Vince, please help me help myself! (1 Viewer)

[Dan Joy]

I am waiting for this SVS 25-31PCi and trying to get everything ready that when it is here, I am set to calibrate. I have my Rat Shack SPL meter and avia disc and have calibrated front, center, and rear with spl meter. I have read various threads on small versus large settings.

I have a Sony STRDE-835(I know, but just a matter of time and currency) that I dont know what the crossover is at(I have email sony recently without reply. My Mirage FRx-7 towers are spec'd at 35Hz-22KHz,+/-3db. Ihave an Mc3 center channel and infinity inwalls. I plan on using rca cable from sub out on receiver to line in svs.

My questions are:

1. If I set fronts to small(recommended from threads I have read), and the way that I have sub connected, can the sub crossover be used, and if yes should I use this to mesh sub with towers?

2. If can use sub crossover with above connection, can I use front large to better serve for music listening. On my Sony, I plan on using auto decode to utilise sub because if I use two channel, I get no sub output per manual. I do know that avia is best used for small setup due to integrated lfe with mains.

What would be you first and perferred way to setup my receiver-sub(60HT/40Music).

Mirage and my dealer advised fronts large, rca to sub with sub crossover at 40-50.

Thanks! Dan

 

[Greg_R]

1. Set the speakers to 'small' and turn the sub's crossover all the way up (or off). You don't want to receiver and sub's crossvers to conflict.

2. IMO, you should use a quality subwoofer for any bass reproduction below 80Hz (regardless of your main speakers). Having multiple low bass sources (which is what will happen if you set them to large) makes calibration (and smooth bass response) very difficult, if not impossible. Bass isn't directional at this frequency (unless you have a poor sub or setup problems).

 

[Dave Schofield]

On the PCi, which input do you use for the "Sub Out" on a receiver? I see 4 RCA's but they are labeled "right in",

"right out", "left in" and "left out". Is there just a "input" jack?

I'm clearly missing something here...

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I have a Sony STRDE-835(I know, but just a matter of time and currency) that I dont know what the crossover is at

Sony is notorious for a very high crossover. It will be somewhere around 110-120Hz. I used to own a Sony 50ES receiver, and this was one of my biggest complaints about the unit.

 

[Dan Joy]

I appreciate the replies, please keep them coming. Hopefully I can get all set up for calibration with a minimum of complications:b

 

[Dan Joy]

Anyone else?

 

[Selden Ball]

To answer Dave's question, and by extension some of Dan's:

Some subwoofers are designed so they can go in the right and left audio circuits of a high-end audio system. Their inputs come from the R&L outputs of a pre-amplifier and their outputs connect to the R&L inputs of a stereo amplifier. The amplifier then drives the front left and right speakers. In other words, they're designed so they can augment a two-channel stereo system. They often have several control knobs to adjust crossover, phase and low frequency extension.

This connection method can also be used in a high-end multichannel system -- one with separate amplifiers for the front speakers. In this case one would set the front speakers as "large" because the subwoofer would be extending their range. The subwoofer output should be set to "off" so that the low frequencies from the other speaker channels get redirected to the front speaker channels (and thus to the sub).

When using a receiver and not separate amps, one connection method is to use a Y cable adaptor at the subwoofer. The sub's outputs aren't used. The Y cable adaptor has one female connector and two male connectors. The receiver's subwoofer output plugs into that female adaptor. The adaptor's male outputs connect to both the subwoofer's right and left inputs. Both inputs get the same signal. Using both inputs often makes a sub's auto-on circuitry work a little more reliably. However, you can use either of the R&L inputs all by itself. That usually works just fine.

I hope this clarifies things a little.