Should I use polyfill?

[bacot11]

I was wondering if I should polyfill my BIC F12 sub and the rest of my bedroom setup. Just want to see what people suggest as I feel like my bedroom setup could use a boost in performance. The back speakers have been replaced by sony ss-f1000's so take that into consideration. So take a look and tell me what you think. I will update my setup as soon as I get some time.

P.S. I don't want to void my warranties but I will in a heartbeat if it means better sound. They are just bedroom speakers after all.

[Driver_King]

Sure. If you decide to stuff everything though, be sure not to overstuff it and stuff it loosely.

[Big Daddy]

The benefits of polyfill are explaind in detail in the middle of Post #2 in the DIY Subwoofer Building, Repairing, & Upgrading.

[erict]

Originally Posted by bacot11

I was wondering if I should polyfill my BIC F12 sub and the rest of my bedroom setup. Just want to see what people suggest as I feel like my bedroom setup could use a boost in performance. The back speakers have been replaced by sony ss-f1000's so take that into consideration. So take a look and tell me what you think. I will update my setup as soon as I get some time.

P.S. I don't want to void my warranties but I will in a heartbeat if it means better sound. They are just bedroom speakers after all.

Just out of curiosity, I was looking at the pic of you're sub and saw your crossover was not turned all the way up. Is this what you have it set at? You should have it turned all the way up and rerun setup.

[bacot11]

I have the crossover set to 90 hz on the receiver and 100 hz on the sub itself. I could turn it up but it would do nothing. The sub has a switch that lets the receiver completely control the frequency response. Also I ran audessey with the crossover maxed as it says in the manual. Thanks for the help anyway.

[erict]

Originally Posted by bacot11

I have the crossover set to 90 hz on the receiver and 100 hz on the sub itself. I could turn it up but it would do nothing. The sub has a switch that lets the receiver completely control the frequency response. Also I ran audessey with the crossover maxed as it says in the manual. Thanks for the help anyway.

The bypass switch must be under you're sub cable and I missed it

[Rob J in WNY]

Originally Posted by bacot11

I have the crossover set to 90 hz on the receiver and 100 hz on the sub itself. I could turn it up but it would do nothing. The sub has a switch that lets the receiver completely control the frequency response. Also I ran audessey with the crossover maxed as it says in the manual. Thanks for the help anyway.

It's a little off-topic, but consider upping your crossover point on the sub to 120Hz, as 120Hz is the upper limit of the dedicated LFE audio channel (the ".1" channel). This way, you are not missing out on some of the upper-low-frequency material encoded on the disc.

Your receiver crossover at 90Hz is likely fine.

As previously mentioned by Driver King, if you do polyfill, you do not have to stuff the enclosure completely. Just add enough to very loosely fill the cabinet. Overstuffing the cabinet will affect the driver's ability to articulate more freely, and will also affect the enclosure's resonance tuning as well, resulting in a reduction of sound output, most notably at the lowest frequencies. The idea is to "diffuse" the sound, not "choke" it.

[DonRSD]

Originally Posted by Rob J in WNY

It's a little off-topic, but consider upping your crossover point on the sub to 120Hz, as 120Hz is the upper limit of the dedicated LFE audio channel (the ".1" channel). This way, you are not missing out on some of the upper-low-frequency material encoded on the disc.

Your receiver crossover at 90Hz is likely fine.

As previously mentioned by Driver King, if you do polyfill, you do not have to stuff the enclosure completely. Just add enough to very loosely fill the cabinet. Overstuffing the cabinet will affect the driver's ability to articulate more freely, and will also affect the enclosure's resonance tuning as well, resulting in a reduction of sound output, most notably at the lowest frequencies. The idea is to "diffuse" the sound, not "choke" it.

dont put it to 120hz
i had mine set at 120hz and people with deep voices (george clooney, etc) you can hear them in the subwoofer as their voice is below 120hz

this is why you have fronts that go down to 60hz......for the high bass.

[bacot11]

Well I just got done stuffing my seven sony speakers with polyfill, and the results are impressive. Every speaker's performance has been increased with the my fronts and center improving more than the surrounds. Before I filled the speakers they all sounded very bright to a point where it was harsh. I mean the sound was of hollow wooden boxes. Now my speakers sound like just that... proper home theater speakers. I highly recommend any one who owns sony ss series speakers and use them in a home theater to fill them with polyfill.

I am waiting to stuff my subwoofer with acoustic polyfill I bought from parts express because I feel that it will benefit the most. I know I could get away with regular stuffing like the kind I put in my speakers, but I already bought it so what the hey. I appreciate all the input and hope that this thread will help others.

[Riff Magnum]

If this is such a cheap and easy improvement to sound, then why don't speaker manufacturers do it at the plant?

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

If this is such a cheap and easy improvement to sound, then why don't speaker manufacturers do it at the plant?

Here is a previous post from Big Daddy about why....

Most sub manufacturers add some. A few do not add any. The perspective of a manufacturer is to give you a good working product at minimum expense to them. They can't spend too much time or money on any one area. This is even more of a problem when products are mass produced. You can always replace your sub driver or amplifier with a better one or replace the cables that manufacturers include in the box with quality cables, etc., etc.

[Riff Magnum]

I'm assuming this sort of thing isn't really necessary when it comes to more "boutique" or higher priced speakers?

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

I'm assuming this sort of thing isn't really necessary when it comes to more "boutique" or higher priced speakers?

I can't say for sure, but I have an SVS sub, and I have no plans of opening her up and adding polyfill. Doing so may void the warranty, and when you have a higher end sub, I think you are less likely to do this because of the money spent and the quality of the sound out of the box.

[Riff Magnum]

kinda what i'm thinking.

[Driver_King]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

I'm assuming this sort of thing isn't really necessary when it comes to more "boutique" or higher priced speakers?

My Polk SDA and Monitor speakers all have Poly-fill in them from Polk. The Poly-fill was added at the factory for the best mid-range, upper, and lower frequency responses for the speakers. Like Big Daddy said, some manufacturers add a certain amount while others don't either because they were designed that way or because it would be too expensive for companies who mass produce speakers (namely cheap speakers or HTIB systems) to include Poly-fill in them.

[picture_shooter]

I wonder sometimes if you could just stuff couple of pillows in the cabinet and see how it would do. Anyone ever tried?

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by picture_shooter

I wonder sometimes if you could just stuff couple of pillows in the cabinet and see how it would do. Anyone ever tried?

The problem with that is you need the polyfill to be placed in rather loosely and to not completely fill the inside of the cabinet either.

[Beta Man]

I recently had a bunch of poly-fill left over from another project (still have about 3 lbs of it, which is a bunch)

I reached in the ports of my sub, and put some in the open space.... Probably should have removed the driver and filled a little more evenly etc... but I happen to have the worlds' worst subwoofer, and due to other things, I am no longer capable of affording the luxury of buying a new one (I gave my 14" Def-tech reference series away )

The poly-fill did a fantastic job of removing a noticeable vibration from the sub (I think the amp plate or something within the sub was vibrating) It was so bad it was limiting the level I could set the sub on..... I'm back to "normal" sub levels while watching films..... My sub still isn't capable of producing smooth sounding low frequencies, but it's more serviceable now.

Originally Posted by picture_shooter

I wonder sometimes if you could just stuff couple of pillows in the cabinet and see how it would do. Anyone ever tried?

Why would you want to? Poly-fill isn't a fire hazard, and it costs next to nothing...... just run to JoAnn's fabric store, and get a roll.