What is base management ?

[SHood]

I've read about this on DVD-A & SACD players but am not sure what exaclty it is.

Thanks

 

[MDS]

Bass management is simply the process of directing the bass to the speakers that can handle it best. Receivers and pre/pros allow you to specify the size of the speakers, crossover frequency, and whether or not a sub is present. These settings determine how the bass (and LFE channels of DD discs) is routed.

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6016&highlight=bass+managment

 

[SHood]

More base management questions

I have a Denon 2200 DVD-A/ SACD player feeding a Yamaha 5280 receiver. My sub is connected to my receiver through the subwoofer output, (is this called LFE ? there is only one wire to the sub).

Does the receiver do any of the management stuff to the signals it receives through the 6 channel inputs or does it just amplify what it gets?

The only settings I find for the player are a Yes setting that a subwoofer is connected. If I chose NO does that mean that the player will not output a .1 signal to the receiver and therefore nothing goes to the sub?

Thanks

 

[Audioholics]

FWIW, I have a simplified bass management article coming out very soon (being peer reviewed now.)

 

[MDS]

I have a Denon 2200 DVD-A/ SACD player feeding a Yamaha 5280 receiver. My sub is connected to my receiver through the subwoofer output, (is this called LFE ? there is only one wire to the sub).

The Low Frequency Effects channel (the .1 in 5/6/7.1) is a separate discrete channel that contains only very low frequency information. It can go as high as 120Hz, but is usually 80Hz or lower. Most of the time it is played by the subwoofer (if you have one), but can also be routed to the speakers set to 'Large' by the bass management circuitry.

Does the receiver do any of the management stuff to the signals it receives through the 6 channel inputs or does it just amplify what it gets?

Depends on the receiver. Many do not apply their bass management to the analog inputs. My Onkyo does not. You have to rely on the bass managment settings in the player itself if the receiver won't apply bass mgmt to the analog inputs.

The only settings I find for the player are a Yes setting that a subwoofer is connected. If I chose NO does that mean that the player will not output a .1 signal to the receiver and therefore nothing goes to the sub?

It might mean that the player will mix the LFE into the other channels if the subwoofer = no, rather than just discarding the lfe channel. Maybe the manual will give some indication of how it handles it.

 

[Fife]

I don't understand why you set speakers to large or small and then have differing crossover points. The crossover overrides a large setting, right? In other words; if a speaker is set to large and you set the receiver's crossover to 80 hz, you won't get any frequencies lower than 80 to that speaker. Am I correct? Is the reason for large and small designations for frequencies over 120 hz?

 

[MDS]

If a speaker is set to Large, then it will receive a full range signal; ie the crossover frequency is ignored. Small speakers get the frequencies below the crossover.

See the link I posted in my first reply. It's a confusing topic and I tried to give all of the combinations in that post. Maybe Hawke's upcoming article will make it clearer or just ask more questions - some of us never tire of answering these types of questions.

 

[SHood]

Let me know when and where I can read your article.

Also, could you explain the electronics of how the LFE signal can work without needing two wires. How can that circuit be completed?

Thanks

 

[Leprkon]

Let me know when and where I can read your article.

Also, could you explain the electronics of how the LFE signal can work without needing two wires. How can that circuit be completed?

Thanks

there are two wires.. one goes down the center of an RCA-type cable and the other wraps around the outside of it. if you look at the connection end, it's the same. You don;t actually need a left and a right, since very low bass seems to come from all around you.

 

[SHood]

Yeah, OK, I see that.

But now I need to know why my sub has left AND right LFE connections.

 

[Rob Babcock]

ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US! Or did you mean "bass"?

Just teasin'!

 

[Karp]

Yeah, OK, I see that.

But now I need to know why my sub has left AND right LFE connections.

Some subs have left and right connections so that they can be used with the preamp-out of a preamp or some receivers. If used with the pre-out, the sub will combine the left and right inputs and you would use the sub's built-in crossover to filter out the tones above it's crossover point. When connecting to the reciever's LFE-out, you can use EITHER the left or right - it doesn't matter. You then either turn the sub's crossover off (preferred if it has switch for it), or turn the sub's crossover to the highest point since the receiver will be performing the bass management.

 

[SHood]

ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US! Or did you mean "bass"?

Just teasin'!

My bad

Base management is probably something the Yankees equipment manager worries about.

 

[dachshund1]

How are you dealing with the various SACD and CD formats - stereo, mono, multichannel, using the analog connections? Switch the receiver back to the optical-in for everything except multichannel SACD?