HELP ME PLEASE - Pioneer volume ?

[cath]

please can you help, i have just brought a vsxd912 reciever and hooked my tannoy fx 5.1 sat speakers up. although up and running seem sure that it is not set up proper as the sound needs to be turned up quite alot to get a decent volume. and not sure that this is a good idea with my small speakers. what is the average volume setup on the reciever as it starts at --- the counts back from -99 which seems odd does it stop at -1 or carry on with + 1, 2 3 etc. sorry if this is a silly question but can't find info on booklet and don't want to test out incase i blow amp or speakers, i have already turned up volume and on my last amp was really loud 1/3 of way up.

thanks and look forward to reply

[RGA]

Yeah I HATE these volume knobs as well. You may need to set your speakers to largel. I assume you have a sub. I believe non full range speakers need to be set to large and and full range speakers set to small.

Do I tell my receiver that my speakers are "small" or "large"?

Most of today's receivers allow you to program the receiver with what type of speakers you have connected to each channel. Unless you are using a very large speaker like the HTD Level THREE Tower, you will likely find that you get better performance by setting each channel to "small". Choosing "small" causes the lowest frequencies from that channel to be redirected to the powered subwoofer which is better suited to reproduce the lowest frequencies. Some receivers set the cut-off point at 90, 100, or 120 Hz, while others allow you to choose what the cut-off point should be. You should experiment with which cut-off point sounds best in your room, but for the Level TWO speakers you are likely to end up with a cut-off around 80-100 Hz; with the Level THREE you should be closer to 60-80Hz. Note that you should make sure that the powered subwoofer's variable crossover is set at least as high as the crossover point chosen for the other channels in order to make sure none of the frequency band is lost.


What happens if I set my receiver channels to "large" even though I am using small speakers?

The "large" setting means the speaker will be sent the full frequency range. At low to moderate volumes, setting your small speakers to "large" is probably okay and in many cases this actually produces the overall warmest feel in surround sound. However, at high volume, setting a small speaker to "large" can be damaging to both the overall sound and the speaker's longevity. Although a small speaker is not equipped to reproduce the lowest frequencies, it will try anyway. At high volume, this means the speaker cone will attempt to move beyond its rated excursion and will "pop" as it hits its limit. Not only does this sound bad but over time it can permanently damage the speaker. Also, it takes a lot more power to push the lowest frequencies so your speaker will be very inefficient and the mid and high frequencies it was designed to reproduce will suffer. In short, by choosing "small" and redirecting the lowest frequencies to the powered sub, you'll extend the life of your speakers and get better performance at the same time.

More on set-up http://www.htdaudio.com/setupmyspeak.html

[poneal]

please can you help, i have just brought a vsxd912 reciever and hooked my tannoy fx 5.1 sat speakers up. although up and running seem sure that it is not set up proper as the sound needs to be turned up quite alot to get a decent volume. and not sure that this is a good idea with my small speakers. what is the average volume setup on the reciever as it starts at --- the counts back from -99 which seems odd does it stop at -1 or carry on with + 1, 2 3 etc. sorry if this is a silly question but can't find info on booklet and don't want to test out incase i blow amp or speakers, i have already turned up volume and on my last amp was really loud 1/3 of way up.

thanks and look forward to reply

The 0db indicates the rated output of your receiver. If your receiver says 100 watts per channel, then at 0db your receiver should be close to max output. Most receivers have an overhead so that they just dont quit working at 0db. You should be aware that anything past 0 into the positive range may start adding unwanted distortion and may cause damage to your speakers. I usually listen to mine at around -20 to -15. On my receiver, that is reference level (approximately 75db with a sound meter).