Best settings on my subwoofer

[hawkssr]

I have a RW-10d subwoofer in the rear corner of a room about 20'x15'. Three speakers in the ceiling in the front and 2 ceiling speakers in the back where the subwoofer is. This is my first home theatre so a virgin so to speak on what's going on. I would like to get the best settings possible but not sure on the EQ mode, Lowpass and Phase settings. I have the manual but it's still greek to me! Thank you, Sonya

[33klfan]

From my experience i like the sub in the front, but some people like it in the back but it just sounds more right in the front. Personal listening decides how you get the best sound. Adjust it till you are happy. I don't mess with the phase. I usually have my crossover around 120hz on the sub with it on 80hz on the receiver, and my rw-8's volume is up all the way. That's my setup. Yours will vary but that should help some, hopefully.

Welcome to the forum. There's people here that have a lot of knowledge that can help you with most or all questions. Enjoy klipsch.

[jacksonbart]

sweet, that sounds like the best

[oldbuckster]

Don't you think 120 Hz is a high setting? Just askin'..........

[Trooper]

The short answer is to set them where they sound best to you. But to help you get started:

Set the Lowpass to LFE, which disables the internal lowpass, and set your lowpass or crossover frequency to 100Hz (or so) on your surround receiver.

I would set the EQ mode to Flat but you may prefer Movie or Music mode, it's up to you.

Set the Volume somewhere between 0 and +10 then use the Sub level on your receiver to adjust for best level relative to your other speakers (or you can set the receiver to 0 and adjust the volume at the sub).

Phase is the hardest to set properly (and even if you get it "wrong" it likely won't really matter). Basically sit in the listening or viewing location then have someone change the phase setting while playing music. If there's a setting that seems to have more bass that's the setting to leave it.

[hawkssr]

Thanks to everyone for your help. I will attempt to use your suggestions this weekend!

[oldbuckster]

When you get it set right, you really shouldn't know it's there........you should not be drawn to the Sub................Just my take on it...........if the sub dominates the music it's too loud..

[Islander]

As you mentioned, the sub is just there to extend the speakers' low-frequency response.

Without a meter, start with the sub hi-cut at 120 Hz for small main speakers or 80Hz for big main speakers. Set the volume so bass instruments sound natural and you won't be far off. Set the phase at reverse to start with, but whichever setting gives you more bass is the correct setting. You may find that TV and movies have more bass content these days than they used to, and now you'll be hearing it.

Ideally, though, you'll have a test CD and a sound meter. I use Surround Test CD, a Finnish CD meant for setting up Dolby Pro Logic (4.1) systems, but its most useful feature for me is a set of 25-second-long test tones, from 200Hz down to 10Hz.

First, I turn off the sub and run through the tones with the meter at the listening position, writing them all down, to see what the unassisted speakers do. Start at 200Hz with the volume at a reference level (I use 80dB), and see if it remains there as the frequency descends. You may be surprised to find that even large speakers may start to roll off at 80Hz or higher. The room is a big factor at low frequencies.

Then, turn on the sub and run through the tones again. For volume, 9 or 10 o'clock (3 or 4 on the dial if it has numbers) is a good starting point, and try around 80Hz as a hi-cut setting. If you can adjust the low-frequency cut-off from the amp, that's simpler, just set the sub's cut-off as high as it goes (usually 120-150Hz).

If the volume remains near the reference level all the way down, you're all set! Likely it won't be. If it's low or high between 30-80Hz, adjust the sub volume as needed. If it's lower or higher than the reference level between 80-120Hz or so, adjust the sub hi-cut (or receiver LFE lo-cut) for the smoothest response, with the fewest dips and peaks.

Naturally, your ears are the final judges, but narrow dips and peaks are easiest to spot with a meter. After you've run through the tones a few times, it'll seem pretty straightforward. Hope this is helpful.

Pat on the Island

[DrWho]

Here's a how-to I wrote up borrowing from tricks I've picked up over the years.

http://www.klipschcorner.com/Articles.aspx?guid=feb5d669-1513-426d-a8fc-29f8aa90869f

Welcome to the forum.

[Raider]

Wow Doc. That is one of the clearest, easiest-to-use tools I have seen for balancing the sub with mains. This should be on a sticky here somewhere for future reference.

[colterphoto1]

Nice write up Doc, but a couple questions.

"The third configuration also involves setting all of your

speakers to large and setting the LFE to Sub + Mains (or whatever the

equivalent for your brand of receiver). In this setting, the sub

receives the LFE channel in addition to the full range signal of the

mains."

On my Yamaha 2600, SUB +Mains means that the LFE channel is sent to not only the SUB, but also to the L/R mains.

Also, in your steps, wouldn't it be best to get the phase of the speakers correct BEFORE setting the volume level (and eq) via any on-board auto-set function?

Michael

[DrWho]

You sure about the bass configuration on your reciever? When I wrote up

the document I went through dozens of manuals from various

manufacturers to see who does what. Every manual I've read so far

states what I put in the writeup. I could very well be wrong

though...what's the model # on your reciever? I'll go hunt down the

manual and make any necessary corrections. I've been meaning to contact

all the big manufacturers to get a more final word rather than trying

to interpret poorly worded manuals.

Another way to test the LFE+Mains thing would be to play Finding Nemo

or any other Pixar movie that has the audio/video configuration

utility. When setting channel volume, put your ear up to the sub to see

if it plays when the mains are playing (provided the noise they use is

full-bandwidth). OR, see if the mains play when the sub channel plays.

This is different than the test tone function on the reciever because

the dvd runs the audio signal through the dolby processor on the

reciever (otherwise you couldn't get discrete channels from the test).

As far as setting the volume, phase only matters when two sources are

playing the same signal at the same time. When we're setting the volume

on our recievers, the test tone is only playing through one speaker at

a time.

[Reel Martini]

This is my first post.  I recently bought the R-41PM power speaker, fantastic! Now I added the R-100 SW.  It booms! The 41s are smaller preamp shelf speakers and the SW can really take over the low end bass.  Any advice on SW setting for the SW with the 41s?  Placement seems to be good.  Also the remote control is a bit frustration with the SW.

[wuzzzer]

Welcome to the forum.  My advice would be to start a new thread in the Subwoofer section.  :)

[Wolfebatio]

I have a 5.2.2. system and it is best to first set subwoofer volume to half. Than let your AV receivers calibrate all levels. I than go back and set main & center speakers to 80HZ. Surround to 80 HZ & Atmos to 120 HZ. Crossover on subwoofer is also at 80 HZ. I got the most balanced sound. Of course it can be tweeked. I gave my Atmos a 4 DB boost & surrounds a 1 DB boost. This advice was given to me by an expert at a hi end audio store. With this setup I actually had take 1 DB off the subwoofer for to much output. Now of course consider I am running to subs at a time.