Both of those articles still apply to the modern AVR in the sense of the section I referenced to in the article I linked. The one I linked from 2005 and the AH Article that SYSAdmin linked from 2010 hit on the same points and issues which is what I was pointing out.
As far as the rest of your post, it seems as though you might have a misunderstanding of a few things regarding speaker set up in AVRs vs. an integrated amp vs. a stereo receiver vs. pre-pro rigs and how they are different, same, etc. Perhaps it is I who is misunderstanding what you're trying to say or ask?
It seems like there are some misconceptions, so if you could elaborate on what you mean a bit more, that would help me to better understand your question.
Thanks!
Okay, let's assume 100Hz is the crossover frequency that worked for the user in his room for the convenience of discussion.
The PSB Aplha 1's are bookshelf speakers with limited bass capability (In the OP's price range, BS speakers represent a good value). In any case, let's assume the OP gets BS speakers.
In a nutshell, AVR's offer a high pass filtered signal to the main speakers to save the bookshelf speakers from needing to attempt to produce 20-100Hz. This will preserve dynamic headroom at the amp (bookshelves usually are not so efficient as towers) and avoid potential issues of bottoming out the woofer as it is attempting to play bass at volume which may be at the port tuning frequency. I am not fully conversant in these benefits, but it makes sense that the driver is going to better produce a 1200Hz signal while it is
not near its Xmax on a 40Hz signal.
I may be misguided in this and if so, I would really appreciate the correction.
Regarding the link you posted, I assume you are referencing the section headed
"The Case Against Subwoofer Output Jacks".
Let's take the points of the article one by one:
#1 Some receivers and processors do not send a signal to the sub out jack when in the stereo mode. That means when you listen to music in stereo, you lose the benefit of the subwoofer. Not good
My Marantz AVR does not do this. For those with this issue, I believe there is an alternate setting which allows a user to have the sub engaged while listening to music, but I am the wrong person to say what that setting is.
#2 In the vast majority of receivers and processors, the subwoofer output jack is low-pass filtered. That means that there is a filter (sometimes mistakenly referred to as a crossover) that blocks sounds above a given frequency from getting out of the sub out jack. Usually that filter is in the 100Hz-150Hz, range . Why is that so bad?
Your powered subwoofer also has a built-in low pass filter, and when the two filters combine you are increasing the steepness of the filter. Without boring you with the details, too steep of a filter slope makes for worse sound. Some subwoofers have LFE inputs that bypass the sub's filter. If you insist on using the sub out jack, you may want to use the sub's LFE input. Read on to see hwat is best for your system.
This is a non-issue. I have 3 "bottom feeder" subs. All have either have a "LFE/0.1" input or a "subwoofer crossover bypass switch" so it is not a problem to disable the lowpass filtration of the sub. Even if you found a sub that did not have these capabilities, the above problem would be avoided by simply setting the sub crossover to it's highest setting. With any normal (non palm-sized) speaker you would set the crossover on the AVR at 120Hz or less so there should not be any audible compound filtering.
#3 In the case of many systems, especially sub/sat systems (like Polk Audio's RM Series products), the low pass filter that's built-in to a receiver or processor may be set to the wrong frequency.
I can't really address this because I didn't even realize that Polk made receivers. Perhaps this is a HTiB? Whatever, but I don't think it applies to this post. All AVR's I know of, the user has control over the crossover point.
#4 The variable low-pass filter (crossover) adjustment is one of the most useful tools for adjusting your subwoofer to "blend" with the rest of the system. By using a pre-filtered signal, you are defeating this excellent and useful feature. Using the sub out jack is sometimes the right thing to do. Some high-end separate component processors like those from Adcom, B&K, Parasound, Proceed and others, allow you to defeat the built-in low pass filter or select the frequency. Check your electronics manual to learn how. Some processors and receivers have unfiltered subwoofer output jacks-so it's OK to connect the line in of your subwoofer to the sub out jack.
Unfortunately electronics manufacturers rarely specify the filter characteristics of the sub out jack in their manuals. Carefully check the electronics' specs or contact the manufacturer to find out whether or not your receiver's subwoofer output jack is filtered.
The premise here is that the receiver only offers a fixed low-pass filter! This reads as if you need to graduate to high end separate components to get the kind of control over control that is offered by any normal AVR. I don't get it? Didn't the author look at an Onkyo, Yamaha, Marantz, or Pioneer, etc. AVR before he wrote this?
#5 When using the sub out jack with palm-of-hand sized satellite speakers, you are forced to use the Small setting on the front left and right speakers (more about this later). The Small setting introduces a high pass filter on the satellites in addition to the one that is built into the satellite's crossover. Bottom line, this arrangement severely degrades the sound of the satellite speakers and exacerbates the hole-in-the midrange effect. Sub/sat users should absolutely follow our hook up and bass management advice.
My understanding is that all modern AVR's allow the user to choose Large if they so desire. However, the prevailing information I have read indicates that the SMALL setting is
desirable for anything short of truly full-range speakers.
Caveat - they may have a point about palm-sized satellites, but I think you'll agree that does not apply to this thread..
My understanding on the benefits of high pass filtering are reflected above in my first comment below quoting your post.
The amount of misinformation in that link relative to todays gear is surprising. Perhaps they are speaking in the context of HTiB receiuvers or perhaps the article actually predates 2005?
In general terms, I believe the best scenario is to get speakers and sub with reasonably flat frequency response. Then to have the exchange between the sub and speakers performed where the hand-off will be managed with complementary rolloffs, and last, assign a crossover point that is within the overlapping flat frequency response of the speakers and the sub (so the natural rolloff is not interfering with the managed rolloff). Crossover between 80Hz and 120Hz would accommodate any pair of bookshelf speakers and any sub I am aware of.
If you let bookshelf speakers play fullrange, you are at the mercy of the speakers natural rolloff to match the subwoofer's managed rolloff. If the speaker is sealed, I think most subwoofers have a fairly complementary rolloff profile, but if it is a ported speaker (and most are these days) the subs crossover and the speakers do not match very well.
Cheers,
Kurt
