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Set Speakers to small or big?


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Every time I do ypao on my yahama A1050 it sets speakers to big, all of them. 2x Rp280---2x Rp 250s---1x Rp 450c---2x ks 525 thx and 2x R 14m(heights). I know each speaker should be within its frequency response which is best done when speakers are set to small and manually adjusted. The yammy allows for this to be done for each speakers individually which is a very nice feature. So why does the auto set up ser them to large?

 

 

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Do you have a sub? If so, set all to small and crossover everything at 80hz and let your sub do its job.



I do have a sub. I was just wondering why the auto calibration does that. I have my

mains at 40hz
Center at 60hz
Surrounds at 80hz
Presence at 80hz


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Auto calibration programs do this to make us feel good, lol.  Ditto on the above advice.  No reason not to use a global XO.  There is real benefit to setting the speakers to the lowest XO as possible.  It will take more avr juice that could be used for increase dynamics.  

 

Auto calibration is taking the speaker response based off of it's location and room interaction.  If the surrounds are on  a wall or near a boundary, they will appear larger.  This room reinforcement does not mean the speaker can really play that low.

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It measures the frequency response of your speakers and sets them to "size" accordingly. Doesn't mean anything if you're running a sub and plan to integrate. Plenty has been written on this over the years and the general consensus is to ignore the initial crossover settings made by the automatic measurement system if you're using  subs and to cross over at 80hz (THX specifications). 

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It measures the frequency response of your speakers and sets them to "size" accordingly. Doesn't mean anything if you're running a sub and plan to integrate. Plenty has been written on this over the years and the general consensus is to ignore the initial crossover settings made by the automatic measurement system if you're using  subs and to cross over at 80hz (THX specifications). 



So cross the mains at 80hz too? Even if the specs say they go to 33hz. Same with center channel?


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What if you're just using a processor up front, now you aren't spending any horsepower on various speakers & crossover points....  then what would you do?

 

(each speaker has a dedicated amp)

 

I was thinking it would make sense to cross them as low as I could (currently trying 40 hz)

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Using multiple XO for speakers causes phase problems that have to be addressed if using a processor without auto EQ.  Also, setting the speakers to small adds 5-6 db. of headroom for dynamics, decrease speaker come motion for a better midrage and Hi's.  The more IM distortion comes from excessive come movement.  It may not be audible in a particular system.

 

The subs usual have a dedicated amp that is stronger than the amp in most avr's or a typical 200 watt ext. amp that many of us use.  None of this is carved in stone but, are just general principles used for HT setup.  Using the sub helps to prevent cancellation and reinforcement of certain frequencies.  Sometimes Auto EQ will set a XO of 80 or 100 Hz.  I just leave it there.  This higher XO lift a load off the surround and smaller speakers.  

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17 minutes ago, Coytee said:

What if you're just using a processor up front, now you aren't spending any horsepower on various speakers & crossover points....  then what would you do?

 

(each speaker has a dedicated amp)

 

I was thinking it would make sense to cross them as low as I could (currently trying 40 hz)

You have Jubs, right?  If so, they may have cleaner bass, with less cone excursion -- therefore less modulation distortion -- than your sub (unless you have a horn loaded sub), therefore, set xover at the lowest point at which the Jubs sound better than the sub.  40 Hz sounds plausible.  If you have lesser surrounds or center, they may end up at 80 Hz, or anywhere.

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Hey Richard,

 

The decision to go Large or Small is not affected by whether you have a Pre/Pro or receiver. 

 

MOST speaker systems don't have the capability of yours, so the assumption is to set all of the speakers to "small" to send not only the LFE track to the sub, but the low bass in the others to the sub(s), too, because it can reproduce it.  In your case I think I'd set the mains to Large and the others a appropriate.  *I* would use an f3 below 40 Hz as the decision point to go "Large". 

 

Since none of my speakers can get below 40 Hz, all are set "Small" with the crossover point set to 70 Hz.  In my relatively large room, Audessey set my La Scalas to 40 Hz, but I "corrected" that.  ;)

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On 4/30/2017 at 5:38 PM, BlessedPrince said:


I do have a sub. I was just wondering why the auto calibration does that. I have my

mains at 40hz
Center at 60hz
Surrounds at 80hz
Presence at 80hz


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

The auto calibration seems to do well for calibrating distances but it does not adjust for Speaker Freq response limitations.

I recently encountered this with some ML Edge in-walls, The bass was causing the woofers to bottom out. I was able to solve the problem by checking the speaker response and adjusting the Yamaha crossover points.

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  • 3 weeks later...

So I know I seemed pretty solidly set on this, but after introducing La Scalas yesterday I just don't know. My onkyo tx-nr1010 allows me the option to set the speakes as "full range" or an incremental crossover range starting at 45Hz and up. When set to full-range, I get the "double bass" option. Testing various settings - this is my favorite. I don't know if it's the unique combination of La Scala's and my folded horn sub and the room or what, but it just goes to show that you should start with the baseline of commonly accepted thought and then tinker to find what suits your setup and pleases your ears most.

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14 minutes ago, Thaddeus Smith said:

So I know I seemed pretty solidly set on this, but after introducing La Scalas yesterday I just don't know. My onkyo tx-nr1010 allows me the option to set the speakes as "full range" or an incremental crossover range starting at 45Hz and up. When set to full-range, I get the "double bass" option. Testing various settings - this is my favorite. I don't know if it's the unique combination of La Scala's and my folded horn sub and the room or what, but it just goes to show that you should start with the baseline of commonly accepted thought and then tinker to find what suits your setup and pleases your ears most.

Absolutely set the Lascalas to small.

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I have my mains set to large most times using subwoofer setting yes + on the Pioneer, with a Crown K2 powering them. On the other hand, some movies that I know really have overly aggressive bass, such as Interstellar, Tron and Inception to name a few, or the continuous rumblings of a movie like Gravity, I will set them to small instead.   

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