Bass Management & LFE On my AV Receiver

[Rony]

Hi
First There'd
I have an A/V Processor ( McIntosh MX123 ) with Front Speakers ( Focal Electra 926 ) and a Subwoofer ( Moral ).
After I watched your great video : " Clearing Up Confusion On Bass Management & LFE On Your AV Receiver " It seems to me that my A/V Preferences isn't accurate.
I don't know what to choose regarding LFE parameters.

Any advice will be appreciated.

Specs :

Focal Speakers : 38HZ to 23000HZ
Moral Sub : 35HZ to 160HZ

My Processor has the exact Setup options as that in this video .

To use the option :"LFE+Main" ?

What crossover frequency to choose ? 40HZ - 60HZ or. ?

Pls see part of the Processor Manuel.


Thanks in advance

 

[Pogre]

For starters try just *LFE, not LFE + Mains. The LFE setting creates a crossover point between your speakers and sub, whereas LFE + Mains is basically double dipping by sending the same bass frequencies to both your mains and subwoofers and can lead to some muddiness.

The recommended starting point for a crossover is generally 80 hz. Subwoofers are so much better at handling those frequencies than most speakers and below 80 - 100 hz we lose the ability to localize so you can place your sub where it works best, which is often a different location from your main speakers.

*PS, and speakers are set to "Small".

 

[Rony]

Thank you!

 

[Pogre]

Thank you!

You bet, and welcome to AH!

It's not to say you can't get decent results using LFE + Mains, but takes a little more careful integration and maybe a different crossover point. The difference from just plain LFE is with LFE + Mains the sub will still be cut off above the crossover, but the main speakers will continue to play the same frequencies below the crossover. Having both play the same frequencies can cause interference between them.

Like I said it can still work, but starting out I'd try just LFE and let your receiver handle blending the 2 together. It's just simpler and effective. Play around with the crossover points and see what sounds best. Most of us find that 80 hz works really well, but nothing wrong with higher or lower to taste. If it ain't doing it for you, then research a little bit on integrating with + Mains and you can experiment with that.

 

[Rony]

You bet, and welcome to AH!

It's not to say you can't get decent results using LFE + Mains, but takes a little more careful integration and maybe a different crossover point. The difference from just plain LFE is with LFE + Mains the sub will still be cut off above the crossover, but the main speakers will continue to play the same frequencies below the crossover. Having both play the same frequencies can cause interference between them.

Like I said it can still work, but starting out I'd try just LFE and let your receiver handle blending the 2 together. It's just simpler and effective. Play around with the crossover points and see what sounds best. Most of us find that 80 hz works really well, but nothing wrong with higher or lower to taste. If it ain't doing it for you, then research a little bit on integrating with + Mains and you can experiment with that.

Just to fully understand . I have an option to separate each Speaker crossover parameter , But I would need to adjust 80 hz for ALL Speakers ... yes ?

 

[lovinthehd]

Probably 80hz is a good starting point. You only mention 2 speakers....and I'd keep the crossover the same for a pair of L/R speakers....

 

[Rony]

Thank you !
PS : I have 5.1 ( 2 fronts, center, 2 small back and the sub

 

[lovinthehd]

Thank you !
PS : I have 5.1 ( 2 fronts, center, 2 small back and the sub

What are the other speakers other than the Focal 926s?

 

[Rony]

Center : Focal cobalt CC- 800 S , 60HZ - 22 kHZ
Back : AR 206 , 55HZ to 20,000 HZ

 

[Pogre]

Center : Focal cobalt CC- 800 S , 60HZ - 22 kHZ
Back : AR 206 , 55HZ to 20,000 HZ

Yeah 80 hz should be fine for all of your speakers. They're easily capable.

 

[Rony]

 

[Pogre]

Man oh man that sure looks like a nice setup. I prefer a li'l more capable sub but that's because I have both movie and music content that dips into Infrasonic ranges. Those Macs tho... I've always loved the way their gear looks. I'm a big fan of Focal too. Nice rig!

 

[Rony]

Man oh man that sure looks like a nice setup. I prefer a li'l more capable sub but that's because I have both movie and music content that dips into Infrasonic ranges. Those Macs tho... I've always loved the way their gear looks. I'm a big fan of Focal too. Nice rig!

Thank you .

 

[Pogre]

Thank you .

I really like that metal rack/stand too. Looks good and sturdy with lots of space and perforations for air circulation and kind of a cool industrial look. Where did you get it?

 

[Rony]

I really like that metal rack/stand too. Looks good and sturdy with lots of space and perforations for air circulation and kind of a cool industrial look. Where did you get it?

Special made for me according to my kit’s measure and weight, Audio, Heat and ventilation.
Went to a local furniture store that works with a metalworker.
Defiantly not expensive.

 

[PENG]

Special made for me according to my kit’s measure and weight, Audio, Heat and ventilation.
Went to a local furniture store that works with a metalworker.
Defiantly not expensive.View attachment 55194

I see that your questions have been answered, but looking at the photos I can't help but to offer the following uninvited comments (hope you don't mind).

- That room has lots of metal surfaces and ceramic tiles.
- I don't see any sound absorbing material.
- Your processor has Audyssey XT32, but unfortunately it apparently is not compatible with the MultEQ Editor App.

So unless you do have room treatment that is hidden from views, I would highly recommend you run Audyssey and if it doesn't sound good then use the Front L/R bypass feature and increase the subwoofer level trims by a few dB, after the auto calibration. In addition, try some basic room treatment technique, install some thick carpet(s) at the minimum.

 

[Rony]

I see that your questions have been answered, but looking at the photos I can't help but to offer the following uninvited comments (hope you don't mind).

- That room has lots of metal surfaces and ceramic tiles.
- I don't see any sound absorbing material.
- Your processor has Audyssey XT32, but unfortunately it apparently is not compatible with the MultEQ Editor App.

So unless you do have room treatment that is hidden from views, I would highly recommend you run Audyssey and if it doesn't sound good then use the Front L/R bypass feature and increase the subwoofer level trims by a few dB, after the auto calibration. In addition, try some basic room treatment technique, install some thick carpet(s) at the minimum.

Thank you for your reply.
At first, The dealer made the Audyssey setup after connecting all cables in my home.
2 years I’m with that configuration and not pleased.
The sound was chocked.
Lately I decided to make manual configuration and the sound opened with more details.
I don’t exactly know how to make all preferences but I’m trying.
Regarding room treatment, I’m with my wife, can’t make any changes.

 

[lovinthehd]

Thank you for your reply.
At first, The dealer made the Audyssey setup after connecting all cables in my home.
2 years I’m with that configuration and not pleased.
The sound was chocked.
Lately I decided to make manual configuration and the sound opened with more details.
I don’t exactly know how to make all preferences but I’m trying.
Regarding room treatment, I’m with my wife, can’t make any changes.

Dealer setups aren't usually much to consider in the bigger picture. What did you do for manual configuration? Your subjectivve descriptions are fairly personal, too, so may not help out in the bigger picture. Maybe posting up details of what the Audyssey setup vs your manual setup changes were particularly....

 

[Rony]

Dealer setups aren't usually much to consider in the bigger picture. What did you do for manual configuration? Your subjectivve descriptions are fairly personal, too, so may not help out in the bigger picture. Maybe posting up details of what the Audyssey setup vs your manual setup changes were particularly....

Thanks.
After I've made my personal setup ( Based on 2 channel Stereo ) I was very pleased.
When watching 5.1 Movie , A disaster !
The bass Covered all Audio and my living room. Smeared Bass.
In 5 days from today I will post up my setup photos for you to fully understand.
Thanks again !

 

[PENG]

Thanks.
After I've made my personal setup ( Based on 2 channel Stereo ) I was very pleased.
When watching 5.1 Movie , A disaster !
The bass Covered all Audio and my living room. Smeared Bass.
In 5 days from today I will post up my setup photos for you to fully understand.
Thanks again !

Given the information so far, I don't see how you could do a manual set up that would give you less "smeared bass" than using Audyssey auto setup. That said, it is of course possible that you may not prefer the flattened bass that Audyssey typically do, but if that's the reason, then it can be fixed easily with minimal manual tweaks.

If there is one thing that Audyssey does quite well, it is to smooth out the bass from 20 to 200 Hz.

The following curves show the kind of improvements that one can expect. I picked the worse result I could find in my record, that was for without any manual tweaking post Audyssey auto setup. I picked this one that I believe anyone can achieve simply by following Audyssey or manufacturer's (McIntosh's in you case obviously) instructions (but please, to the letter..).

Many forum talks would have you believe Audyssey is bad (so you are not the only one who don't like the results for sure), but lots of those comments were based on some users who had bad experienced for a variety of reasons other than Audyssey itself, and many more were just internet hearsay.

Knowing McIntosh, who are never known to exaggerate those never ending latest features or popular marketing hypes, so for them to say what they said on page 28, I hope you would give it another try. If you do, I would suggest you re-read page 28 through 30, to make sure that in following instructions, you would not miss or deviate from the necessary steps. After that, there are a few manual tweaks you can do to make the resulting sound more suited to your taste.