Help needed to get my system sounding great.

K

Kyle Braunlich

Junior Audioholic
I have a definitive pro center 1000, SM55 bookshelf’s and a pro sub 1000 with an AVR-x1400h receiver. I have been messing with settings but I just can’t get a sound that is perfect for me. The biggest problem I have is the center channel seems to get distortion at high volumes (I think it’s excurtion, where the speaker is moving back and forth. The center seems to do this to much I think). I would love to know some crossover settings, it’s so hard to find them online. Thanks for any help.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Need to know more than that. Messing with settings isn't very descriptive and perhaps part of the problem. How about at least some sort of description of what you feel is missing/too much.

Could be you're just trying to listen at too high a level for the speaker. Curious, is that center instead of another SM55 or other SM series speaker? 80hz is a usual starting point for crossover (make sure your speakers are set to small). Is this a new speaker and sub set for you?

If you ran Audyssey your master volume would be calibrated, and would be interesting to know what that is (as well as the settings it made). Provide some details about your room, distance from speakers, etc.
 
WaynePflughaupt

WaynePflughaupt

Audioholic Samurai
The Pro Center 1000 has little 4.5” woofers. Something like that needs to be crossed-over at maybe 150 Hz. If you’re crossed over at the usual 80-90 Hz, that’s why the woofers are being overdriven at high volumes.

Regards,
Wayne
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
You may well be expecting too much from that speaker system. To be honest Def Tech are one of my least favorite speaker companies. I'm yet to hear a speaker of theirs I could be happy listening to. They do not publish meaningful specs, and those they do publish are grossly embellished.

Lets take the bookshelves on which there is third part data.

This is the frequency response.


The ABR enclosure is severely misaligned. There is a massive bass thump at 150 Hz. Specs state the response is down to 40 Hz, but it falls like a brick at 50 Hz and is 10 db down by 40 Hz. The top end is bright, severely so.

This is a classic example of what I consider cynical design. This is a classic boom and tizz speaker. Cynical as it is designed to catch the unwary inexperienced listener.

There is not data on the center, but it is similar in concept with two ABRs, one at each end. It has 4.5" drivers that will severely decouple below tuning which I guess is higher than the 55s.

In order to avoid the thump you would have to crossover at 300 Hz which is not possible. My guess is that to avoid the decoupling causing the over excursion you describe, a crossover of at least 120 Hz is required.

Finally Def Tech subs are poorly regarded.

My gut feeling is that you are not going to be satisfied with this speaker system and will be driven to replace it with something better.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
The Pro Center 1000 has little 4.5” woofers. Something like that needs to be crossed-over at maybe 150 Hz. If you’re crossed over at the usual 80-90 Hz, that’s why the woofers are being overdriven at high volumes.

Regards,
Wayne
Yet DefTec calls the frequency range on the page for this center at 47hz-30hz (literally, guess they meant 30khz, but no basis as usual). They also suggest setting bass management at small/40hz. Hate to say but typical of DefTec wishful specs. I don't really consider DefTec subs as very capable and their specs are always suspect there too.

One reason I asked if they're new speakers, I'm hoping he can return at least the center/sub for something more capable, if not the whole set.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Dear OP, Good news! Your Denon AVR doesn't suck!
 
S

snakeeyes

Audioholic Ninja
The center is the biggest concern. It will be the first item to upgrade. You can’t expect the AVR to cover up its short comings. That center is for very small sized rooms and even then it is a compromise.
The 10 inch sub is the next item as it isn’t as good as you might expect. Figure out the cubic feet of the space and your budget for a sub as well so you can get that lower end you are missing with your current sub. A ported 12 will be the ticket unless it is a huge space. You would be amazed how many great subs are available in the $500-$700 range at HSU and Rythmik and SVS. It really depends on what your goals are and what budget you are working with. If you have lots of cash you could start over entirely and get advice from people on that but that isn’t the common situation for most people. Good luck!
 
newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top