How should I set up my HT crossover? (1 Viewer)

[patrickjay96008]

Although I realize crossover settings sometimes boil down to personal preference, I would still enjoy garnering any informed opinions to act as a jump off point.

To start, I have a Denon AVR-2807 for my receiver. My HT system is setup for 5.1 with Def Tech SM350s for my 2 fronts, a Def Tech C/L/R 2002 for my center, Def Tech BP2Xs for my 2 surrounds, and a Def Tech ProSub 1000 for my subwoofer. I hope that information is helpful. If not I can provide more.

So, first off, I know that the option of setting your speakers to "Large" or "Small" is a key factor in how your crossover will be handled. My speakers handle low end frequencies well, making the "Large" setting an option, but what do you suggest for getting the best crossover out of my system as a whole?

Second, the frequency response is 26Hz - 30kHz for my SM350s with a suggested A/V Receiver Crossover Setting of 60Hz, 30Hz - 30kHz for my C/L/R 2002 with a suggested A/V Receiver Crossover Setting of 60Hz, and 45Hz - 30kHz for my BP2Xs with a suggested A/V Reciver Crossover Setting of 80Hz. Meanwhile, my ProSub 1000 has a frequency response of 18Hz - 150Hz. With all that in mind, do you agree with these suggested crossovers, and would you imagine that they pertain more appropriately to "Large" or "Small" speaker settings? If you do not agree, would you happen to have any cursory suggestions on what crossovers to start with?

In any case, does anyone have any suggestions for how I might initially set the crossover for the subwoofer in order to get the best sound?

Once again, I know a lot of this is opinion, but I am new to this and would just love to set a frame of reference. Also, sorry for the loaded question, but I hope it makes sense, and I would greatly appreciate any advice you might have.

Thank you so very much in advance.

Patrick

 

[David Willow]

Crossovers are not really a personal preference. There more of a response to the speakers in your room. Forget the stats from the manufacturer. They have very little to do with how the speakers work in your room.

I suggest you try Audyssey. See how the Denon sets the crossovers and work from there.

FWIW - A good place to start (without running Audyssey) is SMALL and crossovers set to 80hz.

 

[SethH]

Typically if you set your speakers as large the crossover will not be activated at all. I think the 60Hz recommendation is a good one. If you're receiver offers the option to set different crossover points for different speakers, then you might consider an 80Hz crossover for your surrounds . . . but I think 60Hz will probably work fine for you if your receiver does not offer that option.

 

[JohnRice]

The 60Hz recommendation is a good place to start,I wouldn't go any lower than that, but I would try going as high as 100Hz, just to see if a higher crossover gives better integration of all drivers in the room. The phase of the sub can also make a significant difference. I second the recommendation of setting a higher crossover on the surrounds, if the receiver allows that. You might try a little over 100Hz, just to see how it sounds.

 

[patrickjay96008]

Thanks to all of you for the input. My receiver does allow me to assign different crossovers for my fronts, center and surrounds, and I have the option of doing so whether they are set to large or small.

I have not had the time to continually tweak my settings, but as of now, I have the front SM350's set to large with a 60Hz crossover, the C/L/R 2002 center set to small with a 100Hz crossover, the surround BP2X's set to Large with a 80Hz crossover, and the ProSub 1000 crossover set to 100Hz.

I did also try the auto setup option, so that I could use the Audessey option, but it strongly limited the brightness and presence of my speakers' performance. Plus, it set the dB output on the sub so low that it would not auto power on due to lack of power coming from the receiver. Yet, the Audessey setting did serve as a decent jumping off point for me to set my speakers manually (using a Radio Shack sound level meter).

I'm fairly happy with my current settings, but I can't wait until I actually have a moment to "perfect" my system for the richest sound possible.

Thank you all again for the advice, and I'll keep you posted as to what settings proved best with my system.

Take Care.

 

[JohnRice]

I would set all the speakers to small, regardless of their low frequency capabilities. Otherwise, you run a serious risk of phase cancellation, plus it takes a power load off the receiver. Listen to both music and movies with this setting.

 

[SethH]

I agree with John on setting the front speakers and surrounds to small to avoid cancellation. I would also adjust the crossover on the sub to the highest level possible.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I agree with John, too. I would set all speakers to 'small', and experiment between 60Hz and 80Hz as the crossover for the fronts.

 

Found this thread (quite old) and noticed it's a similar setup to what i have. I've got a Denon AVR 2807 (which I have) and the ProSub 1000, which i picked up today (have these Yamaha 777 I bought about 5 years back as my front speakers for now, and ProMonitor 1000s for my rear and a ProCenter 1000.)

In terms of connections, should I just be using the LFE connection -- or would I want to connect the Yamahas to the high level connectors on the ProSub 1000.

Also, the new sub I purchased is a replacement for this old Yamaha HTiB sub I purchased about a decade ago. Oddly, all documentation online says it's 200 watts, but the label on the sub says 150. Anyways, in the manual for my new ProSub 1000, they talk about the advantages of having two subs. Clearly they're talking about having two of their subs, but would I get any gain by having both the new sub connected with the old one -- even if it's less powerful, different size (bigger), and of a lesser quality? Or am I better off just using the new one until I can get a second one.

Thanks in advance. If you have any suggestions and experience with the AVR 2807, feel free to share it.

 

Think I got the (private user) with Facebook connect resolved. If anyone has pointers on my q's above, let me know.

Thanks

 

test

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Matt,

You certainly have overcome the Facebook obstacles.

Welcome to Home Theater Forum.

Hope one of our members here can assist you with
your question.

 

[gene c]

Even though that Yamaha sub looks pretty impressive for htib unit I'd still just use the ProSub1000 and hook it up with the LFE only. That's the way 99% of us do it around here. Using the line-level inputs bypasses the cross-over in your receiver and uses the one in the sub instead.

While there are some who feel there is benefit to using two subs in a stereo configuration, low frequencies are non-directional so in-effect there's little difference in doing it that way, particularly if you have rather large front speakers. This is all IMO of course.

If you did decide to hook up both subs just to see what happens, I'd use a Y-splitter to connect the second sub or "daisy-chain" them using one of the subs rca outputs. But unless you have a really, really big room the ProSub1000 should be adequate.

I'd also run Audyssey in the 2807 and double-check the settings making sure all speakers are set to Small and the cros-over is 80 or 100 for the fronts and 100-120 for the smaller center and surrounds. You can tweak the settings after running Audyssey.

 

Thanks Gene. I think my wife would be happy if I got rid of the old sub. For HTiB, it's actually pretty impressive.

I'll stick with the LFE connection for now as well.

In terms of the Audyssey, I liked that it got the distances correct (something I forgot to do when I moved), but I felt like some of the levels seemed low. It defaulted the sub to it's lowest possible db (something like -12 on a range between -12 and 12.

Thanks for the pointers on the crossover frequency. So even though the Yamahas are big floorspeakers, I want them set at small? They're great sounding speakers, but the lows can be a little underwhelming, so I guess that makes sense.

 

[gene c]

So even though the Yamahas are big floorspeakers, I want them set at small?

Yes, Even though they are fairly large the really low frequencies should be sent to the sub woofer which is designed soly for that purpose.

but I felt like some of the levels seemed low.

That, and setting speakers to "Large" are the two things these auto setup programs seem to have the most trouble with. After running Audyssey you can go into the setup menu and change things if you need to, including speaker sizes and volume levels. Set the subs volume level to whatever sounds best to you.

 

Thanks so much.

It also asks that I set the crossover frequency for the sub. Any advice there?

 

[David Willow]

It not really a crossover frequency, but a filter. It is used only for the LFE channel. Set it to 120hz.

Since your sub was set to -12, you need to turn the volume down (on the sub) and run Audyssey again.

Originally Posted by Matt Grandstaff

Thanks so much.

It also asks that I set the crossover frequency for the sub. Any advice there?