Question about my sub and its settings... (1 Viewer)

[PatrickMD]

First, my current set-up:

For my front left and rights and my surrounds I'm using Def Tech BP6B's (20-175 watts), I'm not sure of the model of my Def Tech center (I think it was discontinued) but it's 200 watts, and my sub is the Definitive ProSub 80 (250watts).

For the settings on my receiver for the sub... I thought my speakers were of decent size and the sub was rather small, so I currently have all my speakers set to large and the crossover on the sub set at 95 (it goes between 40-150). I had been getting incredible distortion when using the sub, so today I turned the low cut filter on and that seemed to cut some of the distortion out, although I had to turn the sub's volume up quite a bit.

My problem is trying to find the right combination of settings to get a good amount of bass without some of the distortion I've been getting when it really needs to kick in. So, my questions:

What do you think about my BP6B's being set to large and the sub's crossover being at 95???

What exactly is the low cut filter doing and should I keep it on if I'm hearing distortion? I know it sounds as if I just answered my own question but I want to make sure that won't hurt the performance of the sub.

And what is the LFE attenuator??? I currently have it set at 0db (you can choose between 0db, 10db, and **db).

Thanks in advance for all your help!!!

 

[Greg Schex]

how is the sub hooked up now?

 

[PatrickMD]

This is how the sub is hooked up: A single RCA plug hooked up to the "subwoofer preout" jack on the back of the receiver, that single RCA goes to a y-adapter to make it a double RCA, which then plugs into the left and right low level in on the back of the sub. When I just looked at the back of the sub I noticed it has a single "LFE" plug just below the left and right plugs I'm using now - should I be plugging into that instead?

 

[Jeffrey Noel]

Patrick, is the distortion you are talking about the sound when the sub bottoms out, or something else?

 

[Steve_Ma]

Try setting all your speakers to small and set the sub to ON or yes. If you have a variable x-over on the receiver, set it to 80 or 100. Now, crank the sub's low-pass filter to it's max setting or disable it if the sub allows (you want it out of the way, since the signal is already crossed over at the receiver. Finally, get a radio shack SPL meter to help you calibrate the sub and speakers.
Here's some links to help you out. They'll do a much better job of explaining bass mgt than I ever could , including your question about the crossovers.
--Steve
http://www.smr-home-theatre.org/Sub-woofer-Set-Up/
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