Some questions about new setup

[idagon]

Hello all,

I just installed a Panasonic SA-XR25 Receiver and a set of Onkyo HT510 Speakers.

Its in a room 20 ft x 15 ft.
The Receiver is 600w 6 channel


The speaker Spec's are:

Sub-
Bass Reflex (150W)
Input Impedence 15kohm
8" cone type
27hz- 150hz


Fronts:

2 way Bass Reflex
8 ohm
86 db
5 1/4 inch cone type
tweeter 1" balanced cone type
55hz-35000hz
100w

Center:

2 way Bass Reflex
8 ohm
85 db
4 inch cone type
tweeter 1" balanced cone type
65hz-35000hz
100w

Surrounds:

2 way Bass Reflex
8 ohm
82 db
5 1/4 inch cone type
tweeter 1" balanced cone type
65hz-35000hz
100w

Back:

2 way Bass Reflex
8 ohm
82 db
5 1/4 inch cone type
tweeter 1" balanced cone type
65hz-35000hz
100w





The crossover only goes down to 100hz on the receiver

I'm using the stock 18 ga. speaker wire
$20 audio cable for the Sub
Optical audio and component video from dvd to receiver and then to TV

I did purchase another power cord (audioquest nrg-1)

Where should I set the crossover?
Should I use large or small speaker setting?
any other ideas?


thanks,


Dan

[This Guy]

Why did you get anohter power cord? Set the sub's crossover at 100hz and set the speakers as small and watch a movie.

-Joey

[idagon]

ive read many reviews on the xr25 digital receiver and upgrading the lame power cord is recommended by many

ive tried the speakers on large and small and it seems (to me) that large sounds slightly better, but I nave an untrained ear.

[This Guy]

Alright as long as the cord didn't cost too much, cause that is probably all hype with power cords being better than others. Large may sound better to you because both the speakers and subwoofer are reproducing bass, and hence the bass is louder. The speakers will go louder with them set as small because they don't have to take care of the low frequencies, and won't sound as muddy. Keep them at small.

-Joey

[idagon]

Will i loose some surround by using small as opposed to large?

What is the determining factor with speakers in being able to use the large setting?

[kfalls]

I think your best bet would be to let the sub handle the bass and keep all other speakers on small. The speakers are a bit inefficient 86db, 85db, 82db and have small woofers, so you're not going to get a lot of really good bass from them anyway. Even though the Panasonic is rated at 100W/ch, it's probably at the expense of higher distortion. I'm willing to bet the power supply is on the lean side as well and the outputs are ICs, so no matter how good your power cord is, you run the chance of the receiver running out of steam and clipping. Why make your receiver strain to provide the lower end when you have a 150W sub? This will allow your other speakers to do what they do best by providing unstrained mid-range and high-end. Especially in a room this side you'll be tempted to crank it up and when you do it may clip and possibly destroy your speakers. A good test would be to lift your receiver. Good power supplies mean good transformers and they are heavy. Most good mid-fi surround receivers (Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo, Marantz) with 100W/ch rating weigh in the range of 40lbs-50lbs. Also look at the dynamic headroom and power at rated load specs. Headroom will tell you how much over the receivers standard output it will go. The "output at rated load" can be pretty revealing. Usually if only 8ohm specs are provided, the power supply is lean. If the receiver has decent headroom and power ratings down to 4ohms, it's a good indication you can drive most mass marketed speaker systems.

[idagon]

Thanks for the Replies, here are the Panasonic specs


Panasonic specs:

Rated minimum sine wave RMS power output
20hz-20khz both channels driven
.3% tot harm distort = 100W per channel ( 6 ohm )

1khz continuous power output both channels driven
.3 THD =105W per channel (6 ohm )

Freq response 10hz-44khz +- 3db

This is a Digital Receiver for whatever thats worth

thanks

[This Guy]

No you don't lose anything. All that is happening is directing the bass that would have gone to the satletites, to the subwoofer. The only reason the Large setting is there is if you don't have a subwoofer.

-Joey

[idagon]

thanks for the lessons in audio.

I compared the two settings and there is indeed a difference in mid and high sounds using the small setting. and more "boomy", maybe even too much boom.

the surround sounds are easier to hear using the large setting, but if I use the small setting and turn down the sub some (gets rid of the unnatural boom) and add more volume it brings back the surround fullness and keeps the mids and highs.

another thing that really made a difference was using 14 ga. speaker wire instead of the 22 ga (especially in the rear)