Speaker and Sub Crossover help

[Kali157]

I have read the sticky on crossover, but the tech talk kinda still confuses me. I need help setting the crossover for my new speakers. My speakers are Polk CS20 center, Polki TSi200 fronts, Klipsch S-2 surrounds, Polk PSW110 sub. My receiver is Onkyo SR607. Now I ran the receiver Audessey mic setup for my speakers and the receiver came back with this: Center 40hz, fronts 40hz, surrounds 90hz, and 90hz for the sub. Does that seem right? I am trying to avoid frequency holes. Should I increase the fronts and center so more of the bass will be handled by the sub? Is there any advantage to move the lower frequencies to the sub?

My other question is if if the sub is set at 90hz and the center and fronts at 40hz, does that mean that any signal btwn 90hz and 40 hz will be sent to BOTH speaker and sub? That is, if a sound comes through for the front channel at 60Hz, does that sound play at the center ONLY or does it play in the center AND the sub?

I tried to look for answers in the threads but couldn't find it. Thanks everyone for the help. I just want to make sure I setup my new speakers correctly.

[kareface]

Originally Posted by Kali157

I have read the sticky on crossover, but the tech talk kinda still confuses me. I need help setting the crossover for my new speakers. My speakers are Polk CS20 center, Polki TSi200 fronts, Klipsch S-2 surrounds, Polk PSW110 sub. My receiver is Onkyo SR607. Now I ran the receiver Audessey mic setup for my speakers and the receiver came back with this: Center 40hz, fronts 40hz, surrounds 90hz, and 90hz for the sub. Does that seem right?

If you have a nice sub I'd set the speakers to 60hz, and the surrounds to 100. Even if they can go that low the roll off at higher DB won't be as nice and you'll get more headroom for your mains.

Originally Posted by Kali157

My other question is if if the sub is set at 90hz and the center and fronts at 40hz, does that mean that any signal btwn 90hz and 40 hz will be sent to BOTH speaker and sub?

No, if your receiver is set to 40hz for the fronts, it means that around 40hz it'll roll the bass below it to the sub and above it to the mains. Just make sure the crossover on the sub it set to 10hz higher then the highest crossover setting in your receiver.

[Kali157]

kareface, thanks for the reply. With your suggestion, you are saying to set the fronts/center at 60, backs at 100, and the sub at 110? Just want to make sure.

btw, VERY nice setup. Your building skills are great.

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by Kali157

kareface, thanks for the reply. With your suggestion, you are saying to set the fronts/center at 60, backs at 100, and the sub at 110? Just want to make sure.

btw, VERY nice setup. Your building skills are great.

I think he meant the LPF of LFE (low pass filter/crossover) for the sub to be at 120Hz in the AVR to accept the full LFE signal being sent to it. Also, make sure you have opened/turned up the crossover all the way on the back of the sub to accept the full LFE the AVR is sending to it as well.

Correct me if I'm wrong here Kareface......

[kareface]

Originally Posted by Kali157

kareface, thanks for the reply. With your suggestion, you are saying to set the fronts/center at 60, backs at 100, and the sub at 110? Just want to make sure.

It just depends on your sub. If it's positioned well and produces good quality sound I think having a slightly higher crossover point would be a good idea. Most top tier speakers should be crossed over higher then 40. Smaller speakers like that being to roll off, depending on how nice they are, usually around 100hz (sometimes higher. A good sub is better equipped to handle 20-100hz. If you cross over your speakers too low you'll end up with the bass starting to tapper off at 100hz, get quieter as the octaves get lower, and then louder again once you get near the crossover point. The average listener prefers a room curve to a flat response. This has more emphasis on the lower ranges. However, if your sub is positioned poorly, or isn't set to the right levels, or doesn't produce clean bass then it'll sound worse. I'd suggest trying the crossover points I suggested above, maybe even testing your mains at 80hz and compare. In the end it really comes down to your setup and your ears.

Originally Posted by Fors*

Correct me if I'm wrong here Kareface......

I think he has channel specific crossover points on his receiver so setting the crossover per channel will suffice. He should set his subs crossover at least 10hrz higher then the highest crossover in his receiver, but turning it all the way up can work too.

Originally Posted by Kali157

btw, VERY nice setup. Your building skills are great.

Thanks a lot.

[Kali157]

thanks for all the responses. My sub is decent I think (Polk psw110)... I am looking to upgrade to Premier Acoustic PA120 as soon as i sell the polk.

Now for the crossover settings: should the Center Polk CS20 and the fronts TSI200 be set to the same crossover? The center has 6.5 inch woofer while the fronts have 5.25 inch. Specs say that the center and fronts can go pretty low, but I guess that doesnt mean much.

The other thing that is still confusing me is do movies send out a separate channel info for the sub? Or does it send info for the 5 (or 7) speakers and the receiver decides, through settings, which frequency to roll off to the sub? I always thought it was the first scenario but I now think its the second. Is that right?

Sorry for all the newbie questions. Again thanks for all the help

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by Kali157

thanks for all the responses. My sub is decent I think (Polk psw110)... I am looking to upgrade to Premier Acoustic PA120 as soon as i sell the polk.

Now for the crossover settings: should the Center Polk CS20 and the fronts TSI200 be set to the same crossover? The center has 6.5 inch woofer while the fronts have 5.25 inch. Specs say that the center and fronts can go pretty low, but I guess that doesnt mean much.

The other thing that is still confusing me is do movies send out a separate channel info for the sub? Or does it send info for the 5 (or 7) speakers and the receiver decides, through settings, which frequency to roll off to the sub? I always thought it was the first scenario but I now think its the second. Is that right?

Sorry for all the newbie questions. Again thanks for all the help

Yes, the LFE (low Frequency Effects) is a dedicated signal meant only for the subwoofer. There are frequencies that can get as low as the LFE that are sent to the speakers, unless you set-up the crossovers. If you did, then these low frequencies will roll off at or around that point and be re-directed to the subwoofer instead. However, the LFE's higher frequencies that are cutoff by the low pass filter are NOT sent to the speakers. Again, the LFE is a dedicated signal for the subwoofer only. Basically, the higher frequencies of the LFE that are above your low pass filter/crossover are simply "cut-off" and not used.