mjzee Posted November 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2014 Scott (or anyone), can you recommend a good procedure for setting the crossover for a subwoofer? I've never done this before. Is it just setting the preamp to control the crossover, then turning the screw little by little until it sounds good? (And why is it a screw and not a knob?) Also, on the Emotiva there are 2 screws: one labeled "high pass" and the other "low pass." Do I just adjust "low pass" or both? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dolan Posted November 29, 2014 Report Share Posted November 29, 2014 Screws instead of knobs?! Hmmmm...I've never heard of that before. If you can manually set your crossover on the Emotiva, then just set your crossover on the sub as high as it will go, then set the crossover on the preamp where you're getting the best results. As I mentioned above, I would bet your setup would benefit from setting your crossover (low pass) to around 50-55Hz. You may want to start higher, say 75-80Hz, and work your way back depending on how old your mains are, and what their actual roll off point is. Let me know if I answered your question enough, as I'm kind of short on time at the moment... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjzee Posted November 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 OK, I tried it. On first pass, I think I still prefer using the controls on the subwoofer than those on the preamp. But I'm sure I now have some months ahead fiddling with all the controls to find that sweet spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dolan Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 That'll work. I prefer the preamp crossover only because I have a hard number shutoff instead of setting a dial where I think that number is. Either way is fine, though. Something you may want to try if you have a smart phone, or tablet, is to find a decent spectrum/frequency analyzer. What you could do if you want to get super precise is turn your sub off and just play your mains. That way you can find out where their true roll off point is. Especially if you have a way of playing either pink noise or a frequency sweep through them. If you find that point, then you can set the sub at that exact frequency for perfect integration. With that said, you can get it set up just fine by ear. Just throwing that option out there if you choose to seriously fine tune it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjzee Posted November 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 Interesting idea about the frequency analyzer. The speaker's specs say it should play down to 20 hz or so, but aurally that's not very true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dolan Posted November 30, 2014 Report Share Posted November 30, 2014 (edited) Oh, they might respond down to 20Hz, but probably at -10 dB. I've never heard a full range speaker that could accurately and audibly reproduce 20Hz. Not one. It's the main reason companies started building powered subs for home theater systems because of the wealth of low end dialed into most modern Hollywood fare. Almost no music will get down in that range... But, you do want to have something that will give you a stout kick in the nuts at, say, 40Hz when it comes to music. If it's possible to run a frequency sweep and analyze it, I'd be interested in hearing where the bass roll off starts for your speakers. I'd be willing to bet it's right around the 50Hz mark. When I looked up your TDL's before their listed frequency response started at 35Hz (to 20kHz, IIRC), and roll off on most speakers tends to happen 15-25Hz from the lowest listed response. My Dynaudio X12's are listed as 50-23000Hz, and they start rolling off right around 70Hz. Also keep in mind that placement can be crucial in some rooms. Most subwoofer cables are a mile long so that you can experiment with location if you're not sold on where it currently sits. So if you have the time and the room flexibility, don't be afraid to try a variety of positions for it. Edited November 30, 2014 by Scott Dolan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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