Crossover/Frequency Question

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lionhartzero

Enthusiast
So I've read most of the articles that were posted to get slightly familiar with the subject and I'm definitely looking forward to becoming more experienced, but in the meantime I had a quick question. As mentioned in my previous topic, I have the Nanosat Premiere 5.1 system and just purchased an Energy Sub. I've already been told that they aren't great speakers, but I have a relatively small room and will at least try them out with my new sub and receiver before replacing them as they were not cheap when I got them. Anyway, I've been wondering about a few things and wanted to see if I can get some answers before getting my new woofer.

The nanosat website says that the frequency level goes from 110-20k Hz. A lot of sites have said to set the crossover point at the lowest that the speaker can go, which is 110 in my case if I understand correctly. I was just wondering of this stressed the speaker out being at its max, or if 120 may be a better option/make a noticeable difference
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
10Hz doesn't make a big difference in that range IMO, but 120Hz should be fine. One typically sets the x-over higher than the -3dB of the speaker (110hz) and it should not stress them at all because it is above their claimed limit. Does your receiver allow 110? These speakers won't be stressed because the lower frequencies are usually where the heavy lifting occurs and these aren't getting very low.
 
L

lionhartzero

Enthusiast
Thank you for a response. I bought the Pioneer SC-71, and according to its stats on the website (if i'm reading the right stat) it says that the Frequency 87.5MHz to 108 MHz. Hopefully that's the stat you were referring to lol. Again, i'm trying my best to soak up all of the info I could in the past day and a half and I've actually come to understand quite a bit than I did before. I just don't understand what a "3dB" is. I'm pretty sure it means 3 Decibels, but how you're doing the calculation of typically setting a crossover higher than the 3dB is beyond me. If someone could explain it'd be appreciated.

On another note, after reading quite a few sites it seems to be a general consensus that TYPICALLY setting all speakers at the same crossover across the board. Now from what I understood, the lower number in terms of the Hz able to be produced by the speakers equaled the amount of "bass sound" that the speaker could produce. That's why I figured that if the limit was 110hz to produce the most "bass" then it would be stressing it to put it at flat out 110, no?

In the meantime, I'm definitely becoming frustrated with planning to set it up. I had the PERFECT page that described speaker/sub setup last night and forgot to email myself the link so I couldn't follow up. It mentioned something about a setting that ALL subwoofers should be set to (a knob on the back supposedly) before calibrating. So much info is out there that if you don't save a web address you may never find a specific article you were looking for again..
 
M

markw

Audioholic Overlord
That 88 - 108 number you see refers to the FM radio frequencies it can receive and has nothing to do with whats being discussed here.

Set your receivers crossover to at least 120. If you can set it a bit higher, then do so. It should always be set to a bit higher than the main speakers lower frequencty limit.

and, they aren't bad speakers if used within their design limits and you knew what you were buying when you purchased them.
 
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lionhartzero

Enthusiast
Thank you for the quick response. For a smaller room, I don't think that the Nanos are bad either..but I'm being told that there are for better speakers and i'm sure they are (again, they weren't cheap when I got em though lol..well, not cheap IMO). Would you happen to know what I missed out on reading regarding ALWAYS having a subwoofer's ___________ set to the max or turned all the way up before starting to set it up? No clue why i'm having issues finding it now..
 
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lionhartzero

Enthusiast
Does this sound like what I saw you were supposed to "turn all the way up" when setting up a sub to a new Receiver??

"Turn the sub's (low-pass) crossover control knob to its maximum, highest numerical setting (you're going to rely on your AV receiver's internal crossover control to route the mid and high frequencies to the speakers and the bass to the sub)."
 
M

markw

Audioholic Overlord
Yes, and the reason is stated in that quote. I also added a word to my previous post to hopefully clarify it a bit.

You've got to keep in mind that those tiny speakers make NO bass and require different treatment from other, larger, main speakers where a receivers crossover might get by being set to the more normal 80 hz.
 
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lionhartzero

Enthusiast
Thank u sir...A last question. Im about to get a new LCR setup and keep the two Mirage speakers as my surrounds. If the Mirage go down 110 and lets say the LCRs went to 80, could i set my LCRs to 80 and my Mirages at 110 since they couldnt perform at 80? Please correct me if im wrong, but when setting up the new receiver could i set up the two surround Mirages at 120 and then the LCRs at 80??
 
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lionhartzero

Enthusiast
Anyone with suggestion? Again, I'm reading and loving the info but just want to verify a few things. I don't want the noise that could be present if i have to set the woofer up to cross at 120 for the little Mirages and it actually hurt the performance of some speakers i just bought (and saw nothing but positive comments for - the Pioneer SP-BS22-LR...) that can actually hit 55hz. If it would be affecting those, i would just switch the crossover to 60-80 for the Pioneers and let the Mirages do their own thing. I know that the Pioneers aren't the best out there, but again, they got decent-awesome reviews from everywhere that i looked online, they werent expensive, and I can see if I hear a difference...enough to pursue even better options. Mind you, the room I'm trying to do is a basement with the Mirages in the ceiling creating an area between the of about 15'x15', so I'm sure i wont be blasting them, but looking to hear a difference in performance. Also, I'm in a basement that HAS open space to the left and behind my listening area, so if worse comes to worse and you think it'd be dumb to try to set it up in that space i can always expand the distance on the sides of the tv with the LR speakers. I figure that if i don't like them, i can always send them back or use them for surrounds. What do you think about The scenario as a whole??
 
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