What does LFE setting on Marantz SR4300 do?

P

pawliux

Audiophyte
Hi, guys!

First of all, I would like to say, that I did some research here about LFE setting, but I wasn't able to find direct answer, so I hope you wouldn't mind if my question will be repetitive. ;)

I have few questions related to LFE:

1. On my Marantz SR4300 A/V receiver there are several options for LFE setting, which are very poorly explained: 0dB, -10dB and OFF. Can someone explain what these settings exactly do? I am completely lost here. :)

2. As far as I know, Marantz's crossover point is locked at 100Hz. My subwoofer Celestion AVP S80 has possibility to set crossover point at 80Hz. Will it take effect if I set it at 80hz? I guess, that receiver is the one who decides crossover point and I can set my subwoofer crossover point at any setting I want, because crossover point still be 100Hz. Am I getting this right? :)

3. Maybe this question is more related to subwoofers section, but I will try my luck here. :) What does PHASE setting on a subwoofer do? It could be set at any setting between 0 and 180.

I hope my questions wouldn't "steal" much of your time and you will help me. ;)
 
phlakvest

phlakvest

Audioholic
I'm new here, in fact I think this is my first post. I can answer 2 and 3 for sure.



2. The crossover setting on your sub is mainly for using speaker inputs because your reciever doesn't have a dedicated sub out. If you are running a dedicated sub channel just leave the crossover maxed out.
If your reciever's crossover is set at 100hz all the sound below 100hz will be sent to your sub. If you set your subs crossover at 80hz it will ignore all the signal above 80hz. This means you will lose the signal between 80 and 100hz.

3. Subwoofers create sound by pushing and pulling air with their woofers. The phase control changes whether the woofer is pushing(compression) or pulling(rarefaction) at that given time.
You would use the phase setting if you have multiple subs to make sure they are in the same cycle at the same time. Otherwise they are canceling each other out (one pulling the other pushing.)
Since I'm guessing you only have one sub, and your main speakers are crossed over so they aren't playing the sub sounds you don't really have to worry about the phase.
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
Hi, and welcome to the forum!

I'll look into your receiver and sub a bit more to make sure that what I say below is completely correct or if I should add any more details, but this should get you started.

1. On my Marantz SR4300 A/V receiver there are several options for LFE setting, which are very poorly explained: 0dB, -10dB and OFF. Can someone explain what these settings exactly do? I am completely lost here. :)
Those settings control the volume level of the LFE track that gets sent to your sub (or speakers if you have no sub). 0dB will play it at the normal level, -10dB will be about half as loud, and OFF will not play it at all.

2. As far as I know, Marantz's crossover point is locked at 100Hz. My subwoofer Celestion AVP S80 has possibility to set crossover point at 80Hz. Will it take effect if I set it at 80hz? I guess, that receiver is the one who decides crossover point and I can set my subwoofer crossover point at any setting I want, because crossover point still be 100Hz. Am I getting this right? :)
You can set the crossover on both. You almost surely will only actually want to set it on one of them. If you set your receiver up to use its crossover and filter the frequencies below 100Hz (or whatever its crossover is) to the sub, but you then set the crossover on the sub to 80Hz, you will be filtering out the frequencies between 100Hz and 80Hz. So, to keep it simple, if you are using the bass management on your receiver (setting speakers to "small" or the like), then set the crossover on your sub to as high of a number as possible, or disable it if possible (there would be a switch or special input for that if it's possible).

3. Maybe this question is more related to subwoofers section, but I will try my luck here. :) What does PHASE setting on a subwoofer do? It could be set at any setting between 0 and 180.
PHASE adjusts the timing of the sub relative to the other speakers. My advice is to try it at both settings and decide which one you like the best. If you can't tell a difference, then no worries.

Adam
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
Welcome to the forum, phlakvest!

I wasn't trying to double post on your answers - I was just typing my response when you posted. :)
 
P

pawliux

Audiophyte
Thank you for answering, guys! ;)

What I have understood from answers is, that it would be a good idea to "turn off" crossover point on one device (receiver or a subwoofer), but since neither Marantz SR4300 nor Celestion AVP S80 does not have this option, the best solution is to set the same crossover point on both devices and in my case it would be 100Hz, because Marantz is locked at 100Hz. Is it a good way of thinking? :)

Also, it is worth connecting my subwoofer to receiver with Y cable? SR4300 has one output and AVP S80 has two inputs (right and left).
 
phlakvest

phlakvest

Audioholic
I would turn the crossover on the sub to its highest setting. Just incase its measurements are not completly accurate.

As for the y splitter. Nope just run the one cable to your sub. The sub is mono so its going to mix the two jacks together anyways. The y splitter shouldn't hurt anything, but there's no benifit either.
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
Hi. If you are using the crossover in the Marantz, set the crossover as high as it will go on your sub (I haven't found a manual for that sub, yet, so I don't know what that value is). The reason is that the crossover isn't an instantaneous cut-off. There is a slope in attenuation. I think it's best to not take a chance of having the sub influence the filtering by setting the crossover on the sub to the max (which is hopefully above that of the Marantz).

It's difficult to answer your last question without the manual or any pictures of the rear panel. I'll look again for those. Some subs recommend using both inputs, while it makes no difference for some others. If you already have a y-cable, you can certainly try it with and without the cable to see if it makes any difference. If one of the two inputs is named "LFE" or "MONO", then odds are that you could connect to that input only and be just fine. Connecting it to both the y-cable will (unless you have a really bad y-cable) never hurt anything.

EDIT: I'm typing slow again! phlakvest got you set up.
 
P

pawliux

Audiophyte
Hi. If you are using the crossover in the Marantz, set the crossover as high as it will go on your sub (I haven't found a manual for that sub, yet, so I don't know what that value is). The reason is that the crossover isn't an instantaneous cut-off. There is a slope in attenuation. I think it's best to not take a chance of having the sub influence the filtering by setting the crossover on the sub to the max (which is hopefully above that of the Marantz).

It's difficult to answer your last question without the manual or any pictures of the rear panel. I'll look again for those. Some subs recommend using both inputs, while it makes no difference for some others. If you already have a y-cable, you can certainly try it with and without the cable to see if it makes any difference. If one of the two inputs is named "LFE" or "MONO", then odds are that you could connect to that input only and be just fine. Connecting it to both the y-cable will (unless you have a really bad y-cable) never hurt anything.

EDIT: I'm typing slow again! phlakvest got you set up.
The manual of Marantz SR4300 is here: h**p://us.marantz.com/c_sr4300_man.pdf.

Also, I scanned the page of the AVP S80's manual containing subwoofer's rear panel. ;)

Here is the picture:

h**p://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=s80xw3.jpg

P.S. Sorry for *, I do not have 5 posts, so I can not post links and pictures. ;)
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
Thanks!

I found the Marantz manual earlier, and should have mentioned it. :eek: I appreciate the scan of the sub's connections!

From the image of the sub, it's not obvious if you should connect to both inputs or not. Does the manual say anything about connecting one versus two? Also, now I can say this - set the sub's crossover to 120Hz. :)
 
P

pawliux

Audiophyte
Thanks!

I found the Marantz manual earlier, and should have mentioned it. :eek: I appreciate the scan of the sub's connections!

From the image of the sub, it's not obvious if you should connect to both inputs or not. Does the manual say anything about connecting one versus two? Also, now I can say this - set the sub's crossover to 120Hz. :)
Here are the scans of the manual's pages saying how to connect subwoofer:

h**p://img523.imageshack.us/img523/7014/s80fp1.jpg

h**p://img99.imageshack.us/img99/8457/s802xs8.jpg

The manual indicates that I have to connect my subwoofer and receiver with conventional cable. I have read on the forums, that connecting with Y cable could improve bass quality. Also, there is one thing, which confuse me a little. As you can see in the manual, connecting subwoofer to the preamp you have to use both right and left channels, but preamp also has two output channels (right, left). On the Marantz's rear panel subwoofer's output channel is somehow assigned to the preamp section, but there is only ONE output. So this strikes me, that using Y cable may be beneficial. ;)
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
Hi. Both images show a connection from a receiver's subwoofer output to the "LINE IN/LEFT" connection.

Therefore, I'd recommend connecting the subwoofer output from your receiver to the "LINE IN/LEFT" connection on the sub. Again, you can use the y-splitter if you want. It will probably provide no benefit, but will also probably cause no loss of quality, either. I'd say try it both ways and see.
 
P

pawliux

Audiophyte
Hi. Both images show a connection from a receiver's subwoofer output to the "LINE IN/LEFT" connection.

Therefore, I'd recommend connecting the subwoofer output from your receiver to the "LINE IN/LEFT" connection on the sub. Again, you can use the y-splitter if you want. It will probably provide no benefit, but will also probably cause no loss of quality, either. I'd say try it both ways and see.
Thank you for suggestions! ;)
 
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