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Jumby
01-20-2006, 10:25 AM
Not getting any input with this in the speaker forum, thought I would try here.

Just got my dayton sub in.... Onkyo tx-sr503 polk r15 front and rear, csi25 center, onkyo has choice of 80 or 100 crossover, all speakers are set to small. sub has two dials, gain - min/max and freq - 40-180. where in the heck and how do I try to dial this thing in? the r15 fronts will be replaced with a pair of r30's in a few days, how will that change setting them up?

Hope this doesn't violate any forum etiquette having this in both sections, but I couldn't find a way to delete my thread in speakers.....

paul_pci
01-20-2006, 10:30 AM
The gain has to do with volume, set it according to what sounds best to you. The other cohntrol is the crossover setting, the point in the frequency range when the receiver sends the audio signal to the sub instead of the speakers. Most people in your situation set it at 80hz; and there may also be a setting on your receiver for the crossover. Lastly, when changing elements in your set up you should always recalibrate your level settings with a calibration disc and an spl meter. If you're unfamiliar with that those are, we can further instruct you on that matter.

poneal
01-20-2006, 10:47 AM
Not getting any input with this in the speaker forum, thought I would try here.

Just got my dayton sub in.... Onkyo tx-sr503 polk r15 front and rear, csi25 center, onkyo has choice of 80 or 100 crossover, all speakers are set to small. sub has two dials, gain - min/max and freq - 40-180. where in the heck and how do I try to dial this thing in? the r15 fronts will be replaced with a pair of r30's in a few days, how will that change setting them up?

Hope this doesn't violate any forum etiquette having this in both sections, but I couldn't find a way to delete my thread in speakers.....

So what Dayton Subwoofer? Hopefully, the newer RS series as they have less distortion than the classic models. As Paul said, an SPL meter will let you set the volume correctly. I set my sub 3-5 dbs higher for more bass emphasis. I have the crossover setting on mine at around 60hz and the reciever set to 40hz. This gave me the best blend. If you set it low like this don't expect to hear a lot out of it. Frequencies this low can be heard but are mostly felt as the sub pressurizes the room. Just don't stick your ear to close when playing loud as it could cause some damage. Trust your SPL meter as most people have the sub cranked way to loud. Cheers, Paul.

Jumby
01-20-2006, 11:02 AM
Ok, so for now try and match or overlap the crossover setting on the receiver, set the gain to where it sounds about right and go from there.... then you evil little buggers want me to go and get an spl meter, any excuse to get a new toy! suggestions on where to get a decent budget sort of meter? does such a thing exist?
yes, it is one of the new ones, unfortunately it is the 10", the 12" are back ordered until March and I just wasn't going to wait, but I wasn't going to go over the limit I set for a more expensive one either... so now I'm hoping to stash some cash and at some point build one, just because I think that would be fun, and I'm way handy with stuff like this. Didn't spend all those years stuffing electronics on boats not to use some of the skills for myself!
FWIW I hooked it up last night, kind of fiddled with the settings for a minute and put Star Wars III on and played the Battle over Coruscant(sp?) scene, way cool.....

brendy
01-21-2006, 08:00 PM
The crossover dial on the sub should be turned up to its highest setting to avoid interference with the receivers crossover.

shokhead
01-22-2006, 06:52 AM
The crossover dial on the sub should be turned up to its highest setting to avoid interference with the receivers crossover.

Unless it has a bypass switch.

westcott
01-22-2006, 10:45 AM
Not getting any input with this in the speaker forum, thought I would try here.

Just got my dayton sub in.... Onkyo tx-sr503 polk r15 front and rear, csi25 center, onkyo has choice of 80 or 100 crossover, all speakers are set to small. sub has two dials, gain - min/max and freq - 40-180. where in the heck and how do I try to dial this thing in? the r15 fronts will be replaced with a pair of r30's in a few days, how will that change setting them up?

Hope this doesn't violate any forum etiquette having this in both sections, but I couldn't find a way to delete my thread in speakers.....

I think you will find all the links you need to set up your subwoofer properly in your room with your equipment.

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/setup/index.php

Hope this helps.

brendy
01-23-2006, 07:18 PM
Unless it has a bypass switch.

Or if it has an unfiltered LFE input.

Woochifer
01-23-2006, 07:54 PM
Ok, so for now try and match or overlap the crossover setting on the receiver, set the gain to where it sounds about right and go from there.... then you evil little buggers want me to go and get an spl meter, any excuse to get a new toy! suggestions on where to get a decent budget sort of meter? does such a thing exist?

$40 at Radio Shack for the analog SPL meter, and worth every penny! Your ears are not precise enough to match the levels on the mains with your subwoofer, so this allows you to measure exactly how the levels should be set on your subwoofer (in general, people on this board will set the sub at +4 to +6 db above the mains, because your ears are less sensitive in the lower frequencies)

As an added bonus, you can use the SPL meter to level match your center and surround speakers with the mains. Again, your ears alone are not precise enough to level match five, six, or seven speakers. Having level matched speakers all around will greatly improve the surround effect and the imaging location.

And any time you do something major with your room, like move furniture around or install a rug or replace the curtains, you will need to remeasure and reset the level settings on your speakers. This is because changes to your room will affect the acoustical conditions and the levels that you hear from individual speakers at your seating position. Once you have that SPL meter around, you will use it a lot!

Not to add to the laundry list of "toys" that you can/should get, but if you find that the bass on your sub sound overly boomy, then you might need to look into installing a parametric equalizer on your sub to compensate for the room-induced effects that create boomy sounding peaks. The room boundaries create wave interactions that can significantly alter how the bass sounds, and can make or break how your subwoofer sounds. Peaks of +20 db or more are not uncommon in small to medium sized rooms, and they can absolutely destroy the quality of your bass. With an equalizer, you can precisely identify and adjust for the peakiness that your room creates. With my sub, it dramatically improved the sound quality.

Do a search for behringer feedback destroyer if you want to read some previous threads that discuss this.