Oh yes.... the newbie asks for help on speaker set-up.

 

Bronze Member
Username: Lytalbayre

Post Number: 18
Registered: Oct-04
What I have:
HK AVR630
Athena AS-C1 (center)
Athena AS-F2 x2 (fronts)
Athena AS-B1 x4 (surrounds)
HSU STF02 (sub)

Question 1: Do the AS-B1 have enough range to be set as large speakers on the HT receiver?

Question 2: Based on these speakers, what should by crossover be for my sub, and should I set it on the receiver or on the sub itself/

Questions 3: If I allow my receiver to control x-over to sub, etc., how to set the settings on the sub to allow this?

Yes... I'm new to all this.

Thanks for y'alls help.

 

Bronze Member
Username: Kano

Post Number: 60
Registered: Oct-04
"Injection Molded Polypropylene 5-1/2" woofer provides authoritative bass response down to 60Hz. "

Set the centre and surrounds as small.

The AS-F2s get down to 35Hz so I think you'll like them set to large. Try both, I have a similar set-up and like my Polk Rti8s set to large.

I'd just leave the receivers crossovers the way they are, I have the HK AVR430 and didn't adjust it. Set the sub to L/R/LFE.

With the sub, I'd start with the crossover set to around 100Hz, then start turning it down. THX recommends 80Hz crossover, and I prefer it down as far as 60Hz for some media. Just decide what sounds best for you.

I think you'll love that sey-up, don't forget to adjust the speaker levels. If you don't have an SPL meter or are planning on moving your set-up around a bit, the HK's EZset function does a pretty good job of setting the speaker levels. Just sit in your favorite chair, press the Ezset button, pick 7 channels, and don't move.

 

Silver Member
Username: Petergalbraith

Rimouski, Quebec Canada

Post Number: 220
Registered: Feb-04
Kano answered part of it so I won't bother looking up the specs for the speakers and will rely on him.

Set the sub to "bypass" its own crossover (and let the receiver handle it).

The h/k have very nice bass management in which you can set sizes and cut-off frequencies differently for all speaker pairs and center.

Set the speakers sizes:

main: large
center: small
surround: small
rear: none
sub: LFE + R/L

Set the frequencies:

main: *60
center: 80
surround: 80
sub: *60

Then all content below 60 Hz will be sent to both the mains and the sub.

The above is only a starting point for you to try.
 

Silver Member
Username: Frank_abela

Berkshire UK

Post Number: 137
Registered: Sep-04
No I disagree strongly.

Set all the speakers to large. The AS-B1s go down to 60hz so you should use full range to them which will give better integration and steering. I don't understand why people who see a frequency response above 40hz immediately say it should be set to small! I even set Elac Cinema 3 speakers to large and they're tiny things with a bass response that only goes down to 80hz but they sound a whole lot better when set to large rather than small because the integration of bass and midrange is much better this way.

As to the crossover settings, I'd set the receiver to 80hz, but use the sub's controls to fine tune it. I'd start at about 60hz and probably wouldn't go below 40hz. The reason for doing it this way is that the main speakers are at -3db by 35hz, so you want the sub to be taking over lower down in the proceedings.

Regards,
Frank.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Lytalbayre

Post Number: 19
Registered: Oct-04
Any body else agree with Frank on setting the AS-B1/AS-C1 to large?

I guess I can experiment... except right now, I'm waiting for my replacement receiver so I'm just gathering info.

Thanks All.
 

Silver Member
Username: Petergalbraith

Rimouski, Quebec Canada

Post Number: 231
Registered: Feb-04
I disagree strongly with Frank. :-)

If the speaker doesn't reproduce the low frequency, how can it possibly be useful to feed it to it! Removing the load on them might even make the rest of what they are reproducing sound better since they will have more control and won't be overstressed.

The h/k has very nice bass management that allows you to set different frequencies for each pair of speakers so you're not limited. Set them to small and set the crossover at 60 Hz instead of 80 Hz on that pair if you insist.

As to your crossover setting on the sub, nice way to create a bass hole! You're telling your receiver to redirect sound there and then filtering it out!
 

Silver Member
Username: Jonmoon

Post Number: 126
Registered: Dec-03
You could always just try it each way and decide which is better but generally I agree with Peter.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Lytalbayre

Post Number: 20
Registered: Oct-04
Would it make a difference to set to large and then set the crossover to 60? or set to small and have the X-over at 60? Probably not?
 

Silver Member
Username: Jonmoon

Post Number: 127
Registered: Dec-03
Mark, I am not a tech guy by any means but my understanding is that setting a speaker to large means that it receives the full frequency range so it doesn't have a crossover. Setting a speaker to small allows you to choose the crossover point. Even if a "large" setting allowed you to choose a crossover, it would essentially be the same as choosing "small" if you could pick a crossover.

Really the choice is whether your speakers can manage the full frequency range or not. 35 is pretty good but that doesn't mean your speakers do a good job with the lower frequencies. That's why it would be a good idea to experiment first with "large" vs. "small" (just listen to them in stereo first and then integrated into the HT system). Then, if you choose "small", what is the best crossover point? The subwoofer's job is to handle the lower frequencies well. If it doesn't do that job, you need a new one. You don't need the mains trying to cover the same frequencies as the subwoofer and doing it badly.

The one thing someone pointed out to me is that the frequencies 20 - 100 are really lower frequencies. I found that the strenghs of my mains were the mid-range and highs. Even if my speakers could manage 45 or so, they really didn't add anything there. I have my crossover at 80.
 

Silver Member
Username: Petergalbraith

Rimouski, Quebec Canada

Post Number: 232
Registered: Feb-04
Mark asked:

Would it make a difference to set to large and then set the crossover to 60? or set to small and have the X-over at 60? Probably not?

I suggested setting them as large and setting to sub at "LFE + R/L" so that is also gets the lower frequencies. My reason is only that there's less processing of the sound involved when set as large since no filtering is required. That might sound better. You also get to "feel good" because your big speakers aren't set to small! ;-)

But try it both ways and see if one sounds better than the other. Set to small, the speaker may sound better without having to handle the extra stress.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Kano

Post Number: 62
Registered: Oct-04
I had the Polk Fxi3s set to large initially, when I changed to small I noticed I could turn up the volume another 5db and be comfortable. While the speakers handled themselves well, they fit better for movies set to small.

It may be different for bookshelf speakers but my system sounds cleaner keeping the bass coming from the front end, since IMO surround effects usually sound better without the lower frequencies.
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