I think it's worth it if they use accurate measurement equipment to dial in the best seat-to-seat uniformity of the sound field and set levels of each channel.

But if they aren't driven by measurements, I wouldn't want their service.  Setting up by ear is trivial.

I know that I have no right to tell you how to spend your money, but I feel that spending a thousand dollars for pro calibration is not for me.

I said this because most of the modern AV receivers like Dirac and Audyssey have built-in auto-calibration which does a fantastic job measuring your room and setting and setting levels, EQ and delays. You get to do this by pairing it with a nice SPL meter app on your mobile device and tools like Room EQ Wizard (REW). Then you can dial in speaker balance, tame room models, and get an awesome imaging doing it yourself.

I think doing that video will need a little bit of patience to achieve, but that is still possible as long as you do it right. I mean, there is this good feeling when you do it well.

I've had success calibrating every system that I've bought right from the 5.1 Atmos till the latest one, and the results have been beautiful.

For me, I suggest you use that money to get better speakers or maybe go to a music concert this year to enjoy.

Kurt wrote on Mon, 26 January 2026 10:12

I know that I have no right to tell you how to spend your money, but I feel that spending a thousand dollars for pro calibration is not for me.

I said this because most of the modern AV receivers like Dirac and Audyssey have built-in auto-calibration which does a fantastic job measuring your room and setting and setting levels, EQ and delays. You get to do this by pairing it with a nice SPL meter app on your mobile device and tools like Room EQ Wizard (REW). Then you can dial in speaker balance, tame room models, and get an awesome imaging doing it yourself.

I think doing that video will need a little bit of patience to achieve, but that is still possible as long as you do it right. I mean, there is this good feeling when you do it well.

I've had success calibrating every system that I've bought right from the 5.1 Atmos till the latest one, and the results have been beautiful.

For me, I suggest you use that money to get better speakers or maybe go to a music concert this year to enjoy.

Time is what I don't have! I won't be cool spending a large chunk of my time trying to do the calibration stuff myself when I have other activities that need my time. I would rather spend to get a professional who can handle it instead of trying to do it myself. Thanks for your response though. It was detailed and straightforward.