In This Situation, Should Front Speakers Be Set To 'Large'? (1 Viewer)

[James Edward]

An out of state friend is expecting the arrival of PSB 6T speakers in the next day or two. I am one of the believers in setting all speakers to 'Small' when the sub you are using is up to the task. But...

He is using a Hsu VTF-2 in a HUGE, open layout room, which I'll guess is at least 10,000 cubic ft. Right now, surprisingly, the VTF-2 does the job somewhat well.

If you are not familiar, the PSB 6T's have 3 6.5" woofs that do an admirable job of outputting bass. So the 6T's, combined with his Rotel 1065 receiver(120wpc) will be able to crank it out.

I am thinking that maybe relieving the sub of its front channel bass duties might be the better option now, because of the sheer square footage of the room. I am familiar with the 6T- Rotel combo, and it will pound it out.

So... With ample real wattage, and a 93db sensitive speaker with -3db point of 32Hz, would it make sense to leave the L/R bass to the speakers and just the LFE and surround bass to the sub? BTW, he uses the system
60% music, 40% HT. And he likes it loud.

If he lived anywhere near me, I'd have my ears and all test discs and sound meter to check out what's best, but that's not possible. Any thoughts/experiences appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Jeff Adams]

I have the 6t's as well. They are a great speaker. I have tried both ways with these speakers and I have found that when watching movies, I like having them in small mode. I have all my other speakers set to small mode. But when listening strictly to stereo music, I set them in large mode. By the way I am using two subs.

 

[James Edward]

Thanks Jeff- It sounds like you prefer the bass of the 6T's for music, and you have enough sub firepower for movies when you need it. That sounds right.

Do you think that the 6T's might be able to 'help out' the single sub in his large room when watching movies too? This is not something I normally recommend to people, but he has such a large room that the VTF-2, no matter how good(and it IS good), has a hard time keeping up.

Ironically, I'm probably more concerned about his configuration than he is, but since I initially set it up, I feel some responsibility of sorts...

 

[James Edward]

I should have put SVS or Bose in my thread title :frowning:

 

[Edward J M]

James:

Clearly, running the fronts on large, the sub set to yes, and the remainder of the speaks on small will relieve the sub of some bass duty.

125 WPC is not a lot when running two full range speakers with three 6.5" woofers, and you might run into clipping or current delivery problems with the AVR amp.

It sure can't hurt to try this configuration, providing he works up to the safe limits with caution.

Obviously, a better long term solution for a 10,000 ft3 room is to replace the VTF-2 with a much larger and more SPL capable sub(s). A single 10" driver in that size room is asking for trouble at higher volumes.

Regards,

Ed

 

[Tom Vodhanel]

It is a tough question because it is going to depend on how the DVD is recorded to a large degree. The more of the bass effects on the LFE channel, the less difference this will make. The typical listening levels and simple listener preferences will play parts too.

Probably the best bet is to pick out a dozen of the more dynamic CDs/DVDs you guys are familair with and try each disc each way and see which you prefer at moderate and loud listening levels. I would keep a SPl meter at the key seating and set the volume so that each bass management option gives you the same dynamic peaks at the seats.

Tom V.
SVS