To run Auto Calibration on a Sony STR-DH790, connect the supplied microphone to the CALIBRATION MIC jack, position it at seated ear level in your usual spot, then press HOME, choose [Easy Setup], confirm your speaker setup, and select [Start]. The receiver plays test tones for about 30 seconds. When it finishes, choose [Save&Exit].
Sony calls this system D.C.A.C. (Digital Cinema Auto Calibration). It checks that each speaker is connected, then sets speaker levels, distances, sizes, and EQ for your room. It runs inside Easy Setup on the TV screen, so the TV must be connected and on. Run it after you first set up the receiver, after you move or add speakers, and after a factory reset.
Get the room and receiver ready
Most failed calibrations come from something in this list. Take two minutes to go through it.
- Turn on the TV and select the HDMI input the STR-DH790 feeds, since every calibration screen appears there.
- Unplug any headphones from the receiver’s PHONES jack. Calibration won’t run with them connected.
- Make sure speakers are on. OFF SPEAKERS on the display means the outputs are muted; keep pressing SPEAKERS on the receiver until SPK A (or your usual setting) shows.
- Get the room quiet. Turn off fans, air conditioning, and dishwashers if you can. Background noise causes warnings.
- Warn the household. Sony warns the test tones are loud, and the volume can’t be lowered while the measurement runs.
Set up the subwoofer
Your subwoofer has its own controls, usually on the back. Sony asks you to set them like this before you calibrate:
- Turn the subwoofer on.
- Set its LEVEL (volume) knob a little under the midpoint.
- If there’s a crossover knob, turn it fully clockwise to its highest setting.
- Disable any auto standby or auto on feature. Otherwise the sub may stay asleep while the receiver is listening for it.
Place the microphone
- Seat the microphone plug fully in the front-panel CALIBRATION MIC jack. Sony warns that a plug that isn’t fully seated can spoil the measurement.
- Put the microphone where your head goes when you sit in your main seat.
- Raise it to the height of your ears. A camera tripod works well. Stacked books on the seat cushion are fine too, as long as the mic sits steady.
- Make sure nothing sits between the microphone and any speaker, including the back of the couch or a person.
Run Auto Calibration
Use the remote’s arrow buttons to move and the center button to select.
- Press HOME on the remote. The home menu appears on the TV.
- Select [Easy Setup]. Pick your language if it asks.
- Select [Assign Surround Back Terminals] and choose what’s wired to the SURROUND BACK/HEIGHT terminals: [Surround Back Speakers/Nothing], [Height Speakers], [Front B Speakers], or [Bi-Amplifier Speakers].
- Select your [Speaker Pattern], such as [5.1ch], [7.1ch], or [5.1.2ch]. It should match the speakers you actually have.
- If [Front High/Top/Dolby Speakers] appears, choose your height speaker type. Our guide to Atmos speakers on the STR-DH790 explains the four types.
- Select [Start].
- Confirm the microphone is connected, and press the center button.
- Read the on-screen note and press the center button again. Leave the room or sit still and stay silent.
- Wait. Measurement starts after 5 seconds, plays a tone from each speaker in turn for about 30 seconds, and ends with a beep.
- Select [Save&Exit] to keep the results. If an error or warning appears, fix the cause and select [Retry]. [Exit] leaves without saving.
- Unplug the microphone when the screen tells you calibration is complete, then press the center button to finish.
Things that stop calibration partway
Sony lists these as actions that cancel a run in progress. Keep hands off the receiver and remote until the beep.
- Pressing the power button
- Changing the input, with the remote or the INPUT SELECTOR knob
- Pressing HOME, AMP MENU, or the muting button
- Pressing SPEAKERS
- Changing the volume
- Plugging in headphones
What the error and warning codes mean
An Error means the measurement didn’t work. A Warning means it finished but something may be off. Fix the cause, then select [Retry].
| Code | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Error 30 | Headphones are connected. | Unplug them and retry. |
| Error 31 | The front speakers aren’t selected correctly. | Press SPEAKERS on the receiver to choose your front speakers (not OFF SPEAKERS), then retry while sound is playing. |
| Error 32, or Error 33 followed by F, S, SBL, or HT | Sound wasn’t detected from one or more speakers. The letters match the manual’s speaker names: F for front, S for surround, SBL for surround back, HT for height. | Work through the checks listed under this table, then retry. |
| Error 35 (with a speaker code) | The speakers found don’t match your speaker pattern, or the room is too noisy. | Check the pattern and wiring, quiet the room, and retry. |
| Warning 40 | It finished, but the room was noisy. | Results are saved if you choose to, but a quieter retry gives better ones. |
| Warning 41 or 42 | The mic signal was too strong. It may be too close to a speaker. | Move the mic to your seat, away from speakers, and retry. |
| Warning 43 | The receiver couldn’t work out where the subwoofer is or how far away it sits. | Check the sub is on and not in auto standby, quiet the room, and retry. |
Sony gives one set of checks for Error 32 and all the Error 33 codes:
- Make sure the microphone isn’t damaged and is pushed all the way into the CALIBRATION MIC jack on the front panel. If no speaker was heard at all, start here.
- Check that every speaker wire is connected and tight, especially the front pair.
- Surround speakers belong on the SURROUND terminals.
- A single surround back speaker goes on the L side of the SURROUND BACK/HEIGHT terminals, not the R side.
- If you have height speakers, both must be wired to the SURROUND BACK/HEIGHT terminals. Sony’s message for this case says only one height speaker was detected.
One more thing that looks like an error but isn’t: the subwoofer distance the receiver saves may not match your tape measure. Sony notes this can happen because of how subwoofers work. Leave it as measured.
After calibration: choose a Calibration Type
Once results are saved, the receiver can apply them in different ways. Try each with a movie scene you know well.
- Press HOME and select [Sound Effect].
- Select [Calibration Type].
- Choose one of the options below.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| [Full Flat] | Makes the measured frequency response of each speaker flat. |
| [Engineering] | Tunes toward Sony’s own listening-room sound standard. |
| [Front Ref.] | Makes all speakers sound like your front speakers. Useful when your surrounds are a different brand or size. |
| [Off] | Turns the EQ correction off. |
You can also change this from the front display: press AMP MENU and go to <A. CAL> > CAL TYPE. It only appears after you’ve saved a calibration.
A.P.M. (Automatic Phase Matching)
A.P.M. adjusts the phase of your speakers so they work together, which Sony says gives better-coordinated surround sound. Press AMP MENU, go to <A. CAL> > A.P.M., and choose A.P.M. AUTO or A.P.M. OFF. It doesn’t work until you’ve run calibration, and it’s inactive with headphones connected or Pure Direct on.
Dolby Atmos enabled speakers: set ceiling height, then calibrate again
If you chose Front Dolby or Surround Dolby speakers, press AMP MENU, set <SPKR> > CEILING.H. to your real floor-to-ceiling height, and run Auto Calibration once more. Sony says the pair of steps helps up-firing speakers work better.
Fine-tune by hand (optional)
Calibration gets you close. If dialogue feels quiet or a surround seems too loud, adjust it yourself.
- Levels: HOME > [Speaker Setting] > [Level]. To hear each speaker in turn, press AMP MENU and set <LEVEL> > T. TONE to AUTO.
- Distances: [Speaker Setting] > [Distance].
- Size: [Speaker Setting] > [Size]. Sony says to use [Small] if you hear distortion or weak surround effects.
- Crossover: [Speaker Setting] > [Crossover Freq]. Only for speakers set to Small. Calibration already set a value for each.
A new calibration run replaces these hand changes, so make them last.
If calibration still won’t cooperate
- The TV shows no menu. Switch the TV to the right HDMI input, press HOME, and give it a moment. Some TVs are slow to show it.
- Calibration seems to have no effect. Results aren’t applied when the [Direct] sound field is used with an analog input. Try another sound field or a digital input.
- The receiver shut off with PROTECT during the loud tones. That’s a wiring or impedance problem, not a calibration problem. See our STR-DH790 PROTECT fix.
- Everything is a mess after many changes. A factory reset of the STR-DH790 gives you a clean start, and Easy Setup will walk you through calibration again.
Sony’s own notes on the calibration options are on its Calibration Type page in the STR-DH790 Help Guide.