Advice on changing a 5.1 setup to stereo

[Bromiley]

Hi

I'm new to the forums, so sorry if I have posted in the wrong place.

I have an elderly neighbour and a young child. I'm finding that using my 5.1 surround sound system is becoming a problem. I don't want to upset my neighbour or wake up my daughter in the evening, so I'm thinking of setting up my 5.1 system for stereo only to avoid too many loud and boomy sounds.

Does anyone have any tips on how best to do this with the following kit I have?

-- Mirage AVS-200 surround sound speakers

-- Mirage AVS-100 centre speaker

-- Mirage FRX-S8 sub

-- Denon AVR 1610

Do I change the speaker settings in the Denon AVR by de-selecting some of the speakers and then run Audyessey?

Should I use the sub? I'm not sure my speakers can provide bass.

On a side note, my speakers are over 15 years old. When I bought them, the reviews were very good. How do they hold up to more recent speakers in this class? My friend has a Bowers and Wilkins A7 wireless speaker that sounds far better than my speakers. This has made me think about the quality of my speakers.

Thanks in advance.

Mark

 

[pauln]

It's the bass that travels so why not just unplug the sub and see how you get on? Other than that, all I can say is, unless you're prepared to soundproof the room, get some good headphones.

 

[wilro15]

Ditto what Pauln says, the bass is what people hear in other rooms/houses so turn it down or off.

I found that my Marantz had Dynamic EQ turned on by default. This raises the volume of the bass as you turn down the volume. See if you have something similar and turn it off.

 

[sal350gt]

noob here. I have same speakers and sub. I found that the volume adjustment on the sub goes from one extreme to another in small incruments. I turned my sub controll all the down on the reciever and then on the sub itself I slowly brought the the volume up untill it was barely audabl, then I backed it off a hair. this way I could turn it up and virtually off from the remote for the reciever when needed. movies vary as well as music. so its hard to find a permenant setting.

on a side note I also wanted to see how these speakers compared to today. the surrounds on the 3 1/2" woofers are dry rotted and I'm debating on either replacing the surrounds or the woofers. any feedback would be appreciated. thanks.

 

[Tarxman]

Have a look in the audessy menu and see if there is an option called "containment". This limits frequencies that travel through walls.

 

[Thompsonuxb]

lol...... 'turn it down'..... such an obvious reply I would have missed it too.

regards stereo through your amp - turn off unused speakers in settings and compare the sound with dsp on and off see which you prefer. If possible bi-wire your front speakers using A & B terminals on the amp - you may notice a difference and set your player to output in PCM and use the digital out on the player into the digital in on the amp.

You don't mention your front speakers, but see how that sounds and let us know..

 

[Bromiley]

Hi Tarxman and others that replied. Thanks.

I played around with the settings on my Denon AVR 1610 last night and (stupidly) messed up all the settings/values etc. I tried to remember what they were but in the end I re-set the AVR.

I am undecided now whether to leave all surround sound speakers and sub connected and run audyssey for 5.1,

or

disconnect my rear and centre speakers leaving only the fronts and sub, then run audyssey for for stereo. Either way, I am not sure which connection to use on my sub. The manual shows 2 low level connection types. Here is the text:

Using the “Subwoofer Output” of an A/V Receiver or Processor (See Diag. 2 - Low Level Connection1):

This method uses a single RCA-to-RCA interconnect cable to connect the “SUBWOOFER OUTPUT” jack from your A/V receiver or processor to the subwoofer “INPUT”. This method does not remove low frequencies from your main speakers, and they will continue to reproduce bass frequencies.

Using An External Crossover (See Diag. 3 Low Level Connection 2):

This method uses a single RCA-to-RCA interconnect cable to connect the “SUBWOOFER OUTPUT” jack from an external crossover to the “XOVER INPUT” of your subwoofer. This method by-passes the subwoofer’s built-in level and crossover controls; subwoofer functions are controlled by the external crossover.

The input socket for connection 1 has a line around it and seems to be linked with two control knobs named Low Pass Filter and Bass Volume.

Can you help, please? I’m getting more confused by the minute.

 

[sal350gt]

Ill try to be as simple as possible. If your reciever/ processor has a subwoofer control that includes volume control AND a LPF, "crossover" then use the crossover input on the sub. this will allow you to adjust the volume and the frequency, ex: 80hz, from the reciever/processor.

If your reciever/processor only has a volume adjustment for the subwoofer, then use the input with the lines to the two knobs. this will alow you to adjust the LPF from the subwoofer and make a rough adjustment with the bass volume control on the sub.

you dont want to use the crossover on the reciever/processor along with the built in crossover in the sub.

Dont worry about reproducing bass frequencies through the main speakers. they can be adjusted easily and unless you are trying to blow them up, they should not be producing low boomy bass.

I hope I understood your question and helped.

 

[Bromiley]

Thanks for the reply.

Sorry to sound stupid, but I don't know if my AVR (Denon AVR-1610) can do what you mention. The only thing I can tell you is that I can change the crossover on the AVR. Also, I don't know if it's of use, but whilst watching a DVD last night I tried to see if the bass volume on the back of my sub changed anything. It does, it seems to lower or higher the bass.

The current Audyssey info is:

Crossover = 80

Front = 120

Centre = 150

Surround = 150

Speakers set to small.

Should I be adjusting the bass level on the sub if I hear too much bass?

Thanks.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Try setting your speakers to large, and turning the sub off, and reduce your crossover to 60. You'll get more bass through the speakers than you had before, but it'll be less boomy than the bass through the sub.

You have DRC and D.Comp, try turning this on and setting them to high.

Also LFE, try turning that to -10

You also have a Dynamic Volume setting, try setting that to evening or midnight.

All of these are in page 39-43 of your manual. http://usa.denon.com/DocumentMaster/US/AVR-1610-OM_E_004B.pdf

If that lot doesn't help, nothing will.

 

[sal350gt]

I would turn the knob the crossover all the way up to 120hz and turn the bass volume knob up about half way on the actual sub. then use the remote for the reciever to fine tune the bass volume based on what you are wathcing. I would also keep the speaker settings on small because those 3-1/2" drivers sound much cleaner when there not producing low frequencies. Also they not designed to go below 90hz.

having the same speakers and sub you have, i never have a problem with unexpected boomy bass. when im watching a move the only adjustments i make are the main volume and the base volume from the remote. you dont want to turn off your sub and leave a hole in the frequency band when you can just turn down the bass volume.

 

[Bromiley]

Thanks for the reply. I checked out your suggestions and this does help a great deal for 5.1.

You mentioned that you have the same speakers as me. Given how old they are now, how would you rate them compared to a mid-range/price speaker setup available now?

 

[sal350gt]

Great glad I could help. comparing them to today, these speaker had stellar reviews when they came out. it would be hard to find a 5.1 in $500 range that would compare. These speakers have quality crossovers and drivers and when set up correctly out perform most systems on the market IMO. I bought mine new in 2001 and never had a problem with them. and after doing some research ive decided to replace the dry rotting surrounds instead of getting new drivers.