You said you have an amp with Audyssey? Is it a Denon/Marantz avr?
I know this is blasphemy, but I have started using Denon dolby surround upsampling a lot, mostly for background listening. But it’s growing on me.
If you can figure out a way to add a couple of surround speakers (there are wireless options, but that gets more expensive) it might be worth a try. You never know, but it might liven up your dead room.
It is a Marantz. I got it used for a steal and it works really well. It’s a 7.2 system. A second sub is on the way and a guy is scheduled to pull some surround cables. I have KEF surrounds awaiting the wiring already.
I have a sonos sound bar and a pair of play1s (how this all started oh so naively years ago) working as my surrounds now. HDMI arc is pretty cool.
ebay and peoples lack of patience, coupled with the inability for MANY to spell, has benefits.
Yes Im on the hunt for two massive tannoys like that….it’s taking years.
Well, when you get your surrounds wired and setup, be sure to re-run audyssey, specifying your new speaker configuration.
Then, when playing stereo/2 channel music, tap the “music” button on the remote “sound mode” section (assuming the Marantz remote is similar to Denon), and select dolby surround. In fact, try all the different modes, and set it to the one you like.
I tried them all, and dolby surround sounded the most natural and least intrusive. DTS modes were interesting but not for me. All the fake “arena/hall/club” simulations sounded awful to me, but your setup is is not mine so who knows?
So will it take all of my 2 channel music and convert it to 7.2? As of now I only get surround when the chromecast input drives. The HDMI arc has some limitations with the way I use it. I think that’s what you’re trying to impress upon me. that up sampling?
If so. Yay.
It will take your 2ch music and convert it to whatever your speaker configuration is. You can have different settings per input.
I have 5.1, but the center channel speaker is sub-par (used only for tv), so I turn it off for music and the Denon automatically adjusts for “phantom” center using the better front L/R speakers.
(How do you play roon thru your avr?)
The iPad/iPhone mics are much more consistent than the android ones, so usually give pretty good results without calibration. Having said that, I use an Android, but I have calibrated the response to an SPL meter. Here is a link to several apps, both Android and IOS. For what it is worth, I use Decibel X Pro.
Just as an idea of how my speakers are situated and things like big squishy sofas, floor rugs, full blind’s, drapes etc.
But the end of my journey were the design of the speakers themselves.
So the answer is . . .
my android suppressed the measurement.
75db where I sit.
I knew I’d been kicked out of libraries for quieter than that. It just sounded flat.
I’m hoping that’s while music is playing…
It was. at the same volume level as used earlier. It turns on and resets always.
OK, that is good to know. So the issue is not the level, but the soundstage etc. On to placement/room issues.
In case you have not heard about L.O.T.S
This excercise helps me to get the 3D Soundstage in my listening room (which is the actual living room 
)
And thank you to @David_Snyder for your detail blog
Surprisingly, my end result, is somewhat within the range of the ratio and triangle mentioned on your very informative blog 
I had not heard of it at all.
I’ll be doing more research. Thank you very much!
Thank you, added to my watch later list
All well and good if you have a dedicated music listening space. The average person doesn’t it’s a living room with tons of things in the way of everything. I have done the Sumiko method a few time which is easier to achieve in my room but again it always led to a position of the speakers or listening position completely impractical for the space regardless of how good it sounded.
100% agreed @CrystalGipsy , best speaker placement / best listening position is always a challenge and the best sounding position might not be a practical one.
There will always be compromise to take and leads to trade off.
and yes, Sumiko Method another very good method
My listening room is in the living room and the current speaker / listening position is not the best sounding one 
, it is the best compromised position so far 
While waiting for a book to arrive, some surround speakers have found their way to my walls. They haven’t been properly wired as that will happen "real soon now"™ says the installer. So I did what any impatient human did, I ran temp wires. 1 40ft (12.2m) 16ga CCA and a 25ft (7.6m) 12ga pure copper wire.
I learned wires make a difference. One side sounds great. The other side lead to a swapping of the speakers to verify it is really that bad a cable. It is.
If you follow Paul’s guide, you won’t need surround speakers to get a wide soundstage while sitting in the sweetspot. Could be helpful for enjoying movies and surround music with multiple people in the room. Have fun.
