Help on auditioning speakers

[blued888]

I am currently looking for a 5.0 setup. I have already ordered an eD A2-300 for my subwoofer.

What should I do with receiver settings in order to maximize auditioning speakers without subwoofer? Do I set them to full range for floorstanders? (i.e. mains, set to large (not small), subwoofer setting, set to main (not subwoofer only or both)

Small means, lower frequencies don't go to the speakers, right? While large means full range is delivered to the speakers? How about for the subwoofer, if it's set to main, does it mean the bass is distributed across all 5 speakers or just the front left/front right?

For bookshelves and centers, what are the best settings for auditioning?

Looking to audition a set of Primus speakers tomorrow. PC350 + P362 + P162. Will audition Monitor Audio BR series and Wharfedale Diamond 9 series also.

Someone said to set the AVR to "bypass", I don't exactly know how to do that. Would bypass also work for DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1 stuff? I don't think my Yamaha receiver has that.

Can all receivers do bypass? Or just mid to high end receivers?

Speakers will be used for 95% HT.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[markw]

Personally, I'd suggest you go the plain vanilla route for auditioning speakers and use music as your gold standard. If a speaker can do music well, it's a no-brainer that it will handle HT with ease. That can't be said for the other way around.

Concentrate on the mains in a straight two channel mode with as little signal procesing as possible and most definitely no subwoofer. Once these pass muster, get the matching center and surrounds.

Use no bass boost, no sub woofer and no signal processing at all. A "bypass" mode simply, well, bypasses any processing of the signal and if possible, I'd go this route.

 

[jamie2112]

Set you receiver for small speakers to use bookshelves and large to use floorstanders. I would use the small setting to listen to bookshelf speakers. Will you be doing your listening tests in your home ?

 

[jostenmeat]

I concur with mark's attitude. But, perhaps I would add my own personal caveat: Some speakers that perform very well for music *might* not handle the more serious dynamics of HT as well. Otherwise, I do agree that if they do music well, they do HT well.

Another personal consideration I would make is how well the "matching center speaker" is designed. If there was a "push" between two different brands, such a consideration could definitely make me lean towards one or the other.

Regarding your questions, blued, I have no idea what you mean by "bypass" in this situation.

If you set sub to "off" in the receiver, the LFE will be re-routed to your mains. So you are set there, and yes that means you want the mains set as large (and yes you correctly understand what that means). Of course, most mains will simply not perform as formidably as many subs, but at least you don't miss out on LFE entirely.

 

[blued888]

Will be going to a shop to audition speakers. That's why I need to go prepared so I know what settings to tinker with.

Small even to bookshelves with 6.5" drivers?

"Bypass" meaning direct mode or without signal processing. Something like DVD/CD AUDIO SIGNAL > AVR > SPEAKERS.

For surround speakers, should I go with small or large setting? P162s have a 6.5" driver + tweeter. Specs indicate lower bound frequency of 49hz.

 

[jostenmeat]

yes, small. I would perhaps ask what the settings are before tinkering, and asking for permission to tinker. If you are in any sort of reputable store, I would hope to presume that they have it all dialed in. Maybe not...

 

[snappy_snoopy]

I wrote a little something on speaker selection just before on the "JENSEN Explosive Home" thread you might like to check that out.

Also if you set your front speakers to large that tells the reciever that yes you want it to send all frequencies down the line. Just remember when a speaker has a frequency ratting say 60 Hz and up for a bookshelf speaker the likely hood that it will actually produce low frequency signals well is low so you do need a sub. I just recently upgraded got a sub to go with 2 bookshelf speakers and it sounds so good compared to the equivalent floor standing speaker in their range.

Dont get me wrong if you have the money go for good floor standing ones and a sub but i cant afford that so i had to compramise and it still sounds really good.

I have my bookshelf speakers set to small so my sub plays everything 200Hz bellow and it sounds really really good. good luck remember dont let the sales man buly you into anything they just want you to spend lots and who wouldnt when you work on commission right. So take your time and listen to a couple of classical cds and bring some dvds. Pay particular attention to the clarity and remember the speakers will most likely sound better in your home, depending on the setup which they have in the store (dedicated room and ambient noise ect).

And remember size and price tag is not everything trust your ears you are the one listening to them in the end not the sales man.

 

[blued888]

I will be corresponding with the store owner only. He doesn't open his shop unless someone wants to audition the speakers. I guess it's sort of a part-time business on his part.

I will request tinkering with the amplifier settings. I auditioned a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 9.6s earlier. Note that this pair of 9.6s have 8" drivers which are rated to go down to 28Hz but bass was almost non-existent. I didn't tinker with settings on the receiver. I might have to go back to that shop to audition that brand again.

 

[jamie2112]

yes, small. I would perhaps ask what the settings are before tinkering, and asking for permission to tinker. If you are in any sort of reputable store, I would hope to presume that they have it all dialed in. Maybe not...

Well I have to say I went into a Myer Emco and listened to a few receivers and they didn't have the denons or the hks set up at all. In fact the guy had to go get the manual to change the settings. They had the Denon set to small with a set of martin logans that were about 5 1/2 feet tall for god sakes...I would check with the store rep before listening just to make sure

 

[blued888]

Auditioned the Primus PC350 + P362s today. I really liked how the highs sounded, it was forward and sharp (which may not be to some people's liking). Bass/mid-bass was present and packed quite a punch, but still very different from a system with a subwoofer.

Very different from the Wharfedale Diamond 9.6s I heard yesterday. The Wharfedales sounded "laid back" and the tweeter frequencies were not as pronounced compared to the Infinity Primus.

 

[3db]

I would audition your speakers with them set to small on the receiver and with 2 channel music only. Music is harder to produce accurately than HT and speakers that excel in music will do well with HT including HT dynamics but the reverse isn't true. Speakers that do HT well may not be able to reproduce music as well.

What I would do is to take a pad of paper with you, write down the make and
model of each speaker you audition and what you liked and disliked about the
speakers you were auditioning. Was the bass tight and deep or was it boomy and loose sounding? Were themids life like or were they hollow or just too pronounced? Was the treble irritating and harsh or were they dark and not revealing or were they smooththat made you want to listen for more? How was the imaging?

Bring music with you that you are very familiar with and know quite well. To
make it easier to audition HT speaker systems, listen to the main speakers in 2
channel mode with music. Music is much harder to reproduce accurately then a movie soundtrack so if the speakers do well with music, then they will do well with HT. Speakers that do HT well may not do well with music. When auditioning the center channel of the same brand and series as the main speakers, pick a difficult source like an announcer that mumbles alot. If you can understand what the mumbling announcer is saying, then you have a good center channel.

I would go to speciality stores first and start auditioning speakers first
instead of going to the internet first. Once your likes are determined, you can
mention them here and fellow members can make internet brand recommendations based on your likes/dislikes. The specality stores are better setup acousticaly then the big box stores which will make auditioning a little easier. It will give you an idea of what you like in a speaker.

Keep track of what amp or receiver is powering the speakers you're auditioning. Try to get a receiver/amp that closest resembles what you have or want to get. It just reduces another variable when audtioning speakers.


One thing to keep note off. When auditioning speakers, make sure the volume
levels are matched between the diiferent speaker pairs because the louder
speaker pair will always sound better. Listen to levels that you think you
would listen to most of the time because thats how you are going to be using
them most of the time.

 

[blued888]

Thanks for the input 3db.

Unfortunately we don't have much audio specialty stores here in the Philippines. We also have a limited selection of brands. I might be limiting myself to auditioning 3 to 4 brands because the other brands/product lines are already out of my price range.

So far I've auditioned Wharfedale Diamond 9's and the Infinity Primus line. And I like the Infinity Primus way better than the Wharfedale Diamond 9's. The Wharfedales sounded loose in bass, and highs were not revealed properly. Mids were also pretty lacking.

I liked the Primus line because the highs were very forward and clearly presented while mid-bass was pronounced and bass was tight yet not so deep. I was surprised with the center speaker of the Primus line because I actually felt that actor was talking right in front of me.

As for the receiver, I will be bringing my receiver to hear the Primus line again to see how they sound together. I will also bring additional music CDs for auditioning.

 

[Midcow2]

Audtioning, Bypass and "small" speaker setting

Will be going to a shop to audition speakers. That's why I need to go prepared so I know what settings to tinker with.

Small even to bookshelves with 6.5" drivers?

"Bypass" meaning direct mode or without signal processing. Something like DVD/CD AUDIO SIGNAL > AVR > SPEAKERS.

For surround speakers, should I go with small or large setting? P162s have a 6.5" driver + tweeter. Specs indicate lower bound frequency of 49hz.

First, try to get the set-up in the store as close to what you will have in your home as possible: speaker distance, speakers size, sound level, AVR?

Take the music you like. I would also take some with voice and instrumental, especially brass. You want good voice for HT and brass brings out the speaker clarity.

Also take a note pad and write-down the differences when you hear them.

As you narrow down your speakers to 2-3 do a back to back listening ti the speakers you like then an A-B-C-A-B-C comparison works best.

Here is one of the best auditoning recommendations I have seen ; it was provide by audioholics member 3db

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showpost.php?p=435129&postcount=3


========

When someone says bypass, bascially they are saying without and sound enhancements, treble, bass, no signal processing. Some AVRs actually have a button that says "bypass' and alow you to retain all you settings. If the AVR doesn't have that you just manually remove all signal processing.

As far as bookshelf speakers being set to "small", that is because most, but not all, bookshelf speakers do not have large speakers and can not effectively handle bass and lower frequencies without distortion. The "small" setting can restrict the sepaker to only hthe high and mod frequencies by having a crossover to the sub output for lower frequencies. Most of the time the cross-over frequency can be set between 50 hz and 200Hz; if is cannot be set then it is usually around 150 Hz. So the typically bookshelf speaker setup is small and a subwoofer is used for the lower frequencies.

The "small" or "large" setting however, really doesn't apply to the speaker size. It is determined by the low-end frequncy range a speaker can handle. If a speaker isn't designed to handle a 100 Hz frequency, then it woun't sound good if you send a 100 Hz frequency to it.

==========================
Some other things to consider:

(1) mose speakers have a nominal impedance of 8 ohms and most AVRs are rated fro 8 ohms. If you get a speaker with 6 ohm or 4ohm nominal impedance, the speakers will require more power. A 4 ohm speaker requires twice as much power as an 8 ohm speaker.

(2) Also look at the speaker sensitivity. This is a measurement in dB ( logrithmic) and determines how effciently the speaker will produce sound for a given amount of power. 80db is low effciency and will require a lot of power, 90 dB is average and 100 dB is very high efficiency and will produce loud sound with minimal power.

Good Luck!