the low end, where the mid and high ahs five independent monitors (hence the extra +4dB)

Thank you for reading!

I hope that this has helped you create a calibrated environment for film based audio production!