Question about Klipsch subwoofers

[DJ in TX]

Not sure what you mean by dongle, as that's not necessarily what's required. For a wireless sub (or speaker) you need a transmitter from the pre-out on the pre-amp/avr as well as a receiver at the other end that can connect with the sub's amp (and/or an amp for passive types). Rocketfish I think might have a basic unit for not too much but the wireless subs I have (Infinity models of some years back) they came complete and the receiver is buried in the sub, so not a component type thing).

I’m just using “Dongle” as a general descriptor for an add-on component. I’m aware it’s not just a simple usb plug-in. I’ll check out Rocketfish and SVS. The Klipsch is $180 and more than I want to spend.

Thanks for the input!

 

[DJ in TX]

Some wireless adapters I am seeing are wifi, and some are Bluetooth. If I go wireless, my sub would only be at most 15-18 foot from the receiver. Does it matter if I go Bluetooth or wifi?

 

[lovinthehd]

I’m just using “Dongle” as a general descriptor for an add-on component. I’m aware it’s not just a simple usb plug-in. I’ll check out Rocketfish and SVS. The Klipsch is $180 and more than I want to spend.

Thanks for the input!

We usually just call components....components

 

[davidscott]

Any thought on Elac subs? Specifically, the Elac sub-1225? Goes pretty deep and 350 peak power ratings. Just curious because it is on sale on Amazon. I probably don't need a sub because my Infinity Towers go down to 38 plus or minus 3db but this sub is rated down to 33. And it would give my place a bit more low end.

 

[DJ in TX]

OK the new 10 inch sub has arrived. I have run through the pioneer receiver set up and set my fronts to small which enables the subwoofer. I wasn’t really hearing anything at first, then I made a change to the crossover settings in the AVR set up. The default was 100 hz but wasn’t hearing much, and I changed it to 50hz. And now I’m now hearing some signs of life. Is this the correct crossover setting and will this depend on what the sub gain or low pass filter is set to? What would be a good start to the settings on all these things? I’m a bit lost.

 

[Golfx]

OK the new 10 inch sub has arrived. I have run through the pioneer receiver set up and set my fronts to small which enables the subwoofer. I wasn’t really hearing anything at first, then I made a change to the crossover settings in the AVR set up. The default was 100 hz but wasn’t hearing much, and I changed it to 50hz. And now I’m now hearing some signs of life. Is this the correct crossover setting and will this depend on what the sub gain or low pass filter is set to? What would be a good start to the settings on all these things? I’m a bit lost.

The cross over setting sends sound below that number to the sub. Most manufacturers recommend an 80hz crossover. So 100hz would send more sound to the sub than 50 or 80 “IF” those low sounds were present in your music or movie. Try a song (Emily by James Arthur) or movie you know that has lots of bass and that should wake up your new sub.

 

[DJ in TX]

What about the gain and low pass filter settings on the sub, how do those work?

 

[Golfx]

Gain increase would make the sub increase its sound output (make it louder). Low pass should be set to something high like 120hz or even higher

 

[lovinthehd]

What about the gain and low pass filter settings on the sub, how do those work?

You use the gain setting to level match with your speakers. If using the LFE input on the sub some will automatically bypass the low pass filter, but to be safe just max it out on the sub. Not sure why you had the impression of more bass/sub with the lower crossover, tho....I'd expect more bass/sub with the higher xover.

 

[DJ in TX]

You use the gain setting to level match with your speakers. If using the LFE input on the sub some will automatically bypass the low pass filter, but to be safe just max it out on the sub. Not sure why you had the impression of more bass/sub with the lower crossover, tho....I'd expect more bass/sub with the higher xover.

Yes using LFE, as for me thinking a lower setting for crossover, it’s not that I thought it would be good I’m just blindly trying random combinations. I literally do not know anything about how it works. No experience with crossover or gain or setting up systems. Nada. You could probably tell me any nonsensical thing you wanted to, and I would believe it because I just don’t know.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yes using LFE, as for me thinking a lower setting for crossover, it’s not that I thought it would be good I’m just blindly trying random combinations. I literally do not know anything about how it works. No experience with crossover or gain or setting up systems. Nada. You could probably tell me any nonsensical thing you wanted to, and I would believe it because I just don’t know.

Maybe review some of these articles might help? https://www.audioholics.com/subwoofer-setup

 

[Eppie]

Yes using LFE, as for me thinking a lower setting for crossover, it’s not that I thought it would be good I’m just blindly trying random combinations. I literally do not know anything about how it works. No experience with crossover or gain or setting up systems. Nada. You could probably tell me any nonsensical thing you wanted to, and I would believe it because I just don’t know.

Confusion over subwoofer settings is common so don't be afraid to ask. There are two sources of bass in the receiver. One is the bass (lower frequency) portion of music and video content that is part of the stereo sound mix (or multi-channel sound mix with movies). The subwoofer crossover setting in your audio video receiver (AVR) determines the crossover point for sending that material to the subwoofer. As mentioned, most people start at 80Hz and you can experiment from there. Your Atoms do not produce any deep bass so I would not go below 80Hz. My Studio 20's are rated down to 54Hz but I still use a crossover of 80Hz and would not go below 60Hz.

The other source of bass is the LFE, or low frequency effects track, in movies. This is the .1 in 5.1. The LFE track only gets sent to the subwoofer pre-amp out on your AVR and is not normally fed to your main speakers (there are ways around this but I will keep this simple). The LFE channel can have content from 0 to 120Hz. Most AVRs will have separate settings for subwoofer crossover and the LFE channel. To make sure you get all of the LFE content, most people set the LFE channel to 120Hz within the AVR setup menu. The AVR then blends the LFE channel and bass content below the crossover setting and sends it to the subwoofer pre-amp out connection.

Your subwoofer also has a crossover dial. This is for people that are sending a full range signal to the sub. The subwoofer will filter out material above it's crossover settings. Since your AVR is already performing the filtering, you do not want to filter twice, so you set the subwoofer crossover to maximum. (If the AVR crossover was set to 100Hz and the subwoofer crossover was set to 80Hz, then you would end up filtering out all material from 80Hz to 100Hz which would make a royal mess of things.)

The level control on the sub is for level matching. If you have a setup microphone for setting speaker levels in your AVR, you typically start at the middle setting on the sub and let the AVR calibrate the speakers. You can then fine tune the level to your liking. If you can't auto-calibrate the speakers, then start in the middle and experiment with different movie tracks until you find the right balance.

For accurate level matching you can purchase a measurement microphone and use Room EQ Wizard (REW) software to measure each speaker, but that's a more complex discussion. For level matching, find material that you know has bass content below 80Hz. The opening race scene in Ready Player One for example has loads of bass effects. Classic rock and pop can actually be a little thin below 60Hz so you can look for tracks that have deep bass synth or a bass player using a 5 string and playing that open B string. Classical music can have deep bass content as well if you know what to listen for.

 

[DJ in TX]

My AVR remote has Bass +\- and treble +\- buttons. Does wiring the sub via LFE cause any signal/eq to bypass this setting or will it actually allow me to increase/decrease these attributes?

 

[lovinthehd]

My AVR remote has Bass +\- and treble +\- buttons. Does wiring the sub via LFE cause any signal/eq to bypass this setting or will it actually allow me to increase/decrease these attributes?

I forget if the 819 locks out bass/treble if using MCACC, so might look that up/experiment with that. If they function it would affect the frequency range for the speakers/sub. Another way to increase sub level is the speaker level adjustment for the sub, many turn that up a few dB....

 

[DJ in TX]

I’m going to take a moment away from my questions to first say thank you to all of you for all the help with this. Second I just wanted to add that I am so glad I got this subwoofer. My music sounds so good. Many have advised me to go with other subs, many way out of my price range. And many others said to get the monoprice (sw-12/sw-15) saying it would blow the klipsch out of the water, and maybe they do. I will admit having little experience here. With that said I am very happy with my new 10 inch klipsch (r-100sw). To my ears it sounds accurate and full and deep and I’m loving listening to it. Such a good purchase. I am re-discovering my music all over again.

 

[lovinthehd]

I’m going to take a moment away from my questions to first say thank you to all of you for all the help with this. Second I just wanted to add that I am so glad I got this subwoofer. My music sounds so good. Many have advised me to go with other subs, many way out of my price range. And many others said to get the monoprice (sw-12/sw-15) saying it would blow the klipsch out of the water, and maybe they do. I will admit having little experience here. With that said I am very happy with my new 10 inch klipsch (r-100sw). To my ears it sounds accurate and full and deep and I’m loving listening to it. Such a good purchase. I am re-discovering my music all over again. ❤

All I can say is once you get used to better subs there's no going back DIY can be a good avenue if you don't mind donating your time in exchange for basic cost/performance....

 

[Eppie]

My AVR remote has Bass +\- and treble +\- buttons. Does wiring the sub via LFE cause any signal/eq to bypass this setting or will it actually allow me to increase/decrease these attributes?

To be honest, I am not sure about that one. For bass in music and TV I would expect the bass +/- control to affect content being fed to the subwoofer. For LFE content from movies, it's possible that it bypasses the tone controls. You would have to experiment to know for sure as this could be manufacturer dependent. Remember that LFE is for movies and TV only and won't affect your music playback unless you get into multi-channel audio.

I'll echo what Lovin said. When you hear a good sub you really notice the difference. I started with a 10" Klipsch but after a couple of years it started to act up. I upgraded to a 12" SVS 2000 Pro and could never go back. If you ever decide to upgrade from those Atoms, I would think about a better sub as well. Enjoy your purchase!

 

[DJ in TX]

Another observation… so when my kids watch tv since adding my sub, they listen at a volume (receiver volume) of around 20-25 Usually, and when it’s louder maybe 35. But, when I listen to music, at 20-25 I can barely hear anything, then at around 40 it’s decent volume, and then when I really want to listen and hear a lot of detail I put the receiver on 60-65. Is this expected behavior? Seems strange that I can watch a tv show or movie at 26-35 and it seem like a good watchable volume, but music needs to be higher.
Your thoughts?

 

[lovinthehd]

Another observation… so when my kids watch tv since adding my sub, they listen at a volume (receiver volume) of around 20-25 Usually, and when it’s louder maybe 35. But, when I listen to music, at 20-25 I can barely hear anything, then at around 40 it’s decent volume, and then when I really want to listen and hear a lot of detail I put the receiver on 60-65. Is this expected behavior? Seems strange that I can watch a tv show or movie at 26-35 and it seem like a good watchable volume, but music needs to be higher.
Your thoughts?

Depends what you think those numbers represent. Different source levels seem to be at play too. Your volume levels don't sound particularly unusual on that volume scale, but volume scales aren't always comparable too.

 

[DJ in TX]

Depends what you think those numbers represent. Different source levels seem to be at play too. Your volume levels don't sound particularly unusual on that volume scale, but volume scales aren't always comparable too.

Ok that makes sense. I guess I just wanted to make sure that this wasn’t symptomatic of an incorrect setting or something. Thanks!