SNARFYrDOG

Have you thought about an infinite baffle sub? http://www.f20.parsimony.net/forum36475/index.htm

All your BUMPS are belong to us!

Q:What is the purpose of the "Phase" dipswitch, and what is its optimal setting? A:The "Phase" switch allows you to change the polarity of the subwoofer without taking the subwoofer apart to switch the speaker contacts(+,-). To set it properly, make sure that all of your other speakers are in phase. Do this by determining that the positive(+) terminals of all your speakers are connected to the positive(+) terminals of your amp. Then play a low frequency "sweep" from around 200hz to 20hz. Listen carefully as the sweep approaches your crossover frequency. If it gets very quiet, or "dead" at the crossover, that means the sub is out of phase with your main speakers (when the woofers of your main speakers are "pushing", the sub is "pulling"). Flip the phase switch and run the sweep again - the "dead" spot should disappear. Q:What is the optimal crossover setting? A:This depends on the ability of your main speakers. If they are large, floor-standing speakers that have good low frequency reproduction, then a crossover of 40-50hz is optimal. If they are very small satellites, then maybe 90-100hz. Q:I've read that using the "Speaker level inputs" yields vastly superior sound compared to LFE input. Is this just plugging my speakers into the subwoofer directly, instead of jacking them into my reciever? And if this is true, is it really THAT much of a difference? (The Monster LFE Sub cable did cost me 50 bucks ater all =)) A:The speaker level inputs at the back of the sub should be connected directly to the outputs of the amplifier, and the speaker outs should go to your main left and right speakers. The sub takes the signal from your amp and "downconverts" it to line level for use by the sub amp. This signal is then run through a low pass fiter that is adjustable with the control on the back of the sub. The high level signal from the amp continues on through a high pass filter in the sub, and then on to the mains. This has the effect of giving you an adjustable crossover. Whether this will sound that much better will probably depend on your main speakers, but since you have "bookshelf" speakers, you should use the amp's internal crossover (about 80hz) for best results. Set your crossover as high as it will go and connect the line in of the sub to the LFE out of your amp.

Whackjob: You can't use a subwoofer amp for your center channel because it filters out all but the lowest frequencies (<120 hz). I suggest getting an old stereo amp or receiver at a flea market or garage sale (for $10 or $15, maybe). It can even be defective, as long as the amp portion works good. Hook up your SC-1 to 1 channel of your amp, and the amp to your center channel out on the decoder. Don't forget to remove the "phantom" setting for the center channel on the decoder! The only drawback: you will have to set the volume of the Promedias and the center channel amp to match each other, and then use only the software volume control on the computer to adjust your volume, or the balance between the two will always be changing. Good luck!

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Gee, guys - I have a Sound Blaster Live MP3+5.1, and it seems to me I am already getting Dolby Digital out. I have to add a seperate stereo amp with one channel hooked to a center channel speaker, and the other hooked to a LFE sub in addition to the Promedias. I can play the sample AC3 files on the Sound Blaster install CD, and I do get all five(6!) channels. The only reason I can't hear 5.1 on my DVD is that I am using ATI's DVD player (came with my video card), which does not support more than 2 channel sound. I guess I will have to get a different DVD player. There is a SPDIF cable that runs from the DVD drive to the sound card, and the sound card does the decoding. The card costs about $90.