Jump to content

How many people run their RF-7s as small?


Kain

Recommended Posts

Just wondering how many people run their RF-7s as small with a subwoofer?

BTW, what would be the difference when setting the crossover at 80Hz and changing between small and large settings? Crossover at 80Hz and a small setting means everything below 80Hz gets sent to the sub. Crossover at 80Hz and a large setting means everything below 80Hz gets sent to the sub AND the RF-7s?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not me. I have tried them set on small but didn't like it. You lose way too much of the middle range. The RF-7 IS a large speaker and is capable of reproducing a much broader range than a SMALL speaker. The reason you would set it to small would be to direct the lower frequencies away from a speaker that wouldn't be able to reproduce them, which would cause distortion. But since the RF-7 can reproduce those frequencies without trouble, you can set them to large and you will hear a wider range of the frequencies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On a receiver, there are two different bass management things
happening. The large and small settings determine whether or not the
mains receive a full range signal. If the mains are set to small, then
only information above 80Hz is sent to the mains and then 80Hz and
below is routed to the subwoofer. If the mains are set to large, then
the mains receive a full range signal.




The other setting that
often confuses people is the "LFE: Mains + Sub" or "LFE: Enhanced" or
whatever your brand receiver calls it. When this setting is enabled,
the LFE Track gets sent to both the mains and the sub. The LFE Track is
a dedicated audio track on the DVD and is completely separate from the
large/small setting. Many receivers don't let you choose LFE: Mains +
Sub if your speakers are set to small because it wouldn't make sense to
have that configuration.




When the mains are set to small, the low
frequency information from the left/right channels gets downmixed with
the LFE track and sent to the subwoofer.




Some receivers
complicate issues by using the "LFE: Mains + Sub" to send information
to the subwoofer during standard 2-channel playback. So if you were
listening to a CD and had your mains set to large, normally no sound
would be sent to the sub. If you set it to Mains + Sub, then often
times the content below 80Hz is sent to both the sub and the mains.
This setting would be useful when setting the lowpass crossover
frequency on the subwoofer's control panels to slide in when the mains
roll off. It would be bad to let the sub and mains overlap (by not
using the sub's crossover knob) because then you get more bass where
they overlap and less bass where the sub extends beyond the
capabilities of the mains. Receivers that do this for 2-channel often
do the same for movie playback as well (downmixing 80Hz and below from
the LR mains into the subwoofer channel while the mains still reproduce
80Hz and above).




I'm not sure what the exact standard is, but I've seen it documented both ways in receiver manuals.




All
that to say, I always run the mains small as it always guarantees a
proper crossover transition. Setting the mains to small also reduces
frequency intermodulation distortion (which is a big deal with the
RF-7's). Basically, by setting the RF-7 to small, you're going to
dramatically improve the midrange performance. Clarity will improve and
some of the harshness will subside. If you feel that the bass is
lacking with the mains set to small, then chances are your subwoofer
isn't dialed in properly and/or it's not capable enough to keep up with
the RF-7's. There is absolutely no reason why setting the mains to
small should sound worse if everything is working properly. On rare
occasion I've come across a few rooms where the acoustics dictated that
the mains be set to large, but such situations are so far from the
ideal scenario that ideal settings on the receiver shouldn't be
expected to work.



I also always go with an 80Hz crossover frequency because every
movie studio (and many recording studios) cross over to the sub at that
frequency. Sometimes for 2 channel listening with a sub it makes sense
to lower the crossover frequency because the mains are more capable
than the subwoofer (like the khorn for example).


Link to comment
Share on other sites

On a receiver, there are two different bass management things
happening. The large and small settings determine whether or not the
mains receive a full range signal. If the mains are set to small, then
only information above 80Hz is sent to the mains and then 80Hz and
below is routed to the subwoofer. If the mains are set to large, then
the mains receive a full range signal.



The other setting that
often confuses people is the "LFE: Mains + Sub" or "LFE: Enhanced" or
whatever your brand receiver calls it.

I don't have that. I have :

Sub: "None" or "LFE" or "LFE+R/L"

I never get LFE sent to mains in any situation or setting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...