AV Settings - Small/Large 80Hz etc Why???

[RobinKidderminster]

Hya

I know the advice is always to set 80Hz and speakers to Small. I just wondered why my amp (and am I right in saying many/all amps) auto setup so differently. My Yammy sets 40Hz and all speakers to Large. In changing them to 80/Small I guess that negates the other settings except distance of speakers and volume.

Comments welcome - Cheers

 

[Frank Harvey]

Many auto set ups tend to set small speakers larger than they should do, either as large, or a crossover point thats too low. I've had setups that have set KEF KHT3005's to 40Hz...

Regardless of what the receiver sets, always double check and set to at least 80Hz for sub/sat systems, and maybe lower for larger standmounts or floorstanders. Whether you set the floorstanders to full range is a personal preference. Personally, I'd stilll set them to 80Hz - at least then all the speakers are concentrating on the same frequency range. It eases the load on them too if they're not trying to produce low bass.

 

[RobinKidderminster]

I am thinking in particular that YPAO or similar adjusts the frequencies/gain to each channel but if you leave the PEQ and adjust these 'curves' manually these programmed settings are lost and you can't 'see' them to make fine adjustments. It's kinda' use PEQ or you're on your own with ears and a meter.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Most receivers don't do any EQ'ing below about 60-70Hz anyway, so if you up your crossover points from 40 to 80Hz, it won't affect much.

Don't forget these auto setups are measuring what it can hear, which is going to be affected by the room (room boundaries always add a little gain to lower frequencies), and may 'hear' the speaker reproducing lower frequencies than it actually can, so the EQ can be fooled into thinking the speaker is much bigger than it actually is.

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Mmmm. Thanks for that. i think more fully understanding the way a reciever 'works' can help to make informed adjustments. Cheers.

 

[fr0g]

I have my Yamaha RXV 667 / Dali Ikon 6 fronts, dali vokal 2 centre and the MS rears all set to small and use "straight" rather than "Pure" for music.

I have the crossover set to 60/80 (can't remember) and I find the sound is far less cluttered and cleaner. I think unless you have proper full range fronts that's the best way. Try a bass heavy track from Aphex twin or Biosphere or something like the Jurassic Park soundtrack, and set to large the mains struggle with the low end when set to large. Switching over leaves all that to the sub.

And yes, the auto setup sets all my speakers to large. I simply change that setting back to small. At least it retains the +- gain settings.

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Thanks for that too. Think Pure is best for music but Straight for films. Music tho' I think is much more about personal taste. I also think that as I tweak settings for the better then the difference between Pure & Staight tends to lessen. Cheers.