Bass Management Basics - Settings Made Simple

[iMak]

I am using Jamo C109 as my front right and left floorstanding speakers, the Frequency Response rated (Hz, +/-3dB) 30Hz - 27kHz. If I set them to small, what crossover frequency should I set to, 80Hz? Thanks

 

[Auditor55]

I am using Jamo C109 as my front right and left floorstanding speakers, the Frequency Response rated (Hz, +/-3dB) 30Hz - 27kHz. If I set them to small, what crossover frequency should I set to, 80Hz? Thanks

80 hz is fine.

 

[iMak]

@Auditor55 thank you for your reply.

Another question, the impedance of the speakers is 6 ohm, in the receiver manual it's mentioned "Under its default settings, the unit is configured for 8-ohm speakers. When connecting 6-ohm speakers, set the unit’s speaker impedance to “6 ohm MIN”. Should I leave the settings on 8 ohm, or should I change it to 6 ohm?

 

[Auditor55]

@Auditor55 thank you for your reply.

Another question, the impedance of the speakers is 6 ohm, in the receiver manual it's mentioned "Under its default settings, the unit is configured for 8-ohm speakers. When connecting 6-ohm speakers, set the unit’s speaker impedance to “6 ohm MIN”. Should I leave the settings on 8 ohm, or should I change it to 6 ohm?

Please view this video

 

[Auditor55]

I personally wouldn't bother with that impedance switch and leave the receiver as it is, that's just me. Anyway, my Pioneer Elite Receiver is supposedly a 4 Ohm certified receiver.

 

[iMak]

@Auditor55 thanks again.

 

[Eduardo_Lucena]

Hi!
I have a very small room (12ft L X 11ft W X 8ft H), with a pair of speakers Focal SM9 (each come with subwoofer built in). So in this case that gives me already two subwoofers is the front. To minimize the the bass on the room mode, Would it help adding only one extra subwoofer on the back wall. If not, what are my options? I have already traps on the corners.
Thanks!

 

[AbbyDaddy]

My speakers say they are rated for Frequency Response: 25Hz-23kHz. If I go with the 80Hz recommendation, would playing with it going down by 10Hz be noticeable? I have four of these towers, and I have 2 powered subs, but am adding two more of the same. Should I just leave them at the 80Hz (set it and forget it), or worth playing around with it? I bought a calibration mic, but I have no clue into what to really do with REW.

 

[Shazam]

Is it odd that I lose a lot of detail in the sound when I set my ELAC B6 Debuts at 80Hz crossover? I found that 90Hz is the sweet spot for them. 70Hz lost significant mids, while 100Hz sounded muddy. Is there an explanation for this? Right now I have F: 90Hz, S: 80Hz, C: 80Hz Sub: 120Hz. I'm just baffled by why that is happening with my ELACs. Would love your input if you ever have time. Thanks! Great videos as always.

EDIT: I'm back to 80Hz on all channels.. I don't know.. I guess I'm giving it some time. It sounds ok. Btw, system is a NR636.. yes, an ONKYO lol. Hope I won't get ridiculed for mentioning that. It was a deal I couldn't refuse. But I'm just trying to get the bottom of those ELACs, I know they can do 44Hz so why should I be cutting them at 80Hz? That's what I'm trying to understand. Because I lose a lot of meat when I go lower than 70 or higher than 90.

 

[R. Laureano]

Thank you for writing this article. I agree with the recommendation that setting the crossover of the main speakers (front, center, surround) to 80Hz or above for better acoustics. All sound below 80Hz will go to the subwoofer when the AV receiver has the main speakers set to SMALL and the subwoofer set to LFE. However, what I don't quite agree on is setting the subwoofer crossover automatically to 120Hz. The reason why people experience muddy sound is likely due to BOTH main speakers and subwoofer having OVERLAPPING SOUND between 80Hz and 120Hz! From a technical perspective and from my experience, I find the bass to be more seamless when setting the AVR to have BOTH main speaker crossover set to 100Hz AND the subwoofer crossover set to 100Hz! This is also with the speakers set to LARGE and the subwoofer set to LFE+Main on the AVR (more on this later).

Even though my main speakers can go down to 60Hz (as determined by Audyssey, and the frequency range of my speakers) doesn't mean I should automatically set the crossover to 60Hz or even 80Hz. Looking at the frequency graphs of my speakers show that the DB sound level starts to taper down starting at 100Hz! If I were set the crossover below 100Hz, the main speakers would struggle to produce volume between 60Hz to 100Hz. Since my subwoofer volume is flat across the 150Hz down to 20Hz frequency range, it makes more sense to have the subwoofer produce sound from 100Hz and below since it can produce more consistent volume levels at that range.

So why set the speakers to LARGE (vs. SMALL) and the subwoofer to LFE+Main (vs. just LFE)? The reason for this is so that ALL frequencies are sent to the main speakers ABOVE the crossover point. Also, any LFE signal PLUS bass frequencies intended for the main speakers would go to the subwoofer. The sound produced with this setup gives the impression of much larger main speakers compared to when the speakers are just set to SMALL and the subwoofer set to LFE on the AVR. When set to SMALL + LFE only, the AVR sends ONLY the LFE signal to the subwoofer WITHOUT sending the bass intended for the main speakers due to DSP circuits removing frequencies it doesn't believe small speakers can handle.

 

[pewternhrata]

I am using Jamo C109 as my front right and left floorstanding speakers, the Frequency Response rated (Hz, +/-3dB) 30Hz - 27kHz. If I set them to small, what crossover frequency should I set to, 80Hz? Thanks

+/-3dB 30Hz - 27kHz, ratings like those, what does it mean, I'm definitely a noob and tried searching but can't find answers. I know and understand the hz and xovers, but the dB I get lost at, as well as when octaves are thrown in the mix.

 

[lovinthehd]

Try this http://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/understanding-loudspeaker-frequency-response

 

[Diesel57]

Try this http://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/understanding-loudspeaker-frequency-response

Great article...THANK YOU