Let us say my receiver has variable bass crossover settings such as 80Hz, 100Hz, 120Hz, 160Hz, 200Hz. On the other hand my subwoofer has a variable cut-off knob labeled 40Hz to 120Hz.

If I turn up the knob on the subwoofer to 120Hz, and then I set the receiver's bass crossover setting to 160Hz or 200Hz... Will the subwoofer follow the setting on the receiver even though on it's knob it only goes up to 120Hz?

I would like to set the crossover setting higher since I will be pairing the subwoofer with satellite speakers (reproducing lowest frequencies of 160Hz to 180Hz at best).

Thanks!

Not possible. The lower setting on either will prevail. Since the sub cutoff is limited to 120Hz, that is the maximum frequency it will pass unless you can bypass the crossover in some way. That depends on the design.

On one of my subwoofers, using the LFE input bypasses the sub's crossover. On another subwoofer I own, I can switch the sub's internal crossover either "in" or "out." When in the "out" setting, the crossover is bypassed and the knob has no effect. In both of these instances, the setting on the receiver will always prevail. What subwoofer do you have?

On one of my subwoofers, using the LFE input bypasses the sub's crossover. On another subwoofer I own, I can switch the sub's internal crossover either "in" or "out." When in the "out" setting, the crossover is bypassed and the knob has no effect. In both of these instances, the setting on the receiver will always prevail. What subwoofer do you have?

I plan on getting a...

http://www.thespeakercompany.com/ASW-10-10-Subwoofer-P62C17.aspx

People have been saying this thing is similar to an Energy ESW-10 subwoofer.

This is for a secondary setup. I believe I won't have this problem with my main setup consisting of Infinity Primus speakers plus an eD A2-300. :)

EDIT: When the subwoofer's specification "Low Pass Filter Mode" says "Active/Bypass," does this mean that when the knob is fully turned up, that the LPF is bypassed? Otherwise it's active? Thanks!

blued888, what type of subwoofer do you have? You might want to check the manual and see what “bypass“ actually does for your sub. AFAIK even when set to “bypass” many subwoofers have a low pass filter that still kicks in but at a much higher frequency like 150hz to 200hz or even a little higher. If for example you are using an Axiom EP500 set to bypass it is still hard wired to roll off frequencies above 100hz. So with the EP500 subwoofer if you set your receiver to 160hz then you would loose quite a bit between 110hz and 150hz. Just something to keep in mind

blued888, what type of subwoofer do you have? You might want to check the manual and see what “bypass“ actually does for your sub. AFAIK even when set to “bypass” many subwoofers have a low pass filter that still kicks in but at a much higher frequency like 150hz to 200hz or even a little higher. If for example you are using an Axiom EP500 set to bypass it is still hard wired to roll off frequencies above 100hz. So with the EP500 subwoofer if you set your receiver to 160hz then you would loose quite a bit between 110hz and 150hz. Just something to keep in mind

ASW-10 from tSc. Link posted on previous post. :)

That’s what I get for cutting and pasting my response from the other forum without looking more closely at the posts here.

If the variable active crossover goes all the way to 120hz then it’s likely that even if the “bypass” just sets a higher crossover it will be high enough that you won’t be loosing anything below the 160hz you set on your receiver. If the subwoofer’s manual doesn’t specify what “bypass” actually does in your case you could always call the manufacture just to be sure, but it sounds like you will be ok.

EDIT: When the subwoofer's specification "Low Pass Filter Mode" says "Active/Bypass," does this mean that when the knob is fully turned up, that the LPF is bypassed? Otherwise it's active? Thanks!"Bypass" means the sub's variable low-pass filter (commonly but incorrectly called its "crossover") is bypassed. So the knob's setting is irrelevant. The sub's input becomes unfiltered. With it set to "active" the sub's LPF is just that and the knob's setting controls the LPF value that is applied to the input.

When a receiver's crossover is being used, the sub's LPF is unnecessary. Turning the knob up as high as it will go is what is recommended when there is no option to bypass a sub's LPF. The idea being that the sub's input will be unfiltered below that and that in most cases a crossover setting that is well below that maximum setting will be used. But in the example in your OP, if the sub's LPF max is 120Hz, then that is as high as it can go (with some output above that, of course, as the filter has a slope). So, if you set the receiver's crossover to send info below 160Hz to the sub, the sub would not be able to reproduce the info between 120Hz and 160Hz as anything above 120Hz is blocked (filtered).

Now, if you DO have the ability to bypass your sub's LPF, then, yes, the sub will "follow the setting on the receiver".


AFAIK even when set to “bypass” many subwoofers have a low pass filter that still kicks in but at a much higher frequency like 150hz to 200hz or even a little higher.I've never heard this. "Bypass" usually means that. The sub's input becomes unfiltered. I could see there MAYBE being a fixed filter way, way up there, but certainly not below 200Hz.


If for example you are using an Axiom EP500 set to bypass it is still hard wired to roll off frequencies above 100hz. So with the EP500 subwoofer if you set your receiver to 160hz then you would loose quite a bit between 110hz and 150hz.The EP500 is a VERY strange beast and an exception. It has a VERY steep and VERY low fixed low-pass filter that is different from any other sub that I know of.