I haven't had a chance to play with a 997 yet, but on my old 993 and 995, I followed the manual's instructions, and set the farthest speaker to 0, and so on and so forth. (also, not sure if you just had a typo, or what, but my kenwoods measured distance in feet, not inches.) I spent many hours playing with the TA on my 993, and it always sounded best when I followed Kenwood's instructions.

I don't think the new ones come with quite as detailed instructions, so here it is copied out of the 993 manual

"• DTA (Digital Time Alignment)Make fine adjustment of the delay time of thespeaker output specified at <Cabin selection>(page 29) to have a more suitable environment foryour vehicle.The settings of the delay time are automaticallyidentified and compensated by specifying thedistances of each speaker from the center of thevehicle interior.1 Set the front and rear positions and the heightof the reference point to the position of the earsof the person sitting in the front seat, and setthe right and left positions to the center of thevehicle interior.2 Measure the distances from the reference pointto the speakers.3 Calculate the distance difference in accordancewith the farthest speaker."

Also, here's a nifty illustrated guide from the manual:

 

I have an X993, and I also had trouble dialing in the TA. The instructions are definitely confusing. I just played around w/ it... what I did was put in extreme settings just to make it very clear what effect each setting had. Once I figured out what was going on, I dialed it in accordingly.

 

Thanks for the replies, guys. I went out and tried this.Can definitely hear the difference with settings at the extremes. I tried zeroing both sides out. Entered a 1.62 delay on the left channel and kept the right channel at zero. Evened things up and shifted the image more toward the drivers seat. I can literally hear the image shift left to right while adjusting the settings.

Trouble is, I get it dialed in, it seems like the left side will suddenly play quieter, thus messing up my imaging. I could dial it in, play a song, everything sound fine, hit repeat, play the exact same song, and it would sound different. Play it again, it might go back to sounding fine. Some times it even sounds fine with left/ right both set to zero.

As I have already tried several different amps, and physically switched the speakers I'm starting to think my new Kenwood is outputting uneven left/right preamp output voltage.:undecided: Ever heard of a head unit doing this?

Or else my left ear could be going wonky.

 

I've got the same unit. Just had it installed. I haven't tried to adjust that setting yet. I'm going to try it tonite. Did you get a chance to read what the manual said under "preparation"?
KDC-X997/KDC-BT955HD/KDC-X897/KDC-BT855U/KDC-X697/KDC-655U/KMR-555U
I just read it and am totally confused! This is my first system that I've put together so alot of these settings are foreign to me. I'm taking my truck back to the installer this week because they hooked up my left/right speakers backwards. While I'm there I'll ask if they know how these settings should work. Get back to you if n when they tell me.

 

Just in case someone else understands what this means? lol
Like I said, I tried to figure this out n decided it wasn't registering so I'd better ask for help?

If you specify the distance from the center of the currently set listening position to every speaker, the delay time will be automatically computed and set.
1. Determine the center of the currently set listening position as the reference point (• in the illustration shown below).
2. Measure the distances from the reference point to the speakers.
3. Calculate the differences between the distance of the furthest speaker and other speakers.
4. Input the differences calculated in step 3 for individual speakers.
5. Adjust gain for individual speakers. A sound image will be shifted to the speaker with increased gain.
Example: When "Front" is selected as the listening position (<5-6. Listening position setting>).

 

Basically what you do is measure from a reference point in your car (ie the listening position. I measured from the approximate location of my head) Measure the distance from the reference point to the speaker farthest from you (typically the subs). Whichever speaker is farthest from you needs to be set at 0 feet. Now, for every other speaker, measure the distance to the reference point. Now subtract that distance from your first measurement, and that's the distance you need to put in for that speaker.

For example: your subs are 6ft away, front left is 2ft away, and front right is 3ft away. You would input this: subs 0ft, front left 4ft, front right 3ft.

Hope that makes sense. The diagram I posted earlier gives a visual representation.

 

"I have read you set the farthest speaker to zero, but in this case, the closer speaker sounds better set to zero. I'm stumped!"

You would set the farthest speaker to 0 if you were setting delay but seeing as you're setting distance, the speaker closest to you would be at zero (inches/feet)- which is the max amount of delay. The longer the distance, the less delay will be needed.
As for the sub, mine sounds best if I set the distance at 3.6 feet for some reason. That's almost half what I have the far rear speaker set at.

 

You are setting delay with these kenwood units. The input method is somewhat backwards, but the h/u calculates the delay based on the distances you input. The farthest speaker from you is definitely supposed to be your zero value.

Straight from the manual: "Calculate the distance difference in accordance with the farthest speaker"

Please look back at the picture I posted...it's right out of the kenwood manual.

 

First you need to figure out what the inputed numbers mean: are they a delay or are they simply the distance to the speaker (allowing the head unit to compute the actual time delay). Anyways, I posted a few notes regarding TA with older X994 I think. Perhaps it works the same. It died over a year ago and now i use the pioneer deh-80PRS.

 

One thing too once you get the center positon just right ....and your sub is the farthest speaker away...
Increase both left and right by adding the same amount to bring your sub forward in your sound stage. For my vehicle, I added 1.4 to each side after I was satisfied with the center position and the sub sounds more forward, has nice impact and more depth.

 

Any other owners of the 997?

 

Thanks alot Kevin and A-minus. You explained things in a language even I could understand. I'm going to give it a try tonight. I'll be sure to post my results as soon as I'm done.

 

I don't know why Kenwood made the instructions so complicated to understand...when I got my 993, it took over a year to finally understand it. Granted, I was a total newb at that point. Hope it makes a difference for you!

 

Yes, thanks for the replies everyone. Much more detailed than the manual I have. Still plugging in numbers. I can get a good sound dialed in by setting a small amount of delay on my left channel, and leaving my right at zero, but I'm still fighting that sudden slight volume drop on the left side components. About the only thing I haven't tried is running new speaker wire to the components. Could a speaker wire cause a small but noticeable drop in volume? Could this maybe be a speaker going bad? Speakers and wire are several years old. This slight and intermittent drivers side volume drop is really making it hard to dial in the TA. Thanks again guys for the explanations. They are much appreciated.

 

Could be wiring or crimps if used or even a speaker or crossover itself. Just have to take some time troubleshooting.

Could swap rca's at amp (left would now be right) and see if issue follows the change or stays the same side. That would be the easiest step.

 

Switched RCAs at amp. Left side still at slight but noticeably lower volume. Swapped the two passive crossovers around as well. Swapped in another amp. Even swapped the two tweeters around. Am going to swap around the mids next. These are at least 12-14 years old. This is the third vehicle they've been installed in. Its funny, I never noticed this problem until I installed the Kenwood 997, but I would think if the head was the problem, swapping the RCAs would have also swapped the volume drop to the right, which it did not. I am really hoping its not the head unit, just got it buttoned up in the dash real nice. Will also need to check those crimp on connectors. Hadn't thought about those. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

If the problem didn't follow the rcas, then you can rule out the head unit. It's going to be at the output of the amp or after. I had a similar problem a couple months back. Old set of Diamond comps I had laying in the stock room...ended up being a bad passive xover.

 

Unless I messed something, the only thing you hadn't swapped around is the mids and wiring.
One thing that could be an issue, out of phase mid....swap the wiring at amp on that side mid.
I speak that cause I've done it.

 

FINALLY!!! After swapping out everything else (literally), I was down to the wiring or the left side mid. So I swapped the two mids. It seems the volume problem followed the mid over to the right side. I verified this with a meter playing both music and pink noise with the mic placed in several places. This particular mid plays two to three notches lower than the other mid no matter where it is placed. So I think I may finally, hopefully have found my problem. The mid has played well for the last 12-14 years. I guess its just getting old( like it's owner). Am going to test it more tomorrow, it got to hot this evening. If the problem shows back up on the left side, I may just lose it and start :rifle: the entire system.(except the new head unit, I really like the new head unit )

I don't suppose it will do much good to try and time align the system until I get the front components changed, because I will have to do it again for the new speakers, right? I assume new speakers will be more matched in volume. And if I time align this set with its mismatched volume, I'll need to do it again with the new ones? Ah the joys of car audio.........

Funny, I had most of the features figured out on this unit the first evening, and could not figure out why I was having so much trouble with DTA, after having NO trouble with my old Pioneer's DTA. If this mid going bad is, in fact, my problem, it will explain a lot.

Time to reread this thread and soak in all the good info you guys have given. Thanks again for your help. Hopefully those of us with a 997, will learn how to dial in the DTA to perfection. Any more thoughts you have, keep them coming. They are much appreciated.

 

Ok guys. So I tried to dial in the DTA today. The only problem I had, which really wasn't a problem, is that my subwoofers are not the furthest speaker away from me. I'm driving a 2006 Chevy Silverado extended cab. So my two subs are in a box under the backseat. But the 4 by 6 that is in the back door is further away from me than the subs. So I used the right rear speaker as my starting point, which I set to zero. Now do you guys suggest that I use the driver seat as the reference point? I wasn't sure if I should or not. So according to the diagram they're using the center of vehicle between the driver and passenger. So that's what I used. I made the correct adjustments and I have to say, I think it sounded just a lil better before. I may have to try again. Maybe I made a mistake. I'm taking it in tomorrow to have a set of Focal PS165's installed. After months of researching and listening to everyone on the different forums this is the set I've decided on. I will definitely try to reset again after tomorrow. Thanks for all your suggestions n tutoring. It is much appreciated!

 

After several hours of critical listening, I am satisfied I have found my left/right volume mismatch to be a bad mid. Little sucker just does not play as loud as its twin. So new comps are planned to be installed. Great!!

Back to the time alignment procedure. I'm noticing a sound difference when changing to the different listening position in the DTA menu.

Position All: Sounds good, drivers side louder as to be expected. Needs some tweaking.
Position Front all: Haven't really tried much.
Position Left: the one I'm using, seems to be balanced well as is with little to no tweaking. Left side sounds a bit louder, but stage is more centered.
Position Right: Seems backwards to me as it makes the right side speaker a lot louder than the drivers side, stage is way to the right, not sure why this is this way.

Are these listening positions supposed to be like presets to be used as starting points? My old Pioneer I just chose the left drivers side position, added about 9 inches difference to the left side speaker thus delaying it. and everything sounded great. These settings are not working so good with the Kenwood.

MarkAM, I am in a similar situation as you. Extended cab truck with subs as my closest speaker. I am curious as to what settings you have tried and which settings seem to have worked for you.

Thanks everyone for all the input thus far.

 

Glock, those are supposed to be presets, but I had a similar experience with them. They really are not all that great. It sounds much better if you dial it in yourself.

 

After reading your post, I looked at the owners manual again under Listening position setting. I have read through the manual a couple times, but this didn't sink in until now.

Saw this little chart.
Display Compensation seat
"ALL" Not compensating.
"Front R" Front Right seat
"Front L" Front Left seat
"Front All" Front seat

So front R, front L, and front ALL are presets. So if I want to dial everything in manually, I should be using the ALL position, for no compensation, correct? This will allow me to dial in every single aspect myself.

This actually makes since. I don't believe I spent much time trying to dial her in using the ALL position, I am going to try this tomorrow.

A-minus, thank you very, very much for pointing this out. I have now reread all the posts in this thread, and looked at the picture you posted more closely. This is becoming much more clear now. I'm feeling much more confident I'll be able to get her dialed in now. Thanks again for the responses.

 

I'm not 100% sure. I had a KDC-X993, and a KDC-X995. Both used a very similar TA interface, but on the 993, I adjusted it from the ALL position. On the 995, you could pick from the presets, or it had an option that said Manually Set TA. I haven't played with a 997 yet, so I can't answer that for sure. I would say try it under ALL and see what happens.

 

I am heading out to do the DTA now with the info I got here, will let you all know how it goes. I am running the Kenwood 997 as well.

By the way, where is the advanced manual? It didnt come in my box and I can only find the quick start manual online.

 

I don't think the newer Kenwoods come with an advanced manual. I pulled that stuff out of a manual for an older radio.