Where should I put the HPF for LSi9 at?

garnier

Should I put a HPF of LSi9 at 80 Hz on my receiver and let my subwoofer take care of frequencies below 80 Hz?
LSi15 and LSi25 are set at 80 Hz for their HPF, and let their subwoofers take care of frequencies below 80 Hz.
Or should I just leave HPF for LSi9 alone, and use it at Full Range?
Thank you!

Imperitor

Definitly set them to 60 or 80 Hz. You should only need to use full range if you don't have a sub.

mightymouse

The -3db point for the LSi9 is at 50Hz. I think setting the crossover at 60Hz is a good choice.

SlowcarIX

i have mine set to 60Hz and it works great with a 18" sub

garnier

Thank you everyone!

garnier

mightymouse wrote: »

The -3db point for the LSi9 is at 50Hz. I think setting the crossover at 60Hz is a good choice.

What is meant by -3db at 50 Hz? And why would you recommend to set HPF at 60 Hz instead of at 50 Hz, for example? Would setting at 50 Hz make a difference compared to at 60 Hz?

Another question is why do I notice a difference in sound when I set the HPF for front LSi9's at 80 Hz and LPF for a subwoofer also at 80 Hz, as compared to when I set the HPF for front LSi9's at 60 Hz? Shouldn't my subwoofer cover the frequencies below 80 Hz while my front LSi9's cover the frequencies above 80 Hz, so that I sould't notice a difference whether I put the HPF for the LSi's at 60 Hz or at 80 Hz? Would it be because I set the subwoofer volume too low, because I live in an apartment, that my subwoofer isn't producing the sound in the set frequency range that I designated it for, or simply isn't doing its job?

Thank you!

ShinAce

When you allow the speakers to overlap, you usually get a small boost.

Anything lower than 80 Hz is personal preference, because that's just about the right compromise in 90% of cases.

Erik Tracy

garnier wrote: »

What is meant by -3db at 50 Hz? And why would you recommend to set HPF at 60 Hz instead of at 50 Hz, for example? Would setting at 50 Hz make a difference compared to at 60 Hz?

This means that the 'loudness' of the bass signals at 50Hz are lower by 3 decibels than the rest of the audio spectrum which the LSi9 is producing.

It means that the LSi9 bass response is starting to 'roll off'.

This is where the sub takes over its reproduction of the bass signals with the same 'relative loudness' as the rest of the audio spectrum being played by both speakers.

Because you want even tonality and balance of sound across the audio spectrum, you want to 'blend' the loudness of the sub so that it is augmenting the frequencies which the LSi9 is now starting to 'drop' - which is around 50Hz.

So, the rule of thumb is to set the sub to augment the bass signals just above the frequency which the speakers have as their -3dB frequency.

That means the sub is set for 60Hz.

And now it is up to you to experiment to see if that setting works best for your set up and listening preference!

garnier

Can I put HPF at 50 Hz even though it is -3db at 50 Hz? And does setting the HPF at higher Hz mean that I get a better sound at higher frequency range in return? Thank you for your very helpful information!

Erik Tracy

garnier wrote: »

Can I put HPF at 50 Hz even though it is -3db at 50 Hz? Thank you!

You tell us!

Do a listening 'test' and decide what you like better.

These comments are kinda like the "Pirates Code" - not "rules"...they're more like 'guidelines'...arrrrr....;)

Erik Tracy

garnier wrote: »

Can I put HPF at 50 Hz even though it is -3db at 50 Hz? And does setting the HPF at higher Hz mean that I get a better sound at higher frequency range in return? Thank you for your very helpful information!

Just saw your edited question.

So...just to be straight here....sounds like with your AVR that you have set your LSI9s to "Small"???

garnier

No, they are large speakers.
On second thought, why can't I just set front LSi9's as Full Band?

Erik Tracy

garnier wrote: »

No, they are large speakers.
On second thought, why can't I just set front LSi9's as Full Band?

What are they set to now on your AVR?

In my opinion (admittedly not 'expert') the LSi9s fit into the category of "Large" from a HT perspective for range and power handling.

That being the case, in relation to main speakers and sub, the setting of most concern to you is the LOW pass of the subwoofer which you would initially set to 60Hz on your AVR and then do some listening tests to see what sounds 'best' for you.

Ron Temple

garnier wrote: »

No, they are large speakers.
On second thought, why can't I just set front LSi9's as Full Band?

For music running them full band will be fine, but for HT you should run them small and crossed. There's too much LFE below the speakers capability. You should take the load off the AVR and fronts...let the sub handle it.

Erik Tracy

Ron Temple wrote: »

For music running them full band will be fine, but for HT you should run them small and crossed. There's too much LFE below the speakers capability. You should take the load off the AVR and fronts...let the sub handle it.

Ron - sincere question - not meant to be argumentative.

But, what do you think the 'danger' is to speakers with the LFE from HT?

Is it an inability of the bass driver to reproduce the frequencies and cause damage or over driving the bass driver due to the levels?

It just seems odd to me that with that type of potential damage lurking down low in HT vs Music, there would be more complaints or reports of people blowing their bass drivers in their speakers than what I've seen reported so far.

Just asking...

Ron Temple

Erik Tracy wrote: »

Ron - sincere question - not meant to be argumentative.

But, what do you think the 'danger' is to speakers with the LFE from HT?

Is it an inability of the bass driver to reproduce the frequencies and cause damage or over driving the bass driver due to the levels?

It just seems odd to me that with that type of potential damage lurking down low in HT vs Music, there would be more complaints or reports of people blowing their bass drivers in their speakers than what I've seen reported so far.

Just asking...

I'm not an expert either and don't own LSis, but from what I've read the 9s are extremely sturdy and pack a wallop. If you're not sending them the LFE signal, there should be no danger of damage. If running them large with double bass or LFE + L&R they probably just play to their bottom and soak up most of the output from the AVRs amps trying to do a job they are not capable of. This is what I'd be concerned with. A 30db peak at 22hz eats alot of energy. An AVR will most likely clip. That's why I wouldn't run them large for HT.

I don't know why you don't read more comments about drivers being blown when driven beyond their limits. I'm sure it happens, but most of us crossover or ease off to avoid this problem. I've had subs that can't handle the extreme LFE in some sources. They visibly go into distress and want to walk across the room, but still don't crash and burn. I'm sure I could have broken them, but when you see that happening, first response is to turn it down.

Erik Tracy

Ron Temple wrote: »

I'm not an expert either and don't own LSis, but from what I've read the 9s are extremely sturdy and pack a wallop. If you're not sending them the LFE signal, there should be no danger of damage. If running them large with double bass or LFE + L&R they probably just play to their bottom and soak up most of the output from the AVRs amps trying to do a job they are not capable of. This is what I'd be concerned with. A 30db peak at 22hz eats alot of energy. An AVR will most likely clip. That's why I wouldn't run them large for HT.

I don't know why you don't read more comments about drivers being blown when driven beyond their limits. I'm sure it happens, but most of us crossover or ease off to avoid this problem. I've had subs that can't handle the extreme LFE in some sources. They visibly go into distress and want to walk across the room, but still don't crash and burn. I'm sure I could have broken them, but when you see that happening, first response is to turn it down.

That's kinda what I was thinking.

And if you run the audio calibration that is on most AVRs (either Audessey or YPAO) then I would think that with the SPL metering when you run the cals, the AVR would set the relative levels of the speakers and sub to be most conducive for balancing LFE levels to 'safe' settings.

Not to run counter to 'sound advice', but so far I've got my RTi4s set to large, which is what my yamaha 1800 set them to when I ran the YPAO calibration.

So far, so good - great for music, great for HT - but admittedly, I have not gone crazy with the volume to see if I can get my ears to hurt before the speakers bottom out or to fry.

Cheers.

garnier

Thank you all for great in-depth feedbacks!

demaples

Hello all, this week I'll be connecting my Onkyo 805 to the Rotel RMB 7700. I have lsi25 fronts, lsi15 rears, lsic center, genesis sides, psw 650 sub. I now have the lsic at 80 hz and all others at full range, should I change anything? Thanks in advance.