Subwoofer/satelite- Need Expert Help! (1 Viewer)

[Ed O'Neill]

Ok the theater is built and external cables/wires are ordered! YEAH! down to the set-up.

Before anyone starts...I am a Die hard Cambridge Soundworks fan. I stared using them way back in 1994 and have upgraded and upgraded with their trade-up program. I know some of you guys will say there are better speakers out there, but I love my set up.

Now having said that I just bought my powered subwoofer, and I am looking for suggestions for the best way to hook up my speakers/system. You see I have the original ensemble series front speakers 2 satelites and two non-powered subs. Now I know that Cambridge sound works and other companies usually have a powered subwoofer and the satelites. This means you should set your amp to small speakers.

Here is the questions:

1.In my situation Should I use the 2 non powered subwoofer and set it to large(full range)
2. For the center channel should I use large or small setting? I was always told that the center speaker is the most important so shouldn't it be set to recieve all the signals.

Thanks in advance,
Ed

 

[John Garcia]

I sure hope you have an external amp for each of those subs, and are not running them off the receiver.

Info on what your speakers are hooked to would be helpful.

If you are looping your satellites through the subs, the ONLY choice you have is to set them large. If you are running the subs off of the pre-out and the mains from the receiver, using the receiver's x-over, then you will set them to small.

If you set your center to large, it will roll of at it's natural roll off point anyway. If this is less than one octave below your crossover point, you will not benefit greatly from setting it to large.

 

[Ed O'Neill]

Hi John,

The reciever is a onkyo 787

I did give the speakers..they are the original ensemble but not the link. here is the link http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/p...g_ensemble.pdf

I don't have an amp for the non powered, I just run them off the fronts of my receiver. The powered sub is the bass cube 15.Here is the link http://www.cambridgesoundworks.com/pdf/manuals/bc15.pdf

I am not sure what looping is but if you look on page 6 in the ensemble book I use alternative #1. I have always hooked these speakers up but as I stated I just got the bass cube 15.

Thanks in advance
Ed

 

[John Garcia]

Based on that, you will want to set them to large. With this hook up method, I don't see how the satellites are being high passed, unless the crossover is passively built into the speakers themselves. You could set them to small with this configuration, since you have a powered sub as well, this will simply limit the bass that comes from the passive subs. Try it both ways, and see which sounds better.

Looped means the crossover is in the sub, the satellites are hooked directly to it, and the sub only passes the higher freqencies to the satellites (high pass). This is essentially like having a tower speaker, but it doesn't look like that is what alternative #1 shows.

 

[Ed O'Neill]

John,
Thanks for the quick reponses.

I believe bith the sub and sat have crossovers in them but I could be wrong.If you look on page 12 of that pfd. It might explain it better than I could and maybe you can interpet it for me..LOL

Thanks as usual
Ed

 

[FeisalK]

hey I'm a Cambridge fan too have 2 PCworks one in my office and one on my home PC. Henry Kloss (r.i.p.) rules

 

[John Garcia]

I have Cambridge stores locally, I know most of the guys that work there, because I have spent a fair amount of cash there...they are one of two dealers I go to because they carry Marantz

 

[Ed O'Neill]

Nothing beats the fact that....I live here in Massachusettes home of both the late henry Kloss and Bose. Both guys graduated from M.I.T. Though Kloss has definetly proved himself to be the superior audio manufacturer.

See there are some good things that come from Boston...LOL

Hey John I would like to Thank You for the help. I really appreciate it I am going to check into the crossover issue with someone at cambridge soundworks.

Talk to you soon
Ed