Back to A16-related matters...
Last night I decided to perform the HT magnetic sensor calibration process described in the .091 manual with Section 13 Appendix C (pages 99-100). Previously I had performed the thermal calibration process described in the 1.80 Release Notes, but actually had never performed the "magnetic sensor calibration".
(1) On page 99 of the manual the instructions 1-5 describe how to set up for and then to perform this magnetic sensor calibration. There is a picture 13.1 which I don't understand. The last two lines on the picture are red. Are they supposed to appear after calibration is complete, or before you press ENTER to start, or when? They certainly were not on my screen, which only showed the first three blue lines.
(2) There are some descriptions at the bottom of page 99 and top of page 100 which define the two settings you can change, which affect (a) the accuracy of the calibration, and (b) how relatively long the calibration process will take:
Magnetic error
Can be set to LOW or MED.
If set to MED the calibration routine will be less accurate but will take a shorter time to complete.
If set to LOW the calibration routine will be more accurate but will take a longer time to complete.
Magnetic error type
Can be set to HARD or HARD+SOFT
If set to HARD the calibration will be less accurate but will take a shorter time to complete.
If set to HARD+SOFT the calibration will be more accurate but will take a longer time to complete
Since this was the first time I'd done the calibration I decided I wanted it to be "most accurate", and wasn't concerned if it took a bit longer to complete. Of course I had no real idea from the short description exactly HOW MUCH MORE ACCURATE or HOW MUCH LONGER IT WOULD TAKE, but it is important to note that the factory default values are MED (less accurate and shorter) and HARD (again, less accurate and shorter). I decided to change both of these, to LOW (more accurate and longer) as well as HARD+SOFT (again, more accurate and longer). Then I followed instruction 3 (i.e. pressed ENTER to begin the calibration process). As described, the word "calibrating" now appeared in red on the third line (which shows "calibrate magnetics" in picture 13.1), the light on top of the HT turned orange-red, and I began to "tumble the headphones 360 degrees in all orientations" as described by instruction 4.
I continued "tumbling" my headphones for what probably was 30 minutes, because I never did see what was expected as described in instruction 5: Calibration is complete when the ‘calibrating’ word disappears in the display, and the LED on the head-top turns GREEN . This NEVER HAPPENED FOR ME, even after 30 minutes.
So I finally hit BACK (to terminate the too-long calibration, as described in a yellow highlight at the end of Appendix C), and was surprised to see the green LED on the HT. I honestly don't know if the magnetic calibration actually completed or not, or precisely what state my intertial/magnetic condition the HT is in. For sure everything seemed "normal" when I began listening, and I could turn my head left and right and the sound field de-rotated as I expected. So everything seems no different than it was before I started this eventually aborted magnetic calibration process, and so I'm not unhappy. But I certainly am confused.
Has anybody else performed this magnetic calibration and also changed the two accuracy/duration option settings as I did, hoping for more accurate calibration? If so, did your calibration process complete? If so, how long did the whole thing take? More than 30 minutes, or less? Did your HT LED eventually turn green as expected to indicate that the calibration process was now complete?
What are those two red lines at the bottom of Figure 13.1? When do those appear, if they still do (or have they been eliminated by a recent firmware update)?
(3) Instruction7 is, to me, ambiguous and confusing:
Step 7. Finally, wearing the headphones, navigate to the Azimuth angles display of any Preset Speaker Map, look directly at the centre speaker, and push the button on top of the head-top to set zero degrees for the magnetic sensor.
What is the specially described "Azimuth angles display" of any Preset Speaker Map? It certainly isn't the main Speaker Map (which doesn't show "Azimuth angles") is it, or is it? It certainly isn't Figure 13.1 which follows instruction 7 on this page. Where in the .091 manual is this "Azimuth angles display" (of any Preset Speaker Map) shown for example, so I would know how to "navigate to it"? How do I get it on the screen?
Also, instruction 7 says "look directly at the centre speaker". What does that mean? Where the center speaker is supposed to be relative to where I'm sitting in the physical room I'm currently sitting in? At the center speaker in the "Azimuth angles display" which is presumably on my A16 screen right now, meaning at a spot on the A16 screen? Where the center speaker was in the PRIR listening room I'm implicitly using? Sit in front of the TV and look at the center of it? Look at the display screen of the A16? Look at the center speaker box on the display screen of the Speaker Map, which really means look at the A16 screen? What? And why?
When I want to begin a listening session I am pretty much supposed to get comfortable, look straight ahead at the TV and push the button on top of the HT, to reset to +0 azimuth. So why have instruction 7 say to do it after the completion of this special magnetic calibration process, if I'm only going to redo its effect whenever I actually use the A16 to listen?
Please help.
If someone has gone through this magnetic calibration completely and successfully, can you please clear up my above described confusion? How long did it take? Did you change the settings or not? What is intended by instruction7?
Thanks.
Look it up! You don't have your first birthday on the day you are born and the world did start on day 1. Year 1 was after 365 days had passed. The new decade starts tomorrow. Jan 1, 2010 to Dec 31, 2019 is ten years. There is a reason we call it the 2010s.
