"Official" Audyssey thread (FAQ in post #1) - Page 1991

 

Changing the XOs manually does not adversely affect the Audyssey calibration. However you are advised to adjust them in an upwards direction only. This FAQ answer has the skinny on that:

 

c)4.   Is it OK to change the Crossovers from Audyssey's recommendation?

 

 

LOL - there is a grain of truth in that, BP. I've got to that stage where changing equipment will have to be very dramatic to make much difference - the only real area I can improve now (possibly) is the room itself, hence my keen interest in the new REW thread. Even there I am already fairly well treated - but we'll see once my mic arrives. My room is a pig anyway and I would dearly love a bigger, better proportioned room, but that would mean moving house and we have no plans ATM to do that. I guess we all have to make compromises one way or another in this hobby - and the room is mine. It would be the damn thing that makes the most difference wouldn't it!

 

That system sounds like it should be real sweet!  I suspect you are right - how much difference I'd hear may be fairly small in reality. (I'll keep telling myself that....).

 

EDIT:  I'd swap the lot for a HTIB if it meant I could live in San Diego :)  Like I say, we all have compromises somewhere.... :)

I believe his receiver only has preouts for FR/FL channels so that idea is a no go.

KBARNES

Thank you for the reply

Please see a list of my equipment and specs below. Just trying to figure out what the best use of $400 is to upgrade my system is. The non brand matching Def Tech Center Channel is due to space requirements in media center. My receiver only has 2.1 preout. So no 3 channel amp for me.


Amp to power under powered Polk TSI400's - Emotiva UPA-200 Stereo Power Amplifier $349

• 125 watts
• 8ohms
• 2 channels

Replace sub with Definitive ProSub 800 $399

• 8in sub
• 300 Watt amplifier
• 20 Hz - 150 Hz

Receiver- Marantz - NR1403 - 50w x 5
Front's - Polk - Tsi400 - 20-200w - 44hz-22khz - 91db
Center - Definitive Technology - Procenter 1000 - 10-200w - 47hz-30khz - 90db
Rear's - Polk - M10 - 20-100w - 60hz-24khz - 90db
Sub - Polk -RM6880 (part of the HTIB package) - 130w dynamic / 65w average - 32-180hz

Well, why don't YOU tell us what you feel is "lacking" currently. Also it would help to know how big your room is.

My gut is that the $400 would be better spent on a subwoofer upgrade than an external amplifier. Your current sub is pretty puny.

Your Polk towers are relatively efficient (91dB sensitivity spec) so unless you are playing REALLY loud or have a very large room, I doubt that power is an issue.

 

Ah right - thanks for the info. I will amend my post.

 

+1. 

 

Or, if WAF is not an issue, you can make a lot of DIY room treatments for $400...

I am sure the Polk speakers are great. I guess they just lack the overall dynamic I thought that they would carry. I hope that makes sense. Missing mids and lows.

My speakers are set to large on my receiver and it is setup with audyssey. I should check my crossover setting I guess. I think it is set to 60hz..

My room is 20x20 but open concept on the rear facing wall that extends another 15ft. with a half wall divider.

Referring back to the 3D mapping and remapping of speaker positions... that's what the Trinnov Optimizer claims to do, although it uses a capsule containing 4 microphones, not just 1. I've never owned a Sherwood R-972, but quite a few people have claimed that it worked quite well. It's too bad the receiver had so many other issues.

OK, thank you. One last question, I have Def Tech BP7000SC. Def Tech recommends against room correction for they state it can't dial in the subs correctly. Anyone know why this is? Any way to hack around the issue? Will XT32 work better then XT or will it still be a waste for these woofers?

I really never had a problem with Audyssey and the subs in my BP7000SC's other than I had to tweak the levels a bit from what Audyssey set them at to get the LFE the way I liked it. XT had a hard time pinning down the subwoofer distance since it was only able to test ONE sub. The way to get around that was to run Audyssey with one sub active then again with the other and spend some time tweaking when BOTH are active. XT32 is MUCH better because you can adjust EACH sub independently. I know there are a lot of opinions on running full range with speaker wire or small with RCA to the subs. I actually run mine with both and select LFE+L/R since I have the option of switching to full-range for 2-channel music.

Do you have a reference or link for that?

 

Sorry, I am not familiar with those speakers. Maybe someone will chime in, or if there is a thread here at AVS for them, maybe you can get advice there?

 

It seems a sweeping statement to say that room EQ cannot work with those speakers - absent room treatments, how do they suggest you proceed then to combat the negative issues invoked by the room (any domestic-type room)?

Personally I would cross over the Deftechs at say 60Hz, let them function as three way speakers not as subs and use a good sub with them. I have never heard of a built in "sub" that went as low and as accurate as a good separate sub.

 

I can't see how a built-in sub can compete with a good separate sub. There are also various other arguments against built-in subs - the most important probably being that it is not possible to position the sub at the best place in the room for the bass because the built-in sub has to be, by definition, positioned at the place where the main speakers are. Given that those speakers have been placed for good imaging etc, it is most unlikely that that is also the best place for the subwoofer(s). Also, with a built-in sub, it is impossible to make the decision to upgrade the sub alone - one would have to replace the mains which could easily be entirely satisfactory in other ways. Even in a two-channel system, I would far prefer to use speakers which excelled down to 80Hz or so and then hand over the heavy bass lifting to one or more capable subs. There are no (main) speakers made that have the bass capability of my dual Submersives, nor the freedom of placement - and this also applies to many other competent subs too. 

 

So yes, if I had the speakers in question, I would treat them as 'normal' speakers and cross them over at 60/80/100Hz (after testing which is sonically best) and let my subs handle the bass. In that sense, they would be good main speakers and the usual Audyssey setup considerations would apply.

Few if any of us have them for that reason. We enjoy the effortless reproduction of the important 80-130Hz region even at high playback levels.

You seem to understand their strengths and look to those strengths accordingly. But I think there are owners who don't have that fine level of understanding. It would not only be with this manufacturer, but any speakers rated to 20-ish or so ... any speaker that purports to have a SUBWOOFER in it.

Jeff

Agree but playing at higher levels I think is key.

Effortless playback at high SPLs is the grail.

Question to all , i have the onkyo 616 , i ran the audyssey setup last night in all 3 positions and for some reason it set the crossover on my two sony ssf6000 floorstanding speakers to 50hz . Is this normal for these speakers and what would raising the crossover up to say 90hz actually do ? Thank you
Edited by justpassedu - 2/7/13 at 8:17am

 

I think you will find the information you seek in these FAQ answers - if not, come back by all means with further questions:

 

c)1.   Why are my Crossovers set differently to my speaker manufacturer's specification?

c)2.   Why do I often see advice to raise the Crossovers to 80Hz?

c)3.   I have big tower speakers at the front. Shouldn't I set these to Large'?

c)4.   Is it OK to change the Crossovers from Audyssey's recommendation?

I have read through this and would like some forum members advice please , i am still uncertain on what settings i should use but from what i gather is to set my fronts to about a 80hz crossover ?

80 Hz would be an excellent choice.

 

I'm not sure what advice you are looking for that isn't in the FAQ.  Yes, 80Hz is a good choice in general for crossing over the front speakers to a sub.  What is it you are "still uncertain" about?

I know that all speakers are created differently with different components , so i was wondering a reccomendation as for what to set these exact sony ssf6000 floorstanding speakers to and also what lowering and raising the crossover actually does ? from what i understand is raising it allows more bass to go to the sub instead of the speakers correct ?

Set the crossover to 80Hz and see if they can handle that, if not then try 100Hz...
Yes, it allows the sub to handle more or less of the signal preventing the speakers from distorting and being overloaded by the bass frequencies. Hate to say it but even though the Sony's are floor standing they do not have very capable drivers and may have trouble even handling 80Hz.

 

The crossover between the main speakers and the subwoofer is more or less what the name implies. It is the frequency at which the signal is 'split' between the two - so if you set a crossover of 60Hz, then your main speakers handle everything down to 60Hz and the sub handles everything below 60Hz (put simply and ignoring filter slope etc which you don't need to concern yourself with). If you set a crossover of 90Hz, then your mains handle everything down to 90Hz and everything below 90Hz gets sent to the sub.

 

It is a good idea to send the low frequencies to the sub, as explained in the FAQ links I posted before. If you have a good, competent sub, I would try using 80Hz, 90Hz and 100Hz and see if you can hear any differences between them. If you can, then stick with the one that sounds best. If you can't, then use the highest frequency (thus sending more of the lower frequencies to your sub). If you just want a simple recommendation - use 80Hz.

This is a thread on setting up a HT and good info on how and what to do. This is general info and does not give detailed info about Aduyssey.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/824554/setting-up-your-home-theater-101

Thank you exact answer i was looking for and i greatly appreciate it . Now while the audyssey setup did set up the speakers at 50hz , i have to admit they sound pretty good to me , i have heard no distortion and i usually listen at a volume of about 50-60 on the onkyo 616 receiver . i have not heard much bass coming from the sub , i believe i may be hearing a bit more coming from the sony's , i could be wrong . the sub i have is the polk audio psw108 - http://www.polkaudio.com/products/psw108

10 inch driver and a frequency response of 35-200 won't give you enough deep bass. Room size is also a factor. How big is the room?