crossover setting???
ddank
Posts: 28
Hi. I'm new to the forum and need help with some sound issues I'm having. Bear with me, I'm going to err on the side of caution and give you as much info as possible.
First, here is what I've got.
Speakers: RM75 5-piece Surround Sound System
Subwoofer: Velodyn DEQ8
Receiver: Pioneer Elite VSX 30
The problem I am getting is sound distortion especially with low male voices. (Elliot Spitzer on CNN for example) Sounds like that on very low voice tones it occasionally comes from the sub making the voice sound uneven.
When I set up the system, I ran the Auto MCACC setup. I've adjusted the speaker output levels to where I like them. My sub out level is the same as my front L/R surround speakers (per velodyn instructions). The MCACC set all my speakers to small and the crossover in the receiver at 100Hz.
The subs crossover was initially set at 80 but was getting the distortion. I tried putting the subs crossover to direct to let the receiver takeover but that didn't help. I also tried putting the receivers crossover to 80Hz and then the subs crossover to 90. That seemed to work OK but something still doesn't sound quite right. (maybe I'm just going nuts listening to things over and over.)
I don't think I have my subs volume up to high. It's only set at 43 out of a possible 80 and I get a nice thump and rumble on thunder and explosions and music sounds good although on special effects such as when watching sports and they have graphics zoom in and out ? they sound (for lack of a better term) too "breathy".
I could use some expert advice on where all these setting should be to give me a nice smooth sound.
Thanks for your help.
First, here is what I've got.
Speakers: RM75 5-piece Surround Sound System
Subwoofer: Velodyn DEQ8
Receiver: Pioneer Elite VSX 30
The problem I am getting is sound distortion especially with low male voices. (Elliot Spitzer on CNN for example) Sounds like that on very low voice tones it occasionally comes from the sub making the voice sound uneven.
When I set up the system, I ran the Auto MCACC setup. I've adjusted the speaker output levels to where I like them. My sub out level is the same as my front L/R surround speakers (per velodyn instructions). The MCACC set all my speakers to small and the crossover in the receiver at 100Hz.
The subs crossover was initially set at 80 but was getting the distortion. I tried putting the subs crossover to direct to let the receiver takeover but that didn't help. I also tried putting the receivers crossover to 80Hz and then the subs crossover to 90. That seemed to work OK but something still doesn't sound quite right. (maybe I'm just going nuts listening to things over and over.)
I don't think I have my subs volume up to high. It's only set at 43 out of a possible 80 and I get a nice thump and rumble on thunder and explosions and music sounds good although on special effects such as when watching sports and they have graphics zoom in and out ? they sound (for lack of a better term) too "breathy".
I could use some expert advice on where all these setting should be to give me a nice smooth sound.
Thanks for your help.
Post edited by ddank on
Comments
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I had a similiar problem it was 100% sub related , If the sub XO point is to high and/or the level to high it will add to a deep male voice .
I found the internall XO in my AVR has a lot of audio bleedover wheras the 80 gets a bunch of 120hz in it to .
So to fix it I turned the sub xo point down to 70 hz and let the satalites fill the rest , I always find getting the speakers to sound good w/out the sub and than rolling in the sub volume untill it sounds right to be the best . -
Thanks for the response. What is your AVR crossover set at and do you set your sub out level the same as your front L/R speaker level?
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Thanks for the response. What is your AVR crossover set at and do you set your sub out level the same as your front L/R speaker level?
my older sony ES has no adjustments on sub frequency
It is supposed to be at 80 hz (but sounds bad) I run from the preamp out of the R&L mains to a electronic externall crossover (the energy EAC) .
So no lfe to the sub .
With the energy 2way crossover I run 2 amps one for the subs and one for the mains .
To your question..
The crossover is marked low and high out , the low being the sub the high being my mains (satalittes) I run the subs at 80 hertz and down and the mains at 70 hertz and up .
The crossover has a very steep slope so when its set at 80 hertz it IS 80 hertz I get nothing above that its just very clean pure sub without any upper bass (thats like 100 hz bass) . -
I'm new to this so much of what you said went over my head, but what you side earlier about the sub level being to high gave me an idea so I've tried something different.
When I originally ran the MCACC set up it put my sub out level at -2. My front surrounds are set at 5 and center at 3. According to my sub manual, they said that the sub out should be set to the same levels as the front L/R so it was at 5. I decided to try putting it back to -2 or 0. I put the xover at 80 and had to bump up the subs volume to get the rumble, but so far things are sounding good - better actually. Haven't noticed the voice distortion (I'll have to listen more too be sure) and that "breathy" sound effect on graphics also sounds better.
Thanks for your help. Hopefully I'm on the right track. -
I would trust the MCACC setting for your subwoofer volume. Otherwise you could use test tones (this is probably what your subwoofer manual is referring to); then you could level them out by ear or more ideally using a sound meter (basically manually doing what the MCACC setup is doing for you).
I think that you should try a higher crossover. You are running a similar set up to the RM705 which suggest a crossover of 120 Hz (you can see the RM705 manual online). The RM7 are not going to produce much sound below 120 Hz (the center will go a little lower than the satellites). I think in your other thread you said your receiver does not allow for 120 Hz crossover, but I put a suggested fix there that is worth a try.
I am not surprised that you current set up sounds fine for voices, but I think that you are going to be missing a lot right around 100 Hz with a crossover of 80Hz or below. -
yes, the crossover options in my receiver are 50, 80, 100, 150, 200. Can I just set my subs built in crossover at 100-120 and effectively bypass the receivers crossover? I thought I read that it can be done that way and sometimes more preferable since the subs crossover can be adjusted in single increment and more finely tuned. Or is that what you were explaining in the other thread?
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If you set the front speakers to full, then you are bypassing the sub for fronts. The crossover would then be used only for the other speakers (center and rears).
I would use the method I suggested in the other thread:
- hook-up the subwoofer in speaker terminals to the front speaker terminals on the receiver
- Hook the front speakers up to the subwoofer out speaker terminals
- Set the receiver's crossover to 150 Hz
- Set the front speakers as large and all other speakers as small (set to no subwoofer and all bass should go to the front speakers)
- Then you can manually adjust the subwoofer's crossover (I am guessing 120 Hz will sound the best)
You can compare this set up to just using the MCACC settings using the subwoofer preamp out on the receiver. I would assume that it would set the crossover to 100 Hz and set all speakers to small under this scenario. -
I'm new to this so much of what you said went over my head, but what you side earlier about the sub level being to high gave me an idea so I've tried something different.
When I originally ran the MCACC set up it put my sub out level at -2. My front surrounds are set at 5 and center at 3. According to my sub manual, they said that the sub out should be set to the same levels as the front L/R so it was at 5. I decided to try putting it back to -2 or 0. I put the xover at 80 and had to bump up the subs volume to get the rumble, but so far things are sounding good - better actually. Haven't noticed the voice distortion (I'll have to listen more too be sure) and that "breathy" sound effect on graphics also sounds better.
Thanks for your help. Hopefully I'm on the right track.
Happy to help (just as the other polkies are) !
At some time try turning your sub crossover point down lower (like 60 instead of 80hz ) .
Remember what the papers say may not what you like , you will find the best setting it just takes time and patience . -
Just out of curiosity... I wonder if you have a bad match - sub-wise - for those speakers.
I'm a former RM6750 7.1 owner. That set-up came with a sub (not a super powerful one) that allowed you to wire the front left, right, and center channels via speaker level... and the crossover functionality was controlled on the back of the sub.
You can find the owners manual on the polk website, if you need a graphical depiction of what I wrote above.
Anyhow... just wondering if you should pick-up an old rm6750 subwoofer (you could buy the complete set of rm6750 speakers for about $170 and then sell all of them off on ebay, with the exception of the sub).
Just to add: The rm6750 speakers with the sub sounded really nice... If pushed to an extreme the sub would bottom-out... but that rarely ever happened.
Just my 2 cents -
Just out of curiosity... I wonder if you have a bad match - sub-wise - for those speakers.
Just my 2 cents
I dont know the sub goes 20-80 hertz the polk moniter 5's have no problem going 80-15khz .
The sub is amplified and has a full adjustments , I have a stryke audio test disc with that I can draw up a full graph and I see the response to find any faults in my living room .
I have a hunch the moniter 5's may need some upgrading .
