2.1 Setup

[Prestonnnn]

Hello,
I am new to the audio world and I put a 2.1 system in my room. I am using a older Harmon Kardon Avr as my receiver and I was wondering if I should use stereo for my setup or manually select what speakers I am using in Pro Logic. Also, if I use pro logic should I set my 2 front speakers to large or small.

Thanks!

 

[lovinthehd]

What sources will you be using with the avr? You can really only use stereo with 2 speakers, you can have your sub take up some of the bass duties by setting the speakers to small (which essentially just means to use bass management). Not sure what you mean select what speakers you are using in prologic....

 

[Prestonnnn]

I have 2 front speakers and a sub. On my receiver when I select pro logic, it gives me the option to choose what speakers I am using. For example, I can select center speaker and turn it off. I was able to turn everything off but front speakers and sub woofer. But only in pro logic do I have the option to set the speakers small or large, but in stereo I have no choice for small or large. Sorry i'm a noob

 

[YammyFan72]

I have 2 front speakers and a sub. On my receiver when I select pro logic, it gives me the option to choose what speakers I am using. For example, I can select center speaker and turn it off. I was able to turn everything off but front speakers and sub woofer. But only in pro logic do I have the option to set the speakers small or large, but in stereo I have no choice for small or large. Sorry i'm a noob

I'm assuming you are using this system mainly for music? You should do some careful listening switching between pro-logic and regular stereo to determine whether you even want to listen to music in Pro-Logic in the first place. I've found that listening to music in good old fashioned 2-channel stereo with the pure direct or tone defeat controls turned on will almost always sound better then most surround/processing modes, especially one as grossly out-dated as Pro-Logic. But if your getting significantly more and better bass running it through pro-logic and you like it that way, then do that.

If your using the Pro-Logic feature and you have the option to set speaker size, set the 2 left/right speakers to small. That way more of the low frequencies will go to your sub.

 

[Prestonnnn]

Thank you so much for the response. I do mainly listen to music. My receiver is from the 90's so pro logic is pretty much all it supports. I will defiantly take your advice and test it out.

 

[lovinthehd]

I have 2 front speakers and a sub. On my receiver when I select pro logic, it gives me the option to choose what speakers I am using. For example, I can select center speaker and turn it off. I was able to turn everything off but front speakers and sub woofer. But only in pro logic do I have the option to set the speakers small or large, but in stereo I have no choice for small or large. Sorry i'm a noob

Not familiar with your avr's setup, some receivers don't enable subs in "stereo". You can't really select or unselect center or surrounds....you don't have them (but to be safe just set for your L/R speakers). Just use whatever settings sound good to you, there's really no rules.....

 

[Prestonnnn]

Thanks, also my front speakers go down to 30hz but my sub only goes down to an 80hz crossover. Should I just set the crossover at 80hz or ditch the sub. Thanks for all the help!!

 

[lovinthehd]

Thanks, also my front speakers go down to 30hz but my sub only goes down to an 80hz crossover. Should I just set the crossover at 80hz or ditch the sub. Thanks for all the help!!

What speakers are they? Is that their f3 point (i.e. down 3dB at 30hz)? Set the crossover in the avr, 80hz is often a good start, but if your speakers are truly capable of low frequencies you might try a lower crossover setting in the avr, but max out the low pass filter (may be labeled "crossover") on the sub itself.

ps Which model of HK avr do you have?

 

[YammyFan72]

Yes, you make no mention of what kind of speakers you are using or their size, or the subwoofer. Bookshelf? Floor standing? If you got big honking 12" or 15" woofers in some big old studio monitors but you have a small sub with a 10" woofer, you may not be getting much added benefit from having a sub.

If you are using bookshelf or smaller front speakers, either way it would be best to set them to "small" on your receiver, and play with the crossover frequency controls on the sub to see what works best.

 

[Prestonnnn]

They are cheap klh speakers that surprisingly sound really good. I'm not sure what the f3 point is but after doing a test, there was a noticeable drawback in sound at 30hz. The model is the avr 65, an older one, which doesn't allow me to set the crossover on it but there is a nob that is labeled bass that only controls the bass coming from the front speakers, the sub always remains the same volume unless changed on the back of it. That might be the crossover adjustment built into the receiver but i'm not sure. Sorry for taking your time, I really appreciate your help.

 

[YammyFan72]

They are cheap klh speakers that surprisingly sound really good. I'm not sure what the f3 point is but after doing a test, there was a noticeable drawback in sound at 30hz. The model is the avr 65, an older one, which doesn't allow me to set the crossover on it but there is a nob that is labeled bass that only controls the bass coming from the front speakers, the sub always remains the same volume unless changed on the back of it. That might be the crossover adjustment built into the receiver but i'm not sure. Sorry for taking your time, I really appreciate your help.

Again, what size are the front speakers? Do they even need a subwoofer for your application? That is best left determined by you.

As I said, set the front speakers to "small" on the receiver and play with the crossover frequency controls on the back of the subwoofer to determine what works best. You may also play with the bass tone control on the receiver which might help blend in the bass.

 

[Prestonnnn]

The front speakers are floor standing with built in 6 1/2 in sub. http://tinyurl.com/z7c3f93 The sub woofer is a 12in http://tinyurl.com/ju4wdr6

 

[lovinthehd]

Manual is somewhat vague but seems if you set small it applies the crossover. Bass control isn't a sub control, just a bass tone control.

ps How did you adjust sub/speaker delay and levels? I didn't read the whole manual either...

 

[lovinthehd]

The front speakers are floor standing with built in 6 1/2 in sub. http://tinyurl.com/z7c3f93 The sub woofer is a 12in http://tinyurl.com/ju4wdr6

I'd use the sub, but you're in the same room Seriously doubt those speakers have much capabilities in the 30hz range at any meaningful spl.

 

[Prestonnnn]

Yeah they aren't the best at low frequencies. I am completely new to all of this and I have no idea what delay and levels mean. Sorry!

 

[Prestonnnn]

Wait, there is a knob on the back of my sub that says level and it basically acts as volume

 

[Prestonnnn]

I guess all I really need to do is enter stereo mode and adjust the crossover and bass to my liking.

 

[YammyFan72]

I guess all I really need to do is enter stereo mode and adjust the crossover and bass to my liking.

Try adjusting the subs volume and crossover frequency level in stereo mode first with the pure direct/tone defeat activated on your receiver, then switch to Pro-Logic and set speakers to "small" to see which one you like better. You may need to lower the crossover on the sub to compensate for the "reduced" speaker size in Pro-Logic. Chances are, you will probably like it in pure direct 2-channel stereo mode better. Surround processing modes are really only good for movies or music that is multi-channel, such as SACD.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yeah they aren't the best at low frequencies. I am completely new to all of this and I have no idea what delay and levels mean. Sorry!

Especially with something like 5.1 it's necessary to time the arrival of the sound at your listening position, i.e. delay, and often called distance in avrs. The sub will need additional delay compensated for because of the sub's amp processing time usually and thus won't match in actual distance.

Levels are set by distance to your listening position in combination with the sensitivity of your speakers. You want to set the level of sub and speakers to be the same at a particular volume level (often 75dB) at your primary listening position for calibration purposes with avrs, usually with a measurement mic supplied by the avr manufacturer, or you can use your own measuring gear (something like a USB measuremet mic like the Dayton UMM-6 or miniDSP Umik-1, use in conjunction with software such as REW (Room EQ Wizard). Modern avrs do this with automatic routines, like Pioneer's MCACC or Denon/Marantz and some others' use of Audyssey, or Yamaha's YPAO. Room correction/setup routines combined together....

 

[Prestonnnn]

Yeah, it used to be my dad's so it's definitely not new. I did find a setting for delay though so I will play with that and mess with the crossover frequency. What should I be listening for while adjusting frequencies?