Crossover Frequency and B&W

[jcroasii]

Hello again all,

Thank you all for responding to my other questions. It's been really helpful in educating myself with home theater audio. You're opinions are much appreciated.

Anyway, my next question revolves around the Crossover frequency.

Here is my proposed system:
Front - 2x B&W CM8
Rear - 2x B&W DS3B
Center - 1x B&W CMC
Sub - 1x B&W ASW10
Receiver - Onkyo TX-NR1008

I've been reading a lot about the crossover frequency and how it's common for this setting to be set at 80Hz. My question is: If my crossover frequency is 80Hz and my B&W CM8 front speakers are capable of producing sounds from 69Hz - 22KHz, would I set my crossover frequency to 70Hz or leave it at 80Hz? If I leave it at 80Hz, would I be wasting the capability of the speaker producing the 69Hz - 80Hz frequencies?

Also, my proposed receiver has the Audyssey feature which aparently assists in calibrating the speakers. Can I pretty much rely on this feature to handle all the details or is there still some items I should be aware of to adjust? (I know it's all about my preference, but in your experience does Audyssey do a pretty good job?)

Thank you

 

[AVRat]

80 Hz is probably optimal for that speaker set and frequencies below that are still being produced just at a diminishing volume rate. Yes, the receiver and Audyssey does an excellent job of setting up the speakers and helping with room's acoustics. Some tweaking may/not be required, but you won't know until it's been run.