Mixing Brands?

[powerlord]

My listening room is 12x15 with an 8 ft. ceiling,with eveyones help on this forum I have followed your instructions and tweaked this sytem to my room and it actually sounds listenable,I do however think my equipment is a bit much for this size room.There were settings on the Infinity that I did not know about that are rubber plugged holes,after reading the manual,I made adjustments and lowered the volume a bit,the sub cleaned up at around 60-70hz and the tower subs at 80hz all of them are cohesive now to a point in this room.We have a huge overstuffed couch and recliner in this room,and a large entertainment center,not to mention all the presents under the tree.Could this be a problem?

[GMichael]

Presents under the tree are never a problem.
I have a big soft sectional in my room also. It's not a problem, but it does suck some of the highs out of the room. Just break out that meter that I know you have left over from your car stereo days. You'll be good.

[powerlord]

Hey G LOL! I did just that,got the Termpro SPL meter out and found all the sweet spots,I've got alot of bass on the left rear side of the room and my highs are right and a little high mid room and thats seems to be all the mic will pick up.

[drseid]

Sorry, just getting in on this thread late... That 15 inch Titanic may be overkill for your room size at 12 X 15. As for the Inifinity, I confess I am not a fan. That said, it may not be worth insulting the wife in returning it. Maybe buy a different sub and secretly leave the Infinity disconnected while running the sound through the one you buy for yourself. :-)

In the $1000 and less catagory sub for a room your size I would look at 12 inchers, or even a solid 10 depending on your priorities. Many of the brands already mentioned I concur with... SVS makes a great 10 incher for HT (and does pretty good music in a pinch), so does Hsu.

My favorite, however in the sub $1000 catagory is "The Force XL" by ACI. This is a 10 inch sub that will not touch the SVS or Hsu in max SPL, but it is quite good with music (so it depends on priorities as to which is the more appropriate sub for your needs). Another good one that will take up less space in your room that is great for music and looks stunning is the Rocket UFW-10. This also is a 10 incher that excels at music, but not as much HT (I think you are guessing where my personal tastes lie by my recs... ;-)). Both the ACI and Rocket subs are sold Internet only. ACI's web page is http://www.audioc.com and AV123's (Rocket's distributor) is http://www.av123.com .

Good luck in any case...

---Dave

[powerlord]

Thanks for the input drseid,I probably listen to HT and music about the same amount of time,I love both,so a sub that will do all would be my pick.We will only be in our house for another 5 years then it's off to a much bigger home,so the Titan might be a keeper.The Infinity isn't the end all of subs,but set right it does it's job.Both are overkill for my space I think,I'm not sure I even need an external sub with the powered dual tens in each of my RSF1000's,thats four powered tens up front and they aren't shabby,they get tight and they go low,so I might be adding the overkill myself,my wife says I can return the Infinity for some rear surrounds,so I'm not going to step on any toes.

[drseid]

Thanks for the input drseid,I probably listen to HT and music about the same amount of time,I love both,so a sub that will do all would be my pick.We will only be in our house for another 5 years then it's off to a much bigger home,so the Titan might be a keeper.The Infinity isn't the end all of subs,but set right it does it's job.Both are overkill for my space I think,I'm not sure I even need an external sub with the powered dual tens in each of my RSF1000's,thats four powered tens up front and they aren't shabby,they get tight and they go low,so I might be adding the overkill myself,my wife says I can return the Infinity for some rear surrounds,so I'm not going to step on any toes.

If each of your mains has dual powered 10s you are right that probably you already have more than enough bass for your room. That said, if you are disatisfied with your current bass *quality* (not to imply that you *should* be in any way), then a high quality sub cound improve bass quality if you cross it over to cover the low-end. Maybe instead you could use the Dayton for just the LFE on HT and set your mains to large for music and non LFE HT to take advantage of their low bass capabilities? I do this with my Titan sub BTW, as my mains (pictured below my screen name) also have a decent amount of low bass capabilities,

Good luck,

---Dave

[powerlord]

Great advice I never would have thought of that! I have my front subs crossed over at 80hz and the other sub at 60hz.

[GMichael]

If each of your mains has dual powered 10s you are right that probably you already have more than enough bass for your room. That said, if you are disatisfied with your current bass *quality* (not to imply that you *should* be in any way), then a high quality sub cound improve bass quality if you cross it over to cover the low-end. Maybe instead you could use the Dayton for just the LFE on HT and set your mains to large for music and non LFE HT to take advantage of their low bass capabilities? I do this with my Titan sub BTW, as my mains (pictured below my screen name) also have a decent amount of low bass capabilities,

Good luck,

---Dave

I agree 100%. His RSF1000's should be more than enough for music. He could use the Titanic for HT only. I'd set the receiver's crossover to only send the Titanic 60htz and under. Maybe even 40 and under.

[powerlord]

Would it be the same if I set the frequencies at the amplifier crossover on each sub? I have the sub setting on my reciever at 80hz,it has 150,100,and 80 for the sub settings on my reciever.I kinda don't get that either,if you have powered subs with their own crossovers why would you even have to mess with the recievers sub setting?

[GMichael]

Would it be the same if I set the frequencies at the amplifier crossover on each sub? I have the sub setting on my reciever at 80hz,it has 150,100,and 80 for the sub settings on my reciever.I kinda don't get that either,if you have powered subs with their own crossovers why would you even have to mess with the recievers sub setting?

On many receivers, those sub settings also affect what goes to your mains. If I set mine at 80htz then my sub gets 20 to 80 and my speakers get 80 & up. (not counting the roll offs) I can set it so that the mains get 20 to 20k no matter what the crossover is set at. I have to set the mains to large and choose "both" (base goes to both the sub and the mains) for the base output.
These newer receivers have so many options it can make your head spin. Well, mine at least.
You can play around with your options and let your ears & meter tell you what's best.

[powerlord]

Thanks G,I know after playing with my settings now,when I play my music you can't hear the external sub,but when I run them HT they seem to meld and you cannot tell where the external sub is now,and I have it on the right side of the room due to no space.So I can feel the bass more now than hear it.

[GMichael]

That's great. I love it when a plan comes together.