Configuring Sub & Receiver for LFE

[BigUnit42]

FYI I am a NOOB to the site and found great info so far.

Basically I bought a cheapo Sony HTIB in '02 to start off with a complete system. I've learned to get complete quality you have to buy every component separately. I will get a better receiver as soon as Blu-Ray/HD DVD and 7.1 get more popular. The receiver I have is decent. It has 5.1 and DTS decoding w/ subwoofer output. Basic stuff.

So now I just bought a JBL S120PII subwoofer and learned all about the LFE concepts. I know the sub is an '02 model but got a great price on it and its got good specs and great reviews. So now I just need to know how to wire it to the receiver.

The manual shows 2 line-level configs. One for receivers w/ digital decoding and one for receivers w/o. I know my receiver has digital decoding, but the sub manual talked about setting the speakers to "large" or "small" and also setting the sub "LFE" switch to ON.

My receiver does not have "Large" and "Small" settings for the speakers. Does this mean I should configure to the other line-level mapping in the manual?

Also the receiver is set to automatically detect digital decoding with an Indicator light. Does that mean I have to turn the "LFE" switch on the subwoofer off?

I know I have to connect the front L/R speakers to the sub and then run wires from the sub to the receiver. If I am missing something, what is the best overall way to wire everything?

[kexodusc]

FYI I am a NOOB to the site and found great info so far.

Basically I bought a cheapo Sony HTIB in '02 to start off with a complete system. I've learned to get complete quality you have to buy every component separately. I will get a better receiver as soon as Blu-Ray/HD DVD and 7.1 get more popular. The receiver I have is decent. It has 5.1 and DTS decoding w/ subwoofer output. Basic stuff.

So now I just bought a JBL S120PII subwoofer and learned all about the LFE concepts. I know the sub is an '02 model but got a great price on it and its got good specs and great reviews. So now I just need to know how to wire it to the receiver.

The manual shows 2 line-level configs. One for receivers w/ digital decoding and one for receivers w/o. I know my receiver has digital decoding, but the sub manual talked about setting the speakers to "large" or "small" and also setting the sub "LFE" switch to ON.

Your receiver likely has settings for how it handles the LFE or bass. "Subwoofer" "None" or "Both", for example. Something to that effect. Usually receivers include small/large settings under the speakers, could you check the manual and confirm this? What model is it? If it doesn't have it, chances are they are set to "small" in a HTIB unit.

Also the receiver is set to automatically detect digital decoding with an Indicator light. Does that mean I have to turn the "LFE" switch on the subwoofer off?

No. It has nothing to do with the subwoofer. For your subwoofer, there should be a standby setting. If not, try leaving it on all the time, it probably goes into standby mode by itself. Worst case scenario, you have one more button to push to turn everything on.

I know I have to connect the front L/R speakers to the sub and then run wires from the sub to the receiver. If I am missing something, what is the best overall way to wire everything?

Uhhh, why can't you connect the speakers to the receiver directly?

[BigUnit42]

I read that by connecting the speakers to the sub, and the sub to the speaker, it will take a lot of the load off of the smaller speakers. I think this is for speaker-level configuration though. I was a little confused.

Any idea where to set the crossovers or "phase" knobs?

[kexodusc]

Phase you have to play with - set it where you think it sounds best - this will depend on where your speakers are relative to each other, where they are in the room, where you're sitting,etc. You might not notice much difference.

For crossover - well, if I knew your receiver was cutting the bass to the speakers I'd say turn it up as high as it goes, but since I don't I'd advise you to cross them over wherever the HTIB manual suggests.