Double Bass

[Herr D]

Hi guys,

I've got the Onkyo TX-SR601E attached to the 5 usual speakers (no sub yet due to budget issues but I'm planning to buy a sub at the end of this year).

There's a thing I don't quite get: the "double bass" function in the Onkyo. If you configure your center and surround speakers as small and your 2 mains as Large + subwoofer "ON", there's an option "double bass" you can select, which -as I understand it- would send the full frequency to the mains and the bass signal under your crossover setting to the sub (effectively getting a double bass). It won't work if you configure your mains as "small".

Now, my question, am I correct when I say that if the mains are large you will only get the bass signals to your sub that originate from the center and surrounds unless you turn on the "double bass" option (in which case the receiver would also send the bass signals under the crossover from the mainsto the sub)?

 

[jcPanny]

Bass Management

Her,
I think that your assumption is valid. The sub will not get the LFE info with Mains on LARGE unless the DOUBLE BASS is turned on.
However, it is best to configure most HT speakers as SMALL (when you get a sub) because it will lessen the load on the receivers amps and most main speakers can't reproduce much below 60 Hz. Experiment with the setting when you get the sub.

 

[MDS]

Now, my question, am I correct when I say that if the mains are large you will only get the bass signals to your sub that originate from the center and surrounds unless you turn on the "double bass" option (in which case the receiver would also send the bass signals under the crossover from the mainsto the sub)?

Yes. It is 'double bass' because both the Large mains AND the sub are playing the bass below the xover of the front channels.

If subwoofer exists and is set to On and mains are Large:
- LFE (the .1 in DD/DTS) always goes to the sub
- Bass below the xover from Small channels goes to the sub
- Large channels get a full range signal.
- If double bass is On, the sub also gets a copy of the bass that exists in the front channels.

Onkyo will not let you set the mains to Small if you set the subwoofer = No - they will automatically be set to Large. In that case, all bass below the xover from Small channels and the LFE goes to the mains.

 

[Resident Loser]

The way I read it...

Hi guys,

I've got the Onkyo TX-SR601E attached to the 5 usual speakers (no sub yet due to budget issues but I'm planning to buy a sub at the end of this year).

There's a thing I don't quite get: the "double bass" function in the Onkyo. If you configure your center and surround speakers as small and your 2 mains as Large + subwoofer "ON", there's an option "double bass" you can select, which -as I understand it- would send the full frequency to the mains and the bass signal under your crossover setting to the sub (effectively getting a double bass). It won't work if you configure your mains as "small".

Now, my question, am I correct when I say that if the mains are large you will only get the bass signals to your sub that originate from the center and surrounds unless you turn on the "double bass" option (in which case the receiver would also send the bass signals under the crossover from the mainsto the sub)?

...this function simply doesn't limit the frequency response to your mains as it would if you were set to "small"...The full frequency resonse of the signal will go to the mains AND the sub will produce everything within it's limits...there is no transition, no hand-off...in essesnce, if your mains have a lower limit of say 40Hz they will reproduce it, they won't be limited by the cutover freq...if your sub has a ceiling of 120Hz it will reproduce bass freqs from that point to its lower limit...there will be an overlap which may result in higher overall bass SPLs...whether or not that is a good thing is simply a matter of personal preference...

Has nothing to do with centers or surrounds insofar as I can determine...

jimHJJ(...as far as I can determine...)

 

[Herr D]

Hi guys,

Thanks a lot for the feedback, I wanted to be sure I got my info correct and now I am.

The thing I didn't know is that even if the mains are set to large, it will still send an LFE signal to the sub, which is excellent for me: my main speakers can go down to 31 Hz and believe me they handle bass with incredible authority. (I realize that most of you will not belive me and think it will only handle down to 50 Hz, but I'm telling you these speakers shake the earth surrounding my house! I wasn't even sure I was going to buy a sub)

So when I get the sub (somewhere end of this year) I think the best config for me would be:
Mains: Large (frequency range: 31 Hz-27500 Hz +/- 3dB)
Center, surrounds: small (frequency range: 45Hz-27500Hz +/- 3dB)
Crossover: 60 Hz
Sub ON (frequency: 16 Hz-150 Hz +/- 6dB)

The +/- 6db of the sub doesn't look too good on paper, that's why I'm going to test the sub first with a professional who's got these meter things. I've already checked into it a bit and the sub seems to be doing +/- 2.5 dB between 18Hz and 75 Hz, so I guess this is cool.

In theory this should be the best config to ensure the bass blends in nicely (of course, I'm going to experiment with a few settings)

What do you guys think?

Again thanks a lot, this is really helpful

 

[jcPanny]

What speakers? What sub?

Depending on your budget, SVS and HSU have some great HT subs with a flat response below 20 Hz.

 

[Herr D]

Ok thanks, I'll be sure to mention them when I go for the subwoofer listening comparison...
Cheers,

HD