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Sub Woofer setup for 2 Ch


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I have just added a sub to my system which comprises 2 x floorstanders and Integrated stereo amp.

After one session, it certainly seems to sound better  than before.

 

But the sub has some dials > Volume, phase & crossover.  Volume & phase I am ok with.

 

What do I set the crossover at? Does the crossover setting even do anything when you have it working off an integrated amp?

If so, what should I set the crossover at?

Or is the crossover setting only used when you have a receiver capable of LFE?

 

Some suggestions please?

 

 

 

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The crossover will roll off the bass from the Subwoofer at which ever setting you set it at.

Typically 80 hz is chosen as they reckon above that you can locate where the bass is coming from.

When you have an AVR you turn the crossover on your Sub to max and let the AVR handle the low bass.

 

Edited by Tony ray
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Its all to do with having a flat response from low bass 20 to 80 hz to upper bass 80 to 250 hz midrange 250 to say 2000 hz and treble above that to say 10,000 hz.  they all crossover at points ( rise and fall) to balance out the sound. If you set your sub bass at 250 hz it will probably sound boomy as its clashing with your mains. But your mains start to roll off ( lose volume ) around 50 to 30 hz usually but will be flat usually to about 250 hz depending where the designer wanted it ( if its a 3 way )      I'm not the best at describing things though.

So what are your mains?

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As Tony ray asked, we need to know what your mains are before we can recommend a crossover frequency. Speakers with smaller drivers or sealed type of box construction tend to not dig too deep and so require a slightly higher crossover point for a flat response. Larger drivers or ported box designs tend to dig deeper due to the type of alignment they are and so you can set your crossover lower. If you have ported mains then it is even more important to know where the speaker design rolls off as a ported box will roll off the low frequencies a lot quicker than a sealed speaker box.

 

It would also help to know what your amp is too. Some amps just have a fixed crossover point that is not adjustable. Some don't even do a real crossover. They just send everything below a certain frequency to the sub-out. If you are using the sub-out on your amp, then the crossover on your actual subwoofer should be set to the highest frequency there on the dial. Usually anywhere between 120-200Hz.

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On 01/01/2018 at 12:54 PM, Jeddie said:

I have just added a sub to my system which comprises 2 x floorstanders and Integrated stereo amp.

After one session, it certainly seems to sound better  than before.

 

But the sub has some dials > Volume, phase & crossover.  Volume & phase I am ok with.

 

What do I set the crossover at? Does the crossover setting even do anything when you have it working off an integrated amp?

If so, what should I set the crossover at?

Or is the crossover setting only used when you have a receiver capable of LFE?

 

Some suggestions please?

 

 

 

jeddie have you checked your sub manual, as would surprised if doesnt have a simple enough procedure to dial in. otherwise let know there are few online that can point to, or one used myself. depends what looking for relatively simple to start off with or jumping in the deep end :)

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On 1/5/2018 at 5:18 PM, :) al said:

jeddie have you checked your sub manual, 

Thanks to all who replied  @A/V @tony ray @:) al

The manual is long since gone.  I bought the sub as part of a home theatre package several years ago.

 

My Mains are PMC Ob1's.

My amp is Cambridge Audio 651A.

 

Any advice would be welcomed.

 

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36 minutes ago, Jeddie said:

Thanks to all who replied  @A/V @tony ray @:) al

The manual is long since gone.  I bought the sub as part of a home theatre package several years ago.

 

My Mains are PMC Ob1's.

My amp is Cambridge Audio 651A.

 

Any advice would be welcomed.

 

http://www.avhub.com.au/features/hi-fi/how-to-set-subwoofer-controls-405267

 

that should help :)

 

though I will say, I know the pmc ob1 well. it was a speaker i once bought myself. you will need a good sub to integrated upto it. it has pretty decent bass performance and is clean tight and controlled. any sub to add anything will need to be able to go lower and be as clean and controlled in performance or will detract more than improve on its capabilities :)

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The quoted speaker low freq is 28hz on their website but it doesn’t say at what +/- dB level so usually when they say that it is hiding the fact that in reality it may be about that at -10dB or less, which may not be audible or useful. It is probably about 35-40 Hz at -3 or -6 dB, which isn’t that impressive to mention in a sales brochure. The 35-40 Hz bass can still be impressive sounding and perfectly fine.

 

If correct then perhaps try to set the sub freq control to around 40-50 Hz but keep adjusting it until satisfied. Also, switch the phase button around and listen for what sounds like the tightest and most accurate bass, not just the biggest bass, which can also sound quite loose and not right.

 

The online manual for the integrated amp shows it has a sub rca input and pre out rca and says you can use either for the sub. But there is nothing about what the cut off freq is set at so typically a sub input can be 80 Hz and the pre out would be no cut off. Try both and see which you prefer.

 

Sub unit volume should be set so that the sub just compliments the speaker, you only hear bass when it is needed, doesn’t dominate, bloat / boom excessively or blurr voices.

 

Overall keeping adjusting everything including finding best position within reason for the sub and distance from walls / corners as well as try lots of music types and movies at various sub settings to see which is finally correct for most of the material you listen to. It may take less than an hour to over a day or two to get it right.

Edited by Al.M
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