crossover point for sub

[johndoe]

I bought my 1st subwoofer recently. Somebody around this forum recommended a budget (100ish) one and I went for it. It's an Advent ASW1200 - 12" down-firing (I can't remember the amp power rating). I was pretty excited about the upgraded sound untill yesterday when listening with more attention and after the excitement of having new equipment is gone. I own a pair of AKAI 3-way bookshelf speakers and I have double checked the connections and located according to the manual.
The problem is that I can't find a right crossover point. The overall sound is quite pleasant, but I can always tell where the bass is coming from (and I know I don't have super hearing ). Should I try a lower point so the mains handle the higher bass notes and leave the bottom end to the sub? the dial goes from 50 to 150Hz. I don't have the specs of the Akais. Any ideas?

 

[j_garcia]

When the sub has a crossover of about 120Hz or higher, it will generally be playing well up into the frequency range where you can localize it.

Are you using a home theater receiver? How is it connected? If so, you would set the sub to it's highest point and let the receiver handle the crossover. There are a lot of factors that allow you to hear the sub's location (localize). In no particular order some would be: location, volume and crossover point. The first thing you need to do is adjust the volume of the sub so that it is close to the mains. This is normally done with test tones and an SPL meter. Then you can adjust the crossover, if needed. If you are going to use the sub's control, once you have the level set, you can then dial in the crossover on the sub to blend (by ear basically) by having someone turn up the x-over until you can localize the sub and then back it off. This can be done with an SPL meter as well, by taking measurements of the in room response and adjusting the x-over to give you flat response, but that can get a bit involved.

 

[johndoe]

thanks for the response. I'll try your recommendations.
It's a stereo receiver. everything is connected through the high level inputs of the sub.
I'm a newbie, I don't have either a spl meter or a test tone cd. I've heard about the radio shack meter, do you recommend a particular test tone cd?

 

[j_garcia]

You might look up the Rives Audio setup CDs. http://www.rivesaudio.com/software/softframes.html

I normally use a DVD based setup disc or the receiver's own built in tones, but I don't think a stereo receiver will have tones.