Crossover Question???

[J2phat4u]

I am in need of advice. I have a Harman Kardon AVR7200 receiver, Bose 701 series II front speakers and a SVS 20-39 PCI subwoofer all connected via Monster cable. I was wondering what is the best crossover setting for me to use with this set up?? Right now i have the receiver set at 100hz but i am not sure if i need it lower or higher. Please advise???

[N. Abstentia]

Set it where it sounds best..then leave it

[kexodusc]

If you set it lower, the sub will become "less localized", meaning it'll be harder to point out where the bass is coming from, below 80-100 Hz or so, bass frequencies lose directivity.
But you should balance that with blending it in with your speakers. I would think 80 - 100 hz is as broad a range as you'd want to experiment with.

N.Abstentia gives good advice.

[zepman1]

Do you have any test DVD's/CD's such as Digital Video Essentials? You could run a frequency sweep across the speakers and sub to see where the Bose speakers drop off in bass response. Set the sub crossover accordinly, but as low as possible. I expect you would have to go a little higher than 80hz, but I could be wrong.

[J2phat4u]

Maybe you are right. I have it set at 80 right now but the manual for the Bose 701's say set the crossover on the receiver at 150. Should i follow Bose or try to keep it lower to let the SVS do its job????

[LMB]

Set the crossover in your receiver at the frequency response of your speaker if its 80 set the crossover to 80 if its 100 set crossover to 100

[J2phat4u]

Thanks i will try that and see how it sounds. I was just curious because i thought maybe i was robbing the SVS of deep sound. I want to find ways to maximize this system that should be ripping the house apart.

[N. Abstentia]

Maybe you are right. I have it set at 80 right now but the manual for the Bose 701's say set the crossover on the receiver at 150. Should i follow Bose or try to keep it lower to let the SVS do its job????

That's definitely way too high to sound good, but the reason Bose says that is because they probably can't handle much below 150hz. Are you planning on upgrading those Bose soon?

[J2phat4u]

I think you are right but how low should i go with the setting for now?? Yeah i want to replace the Bose with some new speakers but dont want to spend over $2,000.00 for them. Any suggestions???

[LMB]

Checkout Boston Acoustics I'm happy with them I have the 130's

[N. Abstentia]

I think you are right but how low should i go with the setting for now?? Yeah i want to replace the Bose with some new speakers but dont want to spend over $2,000.00 for them. Any suggestions???

I would use the lowest setting possible without blowing out the Bose.

If you're looking to upgrade you certainly don't have to spend $2000. If you want floorstanders look into these $399 Athenas:
http://audioadvisor.com/store/produc...0Black,%20Pair

You could also consider a good bookshelf speaker on stands which personally I think would sound even better.

[shokhead]

Gee,i was going to say blow them out and hurry up and spend that 2K. You and your SVS will be happy.

[J2phat4u]

Hey well i dont want to blow them out because they were a gift from my wife back in 2003. I went into the menu last night and changed the crossover setting down to 120HZ and i even tried 100HZ. i moved the speakers around a little and it actually sounds better. My only issue is am i getting the most out of the thousands of dollars i have spent on this entertainment room. My system is as follows...
H/K AVR7200
H/K DVD25
H/K CDR31
PIONEER MD35
SONY 41" PLASMA
SVS 20-39PCI
BOSE 701 SERIESII, BOSE VCS10 , Bose 301, Bose AM5 seriesII, all Monster cable throughout the system.
Is it normal to get breath taking bass on one side of the room and less bass on the other side????

[shokhead]

Where's the sub?

[LMB]

Have you changed your speakers to small in your receiver? So you get the most out of your sub

[J2phat4u]

The Sub is located on the left front side of my set up. I have double recliners in the room and when i sit on the right side the bass is astounding. When i sit on the left side it seems to disappear. I dont know why because the room is 15X15(was a bedroom before i made it into the entertainment room). The Bose manual says to set the speaker selector to large but i have not tried setting it to small.

[LMB]

Set the speakers to small and the crossover at 80 or 100 I think you will hear the difference

[shokhead]

Until it sounds like all the bass is coming from your mains{but really from your sub}you have some work to do. Like LMB,the starting place is all speakers to small,center yes and sub yes,sub in corner,80 xover and about half volume on the sub itself before you start with the rest of this stuff and adjust the sub volume through the receiver and player. Thats preetty basic stuff to start.

[bfalls]

Your room is going to be a big part of the problem. Rooms where the length is equal or multiples of the width are prone to standing waves from the sub. It's very possible one of your recliners is in the peak of a wave and the other a trough. Experiment with sub placement to equalize the room reaction for both locations. Tube traps in corner locations can help to minimize the effect, but don't rate high in WAF. You will also have a problem determining the xover point since Bose doesn't like to publish their frequency response curves for their speakers. A Radio Shack SPL meter and test disc can go a long way in determining the best sub setting, but be certain you compensate for the meter's discrepencies (innacurate low frequency readings). There's a correction chart for the meter on the net, or search this forum.