Welshsox
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Help with first major subwoofer
ethanwiner
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Steve,

> while i can get substansial amounts of bass it sounds as if the sub is playing on its own and its not integtrating into the system. <

I have an SVS PB12-Ultra/2 and it's awesome. If you hear sound that you can localize as coming from the sub, then I agree it's not set up properly. SVS recommends putting it in one of the front corners, and I agree. Unless your room is incredibly wide putting the sub many feet away from the main speakers.

> Ive tried different settings on the receiver <

One key is to tell the receiver that all of your main speakers are small. This way low frequencies go only to the subwoofer as directed by the receiver's crossover. Also avoid making the crossover frequency too high. The standard is 80 Hz, but this means your mains must be able to reproduce at least down to 60.

--Ethan.

Welshsox
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Hi

Setting the main speakers to small seems to help

I was a bit confused by your comment on setting the crossover, you say not to set it to high, sounds like you meant to low ?

What setting do you find successful ?

Steve

Elk
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Ethan is suggesting that you set the crossover so that the sub does not reproduce anything higher than 80Hz.

ethanwiner
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Quote:
Ethan is suggesting that you set the crossover so that the sub does not reproduce anything higher than 80Hz.

Exactly. This is a big problem with those systems having "cute" little satellite speakers. The mains can't play below 200 or 300 Hz (or even higher), so they cross over to the sub at a relatively high frequency. And then you can hear much of the sound coming from the sub.

--Ethan

Buddha
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Ethan and Elk are dead right.

If the woofer is in charge of reproducing frequencies that are too high, you will start hearing it as a discrete source of sound and it will tear down your imaging.

If the woofer is set at the right crossover point, it will not be producing frequencies that alert your ear to its location, and your brain will integrate its sound into the imaging of the main speakers.

Cheers.

Benagent
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Unless your room is incredibly wide putting the sub many feet away from the main speakers. Also avoid making the crossover frequency too high. And then you can hear much of the sound coming from the sub.Super und danke für die Info!

WillWeber
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You will usually get better results with two subs, so that the stereo signals are preserved. That's because the two channels signals often carry a phase difference, as an ambient space will induce, even at low frequencies. So when mixed as in x.1 systems, the frequency response will not be smooth as to the original signal. Such will cause some tonality deficiency and loss of ambient impression, which may make the sub more conspicuous despite a low crossover frequency.

Two subs are not always practical, of course. My personal preference, for music reproduction, is for full range speakers. My gentle use of subs to supplement and to help compensate room response is a whole 'nother story...

Also, putting subs in the corners of the room may excite room modes more intensely than otherwise, giving a rippled spectrum, boomy or muddy. Some experimentation with location is needed. Too far from the mains and there will be  phase difference in the crossover frequency range.

WillW

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