1120-k + m70/cs2/psw505 setup

mttt

This is my first HT setup and am having some initial concerns.

Pioneer 1120-k receiver
Monitor 70s as fronts
CS2 center
PSW505 sub

I purchased all of this recently around the same time so I have no previous reference for how this hardware would/should sound. Everything is wired with 12awg + banana plugs. My concern is that after powering the receiver on and running the initial MCACC calibration, the speakers sound a little off or empty. It's hard to explain but I thought they would sound bigger and fuller. I'm certain that I need to make some other adjustments to get better sound but I'm a little puzzled. What are the general steps one should do to tweak things? The calibration has all speakers set as small, but I haven't found where to set the crossover for the sub. I'm guessing this will improves things significantly. Should I also be setting the frequency range of the left right and center individually?

Also I noticed that on the back of the PSW505 there are speaker In and Out ports. Are these for bi-amping? Currently I just have everything running straight to the receiver.

The receiver has a ton of EQ presets which is overwhelming. Dolby Pro Logic IIz, couple of thx modes, and others. I'm just confused with which to use and/or if this could be effecting the lacking sound quality?

I'm sure everything is okay, I just need to spend some more time setting it up. Any input is greatly appreciated!

mttt

I think this may have something to do with it...

The PSW505 sub's "recommended" diagram from it's manual has the front speakers connected to the back of the sub and then from the sub to the receiver seen below (pics are horrible)


The PSW505 manual also has a "Parallel wire hookup" diagram


Both of these setups are recommend for satellite systems. What's confusing is that the diagram from the receivers manual has the fronts just going straight to the receiver as well as the bi-amping option seen below


The way I currently have it is the Monitor 70's just have one wire going from the top post(high) directly to there inputs on the receiver. Should I bi-amp them to the receiver? (last diagram) Or do I run them to the sub then from sub to the receiver? (first diagram)

Sansfear

The Speaker In/Out plugs on the sub are for when you want to use the sub's crossover instead of your receiver's.

For your setup, just use the LFE input on the sub and set the crossover in the receiver and continue wiring the M70s directly to the receiver as well.

From what I've read, the M70s benefit significantly from the additional power of an external amp (which your receiver supports). Also, bi-amping doesn't seem to get a lot of support here.

djperez81

Welcome to Club Polk.

I would leave yur speakers wired thru your AVR. Im sure a little tweaking and playing with your receiver you should be able to fine tune it. I would leave the speakers set to small and set the crossover to 80hz. You have a nice stup so far though.

Outfitter03

mttt I have the monitor 70's and CS2 also. I hooked them up in July. I had been reading this site for about 6 months prior to my purchase and actually found a Parasound Amp on Ebay prior to receiving my receiver.

I have read lots of opinions about speaker and cable break in and I am no expert, so I can only speak from my experience. Even with the "help" of the Parasound amp I was initially concerned about how my Monitor 70's sounded. I had been listening to a set of JBL Northbridge N-26 book shelves for music while I set up the new HT system. At first with my new setup, and this is following all calibrations which are still close to where they were originally set, they sounded not a little but a lot off as you indicated. They were trounced in performance as compared to the JBL bookshelves and an old Denon receiver as a preamp and a small Parasound Amp.

I work a lot, so I just ran them at a low-moderate volume while at work for the next couple of weeks as well as listening when I was at home. At the end of about 2 weeks they sounded fantastic. The Monitor 70 setup now walks all over anything that the JBL book shelves can do and I did run them side by side, so the comparison was not from memory. I used the same DVD player, a HK DVD 47 as a source for both.

What component contributed most to my break in process I don't know. My AVR, my RCA interconnects, speaker wires, power cords and speakers were all new. I will never know, but can only assume from my reading here that each component contributed some.

I suggest that once you believe that the setup is close, run your system for a couple weeks. The performance should improve markedly.

mttt

Thanks for the all the responses!

What should I set the low pass dial at on the back of the sub? (It ranges from 60-120) Or do I disregard this as it's being bypassed since I'm running LFE IN(unfiltered) to the receiver? As for the volume knob I assume this is preference or do I need to turn it up to max and then do all controls/tweaks from the receiver?

djperez81

I would set the sub crossover to 120hz as far as volume i would set at 50% gain and adjust from there to where you like it best.

polknewby

I have the pioneer 1019 and m70s. I set my xover at 80 to let the 70s get more range. Just recently got another pair of the 40s to go 7.1, but before that I had my 70s bi-wired from the avr. I could tell a little difference and had left mine like that. If you have some extra wire laying around try it out and see what you like the best. And welcome to CP!

mttt

I've had the speakers for a week now playing a variety of material when I can (cable tv, music, bluray's) 10-15 hours estimate. I think it's starting to sound better... I assume it's not just going to sound completely different/better one day from the next but in a more gradual process. How does one know when the speakers are done breaking in? Will they just sound so much more substantial that it's very noticeable? One question is that since the M70's are crossed over at 80hz and everything below that is sent to the sub, will the lower end of M70's not be broken in? Since LF is handled by the sub, the M70's low end drivers are not being utilized... Am I over thinking this?

CS2 Center
I've noticed dialog to sometimes be a little light, lacking depth and fullness. I know it's just the center but is it supposed to get some LF help from the sub? Or do centers generally try to handle the entire frequency range of dialog? It may have just been the source material, or that its not broken in yet.

I think as a test I'm going to switch the M70's to large and not use the sub to see what they sound like in full range.