Few HT questions, and LFE coming from sub and mains?

[Antagon]

Hey everyone, right now i'm loving my first setup, HK AVR520, RC3II, and RF3IIs, but, some things are troubling me.

First, any LFE, comes from all speakers including the sub. I have my mains set to large, my center set to large (should it be?), and sub set to LFE. Shouldnt all low frequency sound be coming from the sub alone and nothing else? What could the problem be?

My other question, if a sub related question, I might as well include it in this thread. Last night I was over at my cousins house watching Tears of the Sun, he has a cheap JBL setup, very small speakers, and what looked to be a 12 inch sub. Now, whenever there was an explosion in the movie, it would have some punch to it, you would feel it in your chest and throughout your body. He had his sub just sitting out in the open, no corners, and his living room is exposed to the rest of the house.

I, have an SVS Pb2-isd, its against a wall since I dont have a corner, and the room is also exposed to the rest of the house. In all respects, my SVS should destroy his JBL, but it doesnt. It digs deeper, but it lacks that punch that his sub has, could this be because of the problem I first explained? Or would moving to a closed room solve this entirely?

Thanks for taking the time to read through all that, any and all info would be greatly appreciated.

[speed3]

Set your speakers to small and you should be all set with the double bass you are experiencing. As for your sub lacking bass, it is most likely the large volume of your room, sub placement, and lack of walls. You didn't add what the makeup of your floor is which could also be a factor. Your cousin may also have the gain turned very high on his sub which could give a sense of more impact. Do yourself a favor and pick up a setup disc to calibrate your system. Then you'll know you have everything dialed in.

[gcoker]

I agree with Speed, get a calibration disk and a SPL meter from Rat Shack.

I typically turn the receiver gain output for the sub up and start with the

gain on the sub low. Then begin increasing the sub gain until you hit it.

[lancestorm]

Something more to add here ...

In another thread this week that talked about Matrix Revolutions being out on DVD, a member named Wheelman made this comment:

"When i switched my mains to large with sub playing.The sound seemed a tad more wider, but when i switched the mains back to small with the sub BOOM! On reloaded that is. I couldn't believe how much more bass was prominent. It wasn't like a golden ear thing. The difference was monsterous. "

The thread link (Wheelman's comments towards bottom of page 2): http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=48222&pageNo=2&num=30> LINK

Try setting your speakers to small and play around with where to place the sub. Maybe even get some advice from Tom at SVS if you are not satisfied. That subwoofer, from what I've heard, should rock your socks. lol