[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

I always thought the goal was to get as flat a response as possible. However, the idea that my ears don't 'listen' that way is quite interesting. Are there any other resources to go through to get a better handle on this?

Probably not. I’ve found that Googling “house curve” doesn’t get you much. Haven’t tried any other search engine, though.

I went back and read the house curve sticky at the beginning of the this area. The x-curve explained here: http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/1307-post3.html is -5 dB at 20 hz and 0 at 63 hz. Wouldn't the goal be to invert that with my response in my home theater? Shouldn't I just dial in a house curve of 0 dB at 63 hz and +5 dB at 20 hz, draw a straight line from point to point via the house curve funtion in REW and try to match that? Are movie theaters speakers responses set up to invert the x-curve so it 'sounds like' a flat response?

The X-curve discussion was merely to show that movie industry uses a “house curve” for production as well as playback – i.e., in theaters. You don’t want that curve for your home theater. Movie theaters use the x-curve – not an inverted version of it.

Shouldn't I just dial in a house curve of 0 dB at 63 hz and +5 dB at 20 hz, draw a straight line from point to point via the house curve funtion in REW and try to match that? I would think this would be better to match the x-curve????? I suppose the big problem is still the big hump at 40 hz.

You can certainly try it, although many people prefer shelving at about 30 Hz, not a continuously-rising curve. See Part 1 of the house curve article.

This is all academic, until you get an equalizer. I lieu of that, I suggest setting your curve (which in your case means adjusting the sub up or down) with music as a starting point. That’s a good reference point, because it’s easy to tell when it sounds right because the bass blends with the rest of the signal. Get a good blend there, then try some action movies, not “dialog” fare. You may find you need to then turn it up the sub a little, but that should be about it.

Regards,
Wayne