Set speakers to 'Small' or 'Large' ?

[CanadianEH]

Originally Posted by blurayisking

Gentlemen:

I'm looking for advise on the " best " crossover / speaker setup for the following equipment:


RECEIVER: YAMAHA HTR 6180 (aka 863VX)
FRONTS: AXIOM M50i floor standing + / - 3 dB is 39 Hz to 22KHz
CENTRE: PSB 200ci + / - 3 dB is 68 Hz to 21 KHz
REARS: AXIOM QS4 wall mounted + / - 3 dB is 100 Hz to 22 KHz
SUBWOOFER: POLK AUDIO + / - 34 Hz to 225 Hz (has LFE position to bypass internal crossover which would be the obvious setting for the SUBWOOFER and the SUBWOOFER volume is set at the half-way point before running the YPAO mic setup).

NOTE: cannot adjust crossover for individual speakers

I have run the YAMAHA mic setup numerous times, tried different settings by manually adjusting the speaker size and crossover frequency. The mic setup recommends the FRONTS as large, the CENTER and REARS as small and the crossover set as 160 Hz. That high a crossover frequency is a long way from the generally recommended crossover frequency of 80 Hz. The trouble with that configuration is the subwoofer has no bass when I switch the receiver to play stereo CD music. The subwoofer works much better when playing stereo CD's with the FRONTS set to small and the SUBWOOFER is selected as the designated bass handler. I also play multi-channel SACD with the receiver set as per the mic setup configuration and the FRONTS do offer some audible bass when set to large. The SUBWOOFER performs best when the FRONTS are set to small or the "BOTH " option is selected in the bass management screen in the setup menu.

So, I'd really appeciate any suggestions on the best configuration.

Regards:

blurayisking

I ran my YPAO yesterday and the only thing I kept was the speaker distance. It set the fronts and centre channel to LARGE for me as well. I changed those back to SMALL. After spending a lot of time on this thread, an hour of playing around, and one text from the people upstairs asking me to turn down my sub, I concluded that the consensus in this thread works best for me. Set all speakers to SMALL with your crossover set to 80 Hz.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by CanadianEH

I ran my YPAO yesterday and the only thing I kept was the speaker distance. It set the fronts and centre channel to LARGE for me as well. I changed those back to SMALL. After spending a lot of time on this thread, an hour of playing around, and one text from the people upstairs asking me to turn down my sub, I concluded that the consensus in this thread works best for me. Set all speakers to SMALL with your crossover set to 80 Hz.

The following is from AUDYSSEY thread. Although the thread was written for the Audyssey auto calibration program, the vast majority of its content is highly relevant to other auto calibration programs such as:

Anthem: ARC = Anthem Room Correction
Emotiva XMC-1: TACT = Tuned Aperture Computed Tomography
Pioneer: MCACC = Multi Channel Acoustic Calibration and Control
Sherwood: Room Acoustic Calibration with EQ
Sherwood Newcastle R-972: Trinnov Optimizer
Sony: DCAC = Digital Cinema Auto Calibration
Yamaha: YPAO = Yamaha Parametric Room Acoustic Optimizer

1. Once you have finished the measurements for all the listening positions, Audyssey will do some calculations for a few minutes and will ask you to double check the settings. You can adjust them later after the calibration for all the speakers is finished. In general, several things may occur:
   • You may notice that your front speakers are set to LARGE (FULL BAND) or SMALL. Audyssey does not make this decision. Audyssey simply takes some measurements and reports them to the AVR. The AVR manufacturer has complete control over how the speakers should be set. Many of them use inappropriate or archaic rules to set the speakers to LARGE as long as the speakers show some response below 80Hz. You can adjust this later and set your speakers to SMALL. For further information, read the two Bass Management Guides mentioned at beginning of this post.
   • It is important that you understand that Audyssey measures the performance of the speakers in your room. The frequency response of your speakers in the room as measured by Audyssey may be significantly different than the frequency responses as measured by the manufacturer in an anechoic chamber. Don’t be alarmed. All speakers react with the room boundaries, furniture, and with each other. They exhibit different frequency response in real rooms. Audyssey measures what your speakers are doing in your room and recommends a setting based on their placement. Its results are based on the placement of the speakers and the microphone.
     
   • You may notice that Audyssey has reported a much longer distance between your subwoofer and the listening position or a significantly shorter distance between the two. This problem arises because Audyssey MultEQ does not actually measure distance between the subwoofer and the listening area. It measures signal delay. This delay consist of:
     1. The time it takes for sound to travel in the air to the microphone.
     2. The electrical delay in the signal inside the subwoofer:
     • Any type of filter in the sub introduces delay.
     • Any type of DSP processing in the subwoofer introduces delay.
     • The interaction of the woofer and the port in in a subwoofer can also cause problems. This interaction can also cause polarity reversal warnings.
     Because of these delays, it is quite normal to see longer distances reported for the subwoofer. You should leave it as MultEQ found it.
     
     When the reported distance is much shorter than the physical distance, then you should worry. Something else has caused that. The most likely cause is vibrations that travel to the microphone through a solid surface such as the floor or the sofa/seat. Sound travels faster in solids than it does in air and this can cause the short readings. The only alternative you have is to try is to make sure that the microphone is isolated from any vibrating surfaces. Avoid placing it on the edge of the listening sofa. Also, move the subwoofer to a different location or isolate it from the vibrations by using a riser.