Suggested crossover settings for Polk Speaker setup?

B Feelgood

I just finished my home theater setup consisting of:

JVC DLA-RS1 projector
133" Da-Lite high power screen
Onkyo TX-SR805 receiver
Polk RTi8 fronts
Polk CSi5 center
Polk FXi3 surrounds
AV123 MFW-15 sub woofer

I should note that I have the RTi8s bi wired from the receiver. I ran the Audyssey automatic calibration and was not to happy with the sound quality. I am at work right now but the only settings I remember are the front RTi8s being set to full band. Also, the center channel dialog sounded muffled and not clear. Whenever I turn on direct/pure mode on the receiver it sounds better but I don't know if I should be using that? This is used for movies/gaming. I have a PS3/360 hooked up.

Can someone please suggest some crossover settings and other general settings I can try changing on the receiver?

Thanks!

Ron Temple

Check what Audessey did to your speaker size, distance and crossovers. You can reset them manually if they are off and see it if helps. I'd probably start with the 8s and 5, set small, at 60 or 80hz, the 3s definitely small at 80. If the centers still muffled, it's probably the room or position. Bump it up a couple of dbs, so it sounds right.

B Feelgood

Ron Temple wrote: »

Check what Audessey did to your speaker size, distance and crossovers. You can reset them manually if they are off and see it if helps. I'd probably start with the 8s and 5, set small, at 60 or 80hz, the 3s definitely small at 80. If the centers still muffled, it's probably the room or position. Bump it up a couple of dbs, so it sounds right.

I should say that the center is loud enough but it does not sound crisp/clear. The dialog sounds like they are talking into their hands.

curved

I have mine set at 60hz. It sounds great to me. My AVR has an EQ for my center channel so it was very easy to tune - mine sounded muffled until I was able to tune it.

kuntasensei

Be careful when running Audyssey, because it's very much a garbage in/garbage out situation. Make sure your center channel is angled up toward where your ears are at your listening position. Use a tripod (this is a MUST - Audyssey will not work well if you hold the mic or place it on your seating), and raise it so the mic is just above your headrests on your seating. If this puts the mic too high above your center channel's center axis (i.e. where you have it aimed), angle the mic forward slightly so that the front speakers are at a right angle or less to the mic capsule. If the speaker is more than a right angle to the mic capsule, its sound will not detect well (because the mics included with the Onkyos have the base too close to the mic capsule, whereas the Denons use an elevated capsule). Be sure to run all 8 positions, making sure to move the mic around your general listening area to give Audyssey a good analysis of your room acoustics.

Do the first three positions as center, then at least 2 feet to the right while facing the screen, then at least 2 feet to left of center while facing the screen. For positions 4-6, mirror the first three positions, but a few feet further into the room. I use about 18" in front of the front edge of my couch. For positions 7 and 8, put the mic generally in between the rectangle formed by 1-6, but with the tripod flush with the front of the couch. That should give Audyssey enough data to do a general solution for your room's acoustics.

Chris Kyriakakis of Audyssey has confirmed that the Onkyos basically treat anything that can go below 80Hz as "Full Range". To give your speakers a good transition across the crossover range and ensure that you don't lose any audio, look up each speaker's -3dB point then multiply it times 1.5 and pick the crossover point closest to this number, making sure not to go over 80Hz if you can help it. This gives you a good half-octave before the speaker's natural rolloff can cascade with the crossover in the 805 (though probably more than a half-octave, since in-room response is usually slightly lower than anechoic specs). For the OP's setup, I'd go 60Hz for the RTi8s, 70Hz for the CSi5 and 80Hz for the FXi3s.

One caveat about Audyssey vs. Pure mode: Audyssey's equalization uses a slight rolloff of highs similar to the THX curve for compensation of nearfield listening. I've found that this works quite well with the Polk tweeters, since it removes a little of the harshness you get with stringed instruments... but your immediate reaction may be that it doesn't sound subjectively as good. I was wary of this when I first got my 705, but after a weekend of critical listening, I found that I preferred it. It brought out details in familiar movie soundtracks that I never knew were there before. Once you give Audyssey another run-through with my above advice in mind, give yourself a little time with it and listen to material that you're pretty familiar with, both music and movies. If you have any other questions about Audyssey, let me know and I'll see if I can help.