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JK | I have a Bose Acout. System, I'm planning to get a JBL PB-10. I am planning to use the Sub out on my receiver to the Subwoofer. My setting on the receiver are as followed: Speakers are set to "LARGE" Subwoofer is OFF When I hook up my new Subwoofer, do I change the speakers settings to "Large or Small"???? Would Turn "ON or OFF" Subwoofer???? Please click here regarding recommendation from Polk Audio, are these people right??? http://www.polkaudio.com/home/faqad/advice.php?article=bassmanage Any help would be greatly appreciated. JK |
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Derek | There are a LOT of variables to the Polk document. Saying not to use the sub out of a receiver is a gross oversimplification of a POSSIBLE problem. Right off the bat I noticed that both of my Denons (1801 and 1803) do send bass to the sub in Stero mode. Second not all subs force you to use the built in crossover. My Athena and Energy subs have a cross-over bypass mode. Third the graph at Polk's site shows a ragged frequency response because of interaction between the two low-pass filters and the satelites. Cross-over slopes are always a compromise there actually are conditions where higher rate slopes are desired. Without mesurements there is no way to speculate as to what the resulting sound will be. Fourth, using high-level (speaker) inputs to drive an entire speakers system negates the benifits of bi-amping (everyone with an active sub is essentially bi-amping) - when your receiver clips for any reason, in the treble of the bass, distortion (IM or HD) will be realized elsewhere in the audio band. The document does have merit in that it points out a possible shortcomming to using the sub-out jack. Check how your receiver does bass management in stereo and measure the results to be sure you are not having this problem. Hope this helps. |
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John Allen | That Polk page is good. Thanks for the link. REL gives similar advice:- http://www.rel.net/setup.shtml http://www.rel.net/resource/purchase_guide.shtml With most receivers, diverting the LFE channel to L and R front channels (that is, choosing "Sub OFF") while connecting the L and R speakers to the sub high-level output is a good choice. The sub then sits in between the receiver and the L and R channels. It is getting all the bass it would have got from the separate LFE channel (plus any from all main channels), and passing on frequencies higher than the crossover frequency to L and R. If the L and R speakers can handle sound down to the cross-over frequency, then there should be no frequencies lost or duplicated. Look at the spec of your L and R front speakers. If the sub has a variable crossover, set it to something above their low-frequency limit (It might be as high as 80 Hz for small speakers). With the recommended high-level sub connections to the L and R speaker output in the receiver, and no low-level ".1" or "sub-out" connection, you should get good bass extension in stereo and surround sound, with no overlap. With the sub between them and the receiver, your L and R speakers now count as "large" even if they themselves aren't. Derek is right, there are further questions. It depends on the receiver. Don't lose any sleep. The thing to do is try both set-ups and see which you prefer. Warning: REL say you can connect BOTH line-level and high-level inputs to one of their subs at the same time. Most other makers say don't do that; choose one or the other. I have just had to go back to stereo while my NAD receiver is away to have its right power amplifier fixed (a reservation to add to previous recommendations of NAD). I have wired up the sub using the high-level inputs and outputs for the first time. Even though I have fairly large L and R speakers (-3 dB at 40 Hz) the effect is to enhance stereo a lot. I think I will keep this arrangement even when I get 5.1 back with the repaired receiver. |
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Rick | I have played with this a little but need to play a little more with it. One thing I have noticed is that setting my front L/R to Large instead of Small, has greatly increased my sound depth. My fronts go down to 50hz and may have been limited in sound due to the Small settings. I left my center at Small as well as my surrounds. Unless you have tiny palm satellites, try your fronts as large. I'll get some speaker wire and try Polk's method. |
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Rick | John- I read the REL article, it seems high level input for the over stereo integration, but the low level sub out for the .1 LFE channel sounds. That concerns me that using the Polk method does not get any of the .1 sound track sent thru the sub out. I heard the Speilburg makes a seperate track for the .1 channel. This may be great for stereo but sounds like a trade off if you don't use the sub out. I think I'll stick with the large setting on my fronts. |