Ed Perkins Posted April 3, 2001 Share Posted April 3, 2001 Hi, I have just purchased my first set of Klipsch speakers and they are wonderful! Should I set the RB-5s and RC-3 center to small in the speaker management? And what would that affect? Thanks! Ed Perkins -------------------- Mains: RB-5M Center: RC-3B Rears: Bose 201 Sub: KSW-12 (via LFE) A/V Receiver: Yamaha 5250 Fun/DVD: Playstation 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obsidian Posted April 3, 2001 Share Posted April 3, 2001 What normally happens with the small / large settings on AV receivers is that small sends less power to the speaker sometimes in wattage sometimes in frequency. Large often allows for the maximum wattage rating and maximum sound frequency. Your setup now is sending 100 watts to each channel. This will sound great across the front with the setting adjusted to large or normal since you have very well matched front speakers. You might want to place the center channel at small if you had a piece of crap KLH speaker or some other bargain basement speaker. Because crappy speakers cant produce the same sound frequency that good speakers can they never sound as good with the large setting because they just dont have large sound. Another thing you might notice in your setup is that the Bose rear speakers need to be adjusted (+2 to +10) in order to sound all right with the Klipsch fronts. This is due to the Klipsch speakers being more efficient at lower volume levels. The Bose speakers need more power to produce the same volume of sound. Just remember the small setting would be for small speakers or speakers incapable of handling a large frequency. Now that you have Klipsch speakers you wont need to worry about the small setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted April 4, 2001 Share Posted April 4, 2001 Hi Ed - Your best bet is to play with the large/small settings. Generally, it has to do with how low a bass signal gets sent to a speaker. If you set a speaker to small, most receivers will send any bass below 80-90hz instead to the speakers set as large and/or the subwoofer (depending on how you have that set up in the receiver). Some receivers have adjustable crossover points - I don't think your Yamaha does. At any rate, while the RB5s are rated down to 48hz, you might find it sounds better setting them as small. That way they won't have to struggle with reproducing some of the lower bass present in movie soundtracks. In fact, you may find it sounds best to set all the speakers to small. Also, use a y-adapter on the Klipsch sub to feed both the line inputs, not just the LFE input. That way you won't leave any bass laying on the table. Again, play around to see what sounds best. You've got great Klipsch speakers there! Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveDeBeave Posted April 4, 2001 Share Posted April 4, 2001 I was playing around with the my SF-2's, small and large settings. I found that there was not that much difference between the two settings. I actually had to look at the speakers to see if they were 'moving' more. I did notice that the midranges work harder in the large setting but the sound is not any better. It must be that the KSW-12 is so efficiant? That sub just works so good I can't hear the mids on the SF-2's working harder, but that is the way these speakers are made. My feeling is, let the sub handle the low freqs. All speakers set to small. Steve ------------------ Bringing Wood Back to life! SF-2 mains SC-1 center SS-1 rears KSW-12 Sony DE845 Sony S560D Sony CE345 JVC HR-A61U VCR Echostar 4922 sat rec. Starband satcom Digital PC link to reciever/MP3's Fridge full of Beer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earle Decker Posted April 4, 2001 Share Posted April 4, 2001 Ed, I would set all speakers to small. The large setting, as I understand it is for a speaker with can reproduce sound from 20hz-20k hz +/- 3db. Most unpowered speakers are uncapable of this. By setting your mains to small the speakers wont be seeing any less power, but it will be able to use the power(watts) much more efficently. I agree with dougdrake and say let the sub do what it does best and handle the bass. I am running a pair of KG 4.2 as my mains, which have a 10" driver and a 10" passive radiator, and have them set as small. I tried large and small settings and found the sound to be much crisper and tighter when set to small. My subs, SVS 20-39s handle to rest with ease. I think your reciever has the option of sending both main bass+LFE or LFE only to sub. I would set this to LFE only, since if you set the mains to small everthing under 90hz(i think that is Yamaha's sub out is crossover is set at) will go to the sub anyways. I not sure about the Yammy's bass management though. Keep trying different ways of running your system until you find the one that you like best. Good Luck Earle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted April 4, 2001 Share Posted April 4, 2001 The Audio Flynn trash can or maybe kegger hypothesis is... If you have a midfi to lowfi HT receiver and use the "small" speaker setting you are letting the sub do the "dirty work" under whatever HZ you have options for defining. Therefore, you are only taxing the power amplifier section from 60 or 100 HZ and up instead of from 20 HZ. I hope the amp runs cleaner... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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