Crossover Settings RTiA5/CSiA6

Murray1

Need help with this subject. I have no idea what crossover even means. I will be using an HK 3600 avr. No rears or sub currently. I am assuming you make the selections on the avr. Thanks

Ron Temple

Crossover is the frequency where you hand off LFE/bass duties to a subwoofer. If you don't have a sub, then run both the A5s and A6 as large or full in the speaker setup. When you get a sub, you should probably change them to small and cross them at either 60 or 80hz, depending on what sounds best in your room. The A5s are pretty good down to 40hz and the A6 to 50.

Murray1

Thanks for the info Ron

Serendipity

I would start with 80Hz when you buy a sub.

Murray1

I am assuming that if I set my speakers to full that frequencies below speaker spec will not damage speaker. Yes???????

JohnLocke88

No damage. If frequencies are below the +/- 3dB range of the speakers (usually -3 dB when talking about low frequencies) they will simply be much more quiet.

gp4jesus

My long winded $0.02 worth posted to a similar thread

I'm from the old school of subs, bi-amping, etc. I've bi-amped, tri-amped, even quad amped for several decades, long before this HT stuff developed to what it has. I'm glad decent powered subs can be had quite inexpensively; ones w/f3 below 35hz for a bit more. 20 years ago a decent passive sub cost more than many powered subs today and powered subs were real pricy

To echo what others said: set ALL channels to small. Even w/the A5 f3 @ 40hz*. I would set XO to 100hz and tweek from there. Read on for more background about 100hz.
*read the specs carefully

Listen to just the speakers, (e.g. center alone, mains alone, etc) for which you're trying to adjust cut off. Take your time, listen loud and soft, w/and w/out the sub, using different source material. I've read and agree: "don't try to tweek more than 2 hours at a stretch" or "quit when your tired." Been there, done that. Took one night to swap my old Rotel for a new(er) one. Took 2-3 hours-I have 5 sources and 5 amps. Began "set-up" the next.

Back in the day 110 hz was the "ideal" frequency to, read this carefully, to improve midrange performance! W/out question most subs will outperform most full range speakers below 70-80 hz, and shine below 50 the way fullrange just can't. Add to that a separate amp w/its own power supply, handles the, in the words of lmacmil, "the heavy lifting," lightning the load for the other channel's amps. I've heard people using tubes above the cutoff and transistor w/what many believe it's superior damping below cutoff.

Just because a speaker CAN "produce" a given freqencey w/in some range (e.g. 50-20K) it does not mean it does well at it's extremes. Those surrounds with an advertised 95hz low point probably does well to 125 hz. below that distortion goes up faster than Dow jones drops on a bad day.

Other points overlooked by many:
A powered sub's amp, driver, and power supply* are engineered to work together usually producing a flatter low end w/greater output and extension than most pasive full rangers
Everything being "equal," halving a given frequecy demands 2-4 times the power. Yeah 50 hz requires 2-4 times that of 100 hz.
* another overlooked point

That's why in a big PA system you see 4-10 as much power for "the bottom end," with the "numbers" going down as frequency goes up. "Everything being equal," Highs, not the tweeters, need just 5-20 watts that, from 250 hz and below, would need anywheres from 5-15 times the power to produce equal output in decibels.

hope this helps & happy tweeking today, tomorow and when you get your sub!

_______________________
Rotel RSP 1068
RTiA5s each bi-amped w/it's own Hafler XL-280
CSi A6 bi-amped w/it's own Hafler XL-280
RTi A1s, LR surrounds driven by their own Hafler XL-280
RTi A1 Center back driven by Carvin DCA 800 mono
DBX-15 DVC sub driven by Belles Series 1 power amp
Sledgehammer CX4 handling XO duties for the LCR speakers

Murray1

Since I do not have a sub or rears, do I need to set a crossover frequency at all? Thought I understood to simply set all 3 fronts to Large until I get a sub.

tonyb

Murray1 wrote: »

Since I do not have a sub or rears, do I need to set a crossover frequency at all? Thought I understood to simply set all 3 fronts to Large until I get a sub.

No. Leave the fronts to large.

gp4jesus

I'm w/Tonyb - leave the mains set to "large*."
* be carefull w/your volume settings especially w/DD titles
Listen carefully to your center [alone] set "large" or "small." After you get your sub(s) the fun begins!

Murray1

gp4jesus wrote: »

I'm w/Tonyb - leave the mains set to "large*."
* be carefull w/your volume settings especially w/DD titles
Listen carefully to your center [alone] set "large" or "small." After you get your sub(s) the fun begins!

Not planning on cranking my new toys too much but want to know your concern. If I understand things correctly, setting to large allows all frequencies to be transmitted to said speaker. Are you concerned that the low frequencies that normally would go to a sub could damage my speaker? What does DD mean and why should I be concerned. Since I only have the 3 speakers, what advantage is there to setting the center to small. I will be manually calibrating since HK audessy type feature does not address less than 5 speakers. Will setting the center to small and the mains to large mess up my manual calibration? Thanks

Murray1

Comments????????

gp4jesus

Sorry for not getting back to ya sooner. Father hood called by a two year old tyrant.
DD=Dolby Digital. DD movies can have some mind blowing dynamics especially if your pushing some power.

Regardless how you "set" your speakers, keep it under concert levels* to avoid damage, untill your sub arrives. Even then the sub* won't make it up trying to fill a big room (30 X 70) Actually those three speakers w/their 6 1/2 drivers will do a very respectable job filling most any room unless, as I mentioned, its really big.
* really loud

What I ment by "fun when your sub arrives," is the testing and tweeking. As I mentioned in an earlier post, listen carefully to the center separate from your LR changing from large to small. If you don't notice a difference in sound quality leave it large.

cheers tony