Polk PSW350 Phase/Low Pass Settings...Suggestions?

  • Thread starter PearlcorderS701
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PearlcorderS701

Banned
Hi All.

I finally received my Polk RTi12's, and will have them up and running hopefully this week sometime, once our new wall unit for the new house arrives...in the meantime, would someone be able to suggest correct settings for the rear of my PSW350 sub in conjunction with the RTi12's?

Should the PHASE be set to "0" degrees? And what about the LOW PASS setting...should this be on the highest value, which is around 160Hz or so, or should this be different?
 
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PearlcorderS701

Banned
Anyone have any suggestions for the PHASE and LOW PASS settings for the PSW350?

The sub will be connected via my receiver's LFE OUT direct to the sub's UNFILTERED LFE IN, so does the LOW PASS setting matter? I've heard everything from "keep this all the way up to it's highest setting" (which would be 160Hz) to "this does not matter because the receiver will be doing the crossover if you're using the Unfiltered LFE IN from the receiver's LFE OUT..." What is the correct setting here?

And as far as the PHASE goes, should this pretty much be set to 0 DEGREES?
 
bandphan

bandphan

Banned
Low pass to its highest setting if you are using the crossover in your avr. As for phase thats up to you and your room, try both and see which sounds better from your seating position. Some prefer the their subs play out of phase with their main.
 
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PearlcorderS701

Banned
Low pass to its highest setting if you are using the crossover in your avr. As for phase thats up to you and your room, try both and see which sounds better from your seating position. Some prefer the their subs play out of phase with their main.
Thanks, 'Band.

Yes, the sub will be connected to the AVR via the receiver's "LFE OUT" (one RCA connection)...the AVR's LFE OUT will then go into the sub's UNFILTERED LFE IN, and I will control the crossover in the receiver...

Given this, should I just then turn the LOW PASS knob all the way up to its "160Hz" setting? Does it even matter if the AVR is doing the crossing over?

Thanks for the info about the Phase; when you say "some prefer the subs play out of phase with their mains," would this mean they would keep the phase on 180 degrees, not zero?
 
bandphan

bandphan

Banned
Thanks, 'Band.

Yes, the sub will be connected to the AVR via the receiver's "LFE OUT" (one RCA connection)...the AVR's LFE OUT will then go into the sub's UNFILTERED LFE IN, and I will control the crossover in the receiver...

Given this, should I just then turn the LOW PASS knob all the way up to its "160Hz" setting? Does it even matter if the AVR is doing the crossing over?

Thanks for the info about the Phase; when you say "some prefer the subs play out of phase with their mains," would this mean they would keep the phase on 180 degrees, not zero?
Yes turn the crossover to 160. Most newer subs when connection via the .lfe input bypasses the subs crossover, so its just to be on the safe side. As for phase its its placement relative to your mains and seating position. Check your speaker distance in the avr to confirm it is correct and have someone adjust the phase while your in the seating position to see which sounds better, sometimes you may not here a difference depending on your room.
 
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PearlcorderS701

Banned
Yes turn the crossover to 160. Most newer subs when connection via the .lfe input bypasses the subs crossover, so its just to be on the safe side. As for phase its its placement relative to your mains and seating position. Check your speaker distance in the avr to confirm it is correct and have someone adjust the phase while your in the seating position to see which sounds better, sometimes you may not here a difference depending on your room.
Thanks for the info and help.

It seemed to me "160Hz" seemed a bit steep and high to leave the LOW PASS setting on; are you sure this would be okay? By leaving this at 160Hz, what does it do to the LFE signal?
 
bandphan

bandphan

Banned
Thanks for the info and help.

It seemed to me "160Hz" seemed a bit steep and high to leave the LOW PASS setting on; are you sure this would be okay? By leaving this at 160Hz, what does it do to the LFE signal?
Your avr is handles to crossover, and the highest setting will do nothing to the signal.
 
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PearlcorderS701

Banned
Your avr is handles to crossover, and the highest setting will do nothing to the signal.
But doesn't "160Hz" seem steep; I mean, this will ensure the entire LFE signal is handled by the powered sub?
 
bandphan

bandphan

Banned
The AVR will cross well below that, and It will not matter. ie 80/70/60 so the 160 is so the two do not interfere with each other
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
...you mean by going as high as 160Hz?
If you set the receiver to the appropriate frequency, then you don't want the sub modifying it further. Say you set your receiver to 80Hz, then the signal reaching the sub will be 24db down or 18db down at160 Hz depending on whether the receiver low pass filter is fourth or third order.
 
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PearlcorderS701

Banned
Thanks for the ongoing assistance, fellas...

I'm just getting a bit more confused now; I will probably be crossing all my channels over at 80Hz inside the Onkyo AVR...so, if I keep my sub on "160Hz" which is the "highest" position on the LOW PASS knob, what does this mean? Is this correct?
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Thanks for the ongoing assistance, fellas...

I'm just getting a bit more confused now; I will probably be crossing all my channels over at 80Hz inside the Onkyo AVR...so, if I keep my sub on "160Hz" which is the "highest" position on the LOW PASS knob, what does this mean? Is this correct?
You are getting perilously close to too stupid to own equipment.

I don't think there is any way to make the explanations clearer.
 
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PearlcorderS701

Banned
You are getting perilously close to too stupid to own equipment.

I don't think there is any way to make the explanations clearer.
Do me a favor, and don't be a ****...I'm really trying to understand this, and need for you to give some leadway here. If you don't want to contribute to the thread constructively, please don't; I understand you have an "insanity defense" to your "TLS" hobby, or whatever it is, but that doesn't mean the rest of us do not have "entry level" questions about setups. :rolleyes:

It's clear you have a very advanced knowledge of electronics, inner workings of equipment, engineering and any and all elements inbetween -- but please don't make comments as you just did. Calling someone "stupid" that you don't even know does not really constitute sane judgement on your part.

I'm far from "stupid"...I have some questions about the workings of the subwoofer and its interacting gear in the chain.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Do me a favor, and don't be a ****...I'm really trying to understand this, and need for you to give some leadway here. If you don't want to contribute to the thread constructively, please don't; I understand you have an "insanity defense" to your "TLS" hobby, or whatever it is, but that doesn't mean the rest of us do not have "entry level" questions about setups. :rolleyes:

It's clear you have a very advanced knowledge of electronics, inner workings of equipment, engineering and any and all elements inbetween -- but please don't make comments as you just did. Calling someone "stupid" that you don't even know does not really constitute sane judgement on your part.

I'm far from "stupid"...I have some questions about the workings of the subwoofer and its interacting gear in the chain.
Sorry, but we have had some very frustrating posts of late.

Let's have one more go.

The AVR stats rolling of at 80 Hz say, typical.

Now no filter is a brick wall. Usually the order of receiver crossovers is not quoted, which they should be. However at the set turnover frequency they will be 3 db down (half power) and then roll off either 18 db or 24 db per octave. So by 160 Hz the power in that band is negligible.

Now if you set the sub crossover close or below the receiver crossover, both filters are operative, which is generally not what you want.

So if the receiver is to be the low pass filter, then the sub has to be set as high as possible, so the two low pass filters do not cascade.

That is about as simple as I can make it. There is a minimal fount of knowledge required before you can understand technical issues.

Unfortunately I fear our educational system has failed. There is an article on the editorial page of the Minneapolis Tribune today, bemoaning the fact that people are now graduating without minimal skills in applied logic and reasoning.

This makes large numbers of people useless to employers in this increasingly technical age, and the problem is getting worse rapidly.

It is obviously in your case impairing your pursuit of a fascinating and highly rewarding hobby.

Unfortunately the issues surrounding this issue are extremely elementary.

I can see from these forums of late, that the author of today's op ed piece is correct unfortunately.
 
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