Nellomilanese
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B&W ASW8 subwoofer crossover settings
jackfish
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If the Onkyo receiver is set to small and 50 Hz and the subwoofer low pass filter is set to 60 Hz you will likely get inference between the two filters. Try setting the subwoofer low pass filter switch to OUT to take its circuit completely out of the picture.

Always give make and model of all components. It helps us give a reasonable response.

Nellomilanese
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Thx jackfish! I flipped the switch to OUT...right away the bass was really overpowering and a lot louder (I was at almost 70% volume) so I turned it down to 40% volume to blend well with the speakers.

I'm currently listening all my reference Sacd and Cd's and I can tell you I like what I'm hearing! You're right...I think havin 2 crossover settings there was some conflict resulting in dips and/or overlaps.

I think this is the right direction...since the sub blends w the speakers at only 40% volume out of its 200w; it makes sense since the speakers are 120w max.

Right...the receiver is Onkyo Tx-Sr 508 (Brand and model of the sub and speakers already mentioned)

Bill B
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good results, good advice from jackfish.  Assuming you may adjust/play around with it more, you might also try running the Wharfedales full-range, and then you can use the crossover on the sub.  In that case, a rule of thumb is to set the crossover at double the low frequency limit of the main speakers (i think usually their -6dB level is used for that).  For instance, if the Wharfedales are down 6dB at 40 Hz, use the sub's  crossover at 80 Hz.  And then, adjust accordingly by ear, as desired.

I prefer running the mains full-range, to get everything out of them that they offer.  And that way, I figure I get a bit of the benefit of multiple subwoofers (in 3 places in the room,instead of just 1, if you get what I mean) for (potentially) smoother bass response in the room.

Then, if you wish, you can use future spare time for experimenting with your phase setting!

commsysman
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The settings on these receivers are nothing but trouble IMO. Their electronic filters are cheap and introduce distortion.

I suggest that you set the main speakers to run full-range with no filtering, which means just turn all receiver speaker management features OFF!!

Set the sub filter to go up to around 50 Hz; no higher, and then move it up and down a tiny bit at a time until you get the best blend of the low bass between the main speakers and subwoofer.

The main speakers are rated to go down to 38 hz, which probably means they are 3db down at around 45 Hz, so 50 Hz more or less should be the best sub filter setting.

Ultimately, I think you will find that a better more powerful subwoofer will be needed.

There are very few that are smaller than 12 inches that go low enough to do the job.

I use the NHT B12-D and swear by it. It is extremely linear and powerful.

The Klipsch RW12D is also fairly good.

Nellomilanese
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Hmmmm now I was happy withe setup but you guyz got me thinkin' laugh  I guess I should try this other route also and see what sounds better!

So I need to set the speakers on the receiver to "Large" (that way they run full-range), and work the settings on the sub.

I think the sub is powerful enough for my taste....it runs at 45% volume now...yes being an 8" it doesn't gow as low as 10 or 12 for sure but at the moment i'm happy with it :-D I'm sure in the future i'll outgrow it and upgrade wink

I'm givin' it a try 2nite and re-post the results.

Thx everyone who jumped in to help!

Nellomilanese
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Well I tried the 2nd route. But I hit a brickwall right away.....if I set the speakers to "Large" (so they run full range) there's no signal sent to the sub....meaning I have to turn the "Double Bass" feature ON. Then it sends signal to the sub, but it doesn't sound as good at all...it's like pushed or forced bass frown

I guess I can connect the speakers to the sub, but it would be a big hassle 'cause I have to re-do the wiring !

SoI went back to "jackfish" solution :  low pass filter switch to OUT on the sub and 50Hz on the receiver crossover.

Since I wanted to improve "something" I played with the speaker positioning after reading here that a flat tv in between the speakers is not good. So I pushed the speakers a bit forward and the 55" Lcd back a little. 

Right away the speakers seem more alive !

commsysman
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I would set the speakers to LARGE and then run wires from the speaker terminals to the high-level inputs on the subwoofer. Since these wires will only carry a few milliamps of signal current to the subwoofer input terminals, they can be very small; 18 or 20 gauge or even smaller.

That is the right way to make it work well.

Watch the phasing though; make sure the + speaker terminal goes to the same subwoofer input terminal on both channels.

 

It is always best to have the front of the speakers in front of anything nearby that can cause refections of the treble.

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