crossover for 340SE L/R

[Jonnyozero3]

On the HK AVRs you can change the LFE crossover independently of the other crossovers...so if you only want below 100 or something, you can do it. But, then you lose the information from 100-120 as I don't think it gets sent to the mains.

I could be wrong...I need to check on this.

[PLincoln]

if you disable the LFE channel then any info on that channel is lost and not redirected to the mains...the bass management system is such that it redirects bass from the mains to the subwoofer. the LFE channel is a spearate entity...OFF means OFF.

[curtis]

if you disable the LFE channel then any info on that channel is lost and not redirected to the mains...the bass management system is such that it redirects bass from the mains to the subwoofer. the LFE channel is a spearate entity...OFF means OFF.

Are you sure? I was under the impression that on at least some receivers that if you do not have a sub, the LFE channel is directed to the mains.

[MikeAndAnnie]

That's what happens on my Onkyo - If no sub, the LFE is
redirected to the mains, and the mains are automatically
set to Large (and cannot be set to Small).

[shane55]

Are you sure? I was under the impression that on at least some receivers that if you do not have a sub, the LFE channel is directed to the mains.

I believe this is the case with my Denon. It sets the spkrs to lg., and redirects the LFE to them.

shane

[Eddie Horton]

If you're going to use them for HT and plan on pushing the envelope, I'd go no lower than 80Hz. The hardest thing to reproduce at high levels is bass, and you'd be surprised how much info below the crossover point reaches the speakers if you've never tested it before. If you listen at lower volumes, say -20 from calibrated ref level, then 60 shouldn't be a problem theoretically with the 340's. As Shane said, though, you just need to play around with crossover points and speaker and sub positioning to see what works best for you. I do 80 and have no problem listening at -10 from ref level with my 340 L/C/R Classics, 170 surrounds, and VTF-3MkII sub. I don't go any louder, though, for fear of hurting something.

[azanon]

I just got my new H/K in yesterday; and on that receiver, i can tell you i won't being going much below -10db on it either just because i want my ears to last me a lifetime.

Back on point though, you said some information below the crossover gets through; and that's why i thought 60hz would be a great choice for the 340SE because those are spec'ed for ~ 45hz so there's plenty of room for "spillover"; so to speak.

............

Ok i have one other question about my H/K receiver i just got in two days ago. The page on large vs small speaker setting, and the independent crossover settings is confusing. In one paragrah, it says if your speakers cant go below 200hz, then choose small (suggesting that the small setting is only for those cube type speakers). On the next page it says something about if you have "tower or full range speakers", the independent crossovers are used for choosing the specific crossover point. So both of these statements suggest to me that I should choose "large" for all of my speakers if i want any sound below 200hz to reach the individual speakers.

Then in another part (where it describes the surround backs) it says that choosing the "small" setting and choosing an independent crossover point will have the sound above the crossover point going to the individual speaker, thus suggesting that i should choose "small" instead of large.

So i'm confused as hell whether i'm supposed to choose "large" or "small" to get, say, 60hz-20,000 going to my mains, and 60hz-20 going to my sub. This section sould be re-written, because ive read it a few times now and it isn't clear to me and/or sections seem to be contradictory.

[PLincoln]

i should have said that if you disable the LFE and have to sub set to YES...then any LFE info is discarded and all you get is the redirected bass from the mains on the sub.

if you set LFE to off and sub to NO, then all the info is redirected to the mains.

hope that clears up any confusion from my last post

[Eddie Horton]

I just got my new H/K in yesterday; and on that receiver, i can tell you i won't being going much below -10db on it either just because i want my ears to last me a lifetime.

Back on point though, you said some information below the crossover gets through; and that's why i thought 60hz would be a great choice for the 340SE because those are spec'ed for ~ 45hz so there's plenty of room for "spillover"; so to speak.

............

Ok i have one other question about my H/K receiver i just got in two days ago. The page on large vs small speaker setting, and the independent crossover settings is confusing. In one paragrah, it says if your speakers cant go below 200hz, then choose small (suggesting that the small setting is only for those cube type speakers). On the next page it says something about if you have "tower or full range speakers", the independent crossovers are used for choosing the specific crossover point. So both of these statements suggest to me that I should choose "large" for all of my speakers if i want any sound below 200hz to reach the individual speakers.

Then in another part (where it describes the surround backs) it says that choosing the "small" setting and choosing an independent crossover point will have the sound above the crossover point going to the individual speaker, thus suggesting that i should choose "small" instead of large.

So i'm confused as hell whether i'm supposed to choose "large" or "small" to get, say, 60hz-20,000 going to my mains, and 60hz-20 going to my sub. This section sould be re-written, because ive read it a few times now and it isn't clear to me and/or sections seem to be contradictory.

60Hz is a good choice, but only if you're not pushing it really hard. With a 60Hz crossover and a 12dB per octave slope on that crossover, playing pink noise at 90dB would have the speaker trying to play a 30Hz tone at 78dB. Try to play a movie with a lot of low frequency energy at ref levels, and you'll bottom that speaker. If you don't go really loud, it'll be fine. If you do, 80Hz or even 100Hz is not out of the question. And for the receiver, large means full range and no info redirected to the sub. Small means any info below what crossover point you choose will go to the sub. Your H/K allows you to pick different crossovers for different speaker sets. You could do "Small" and 60Hz for the front 3 and "Small" and 80Hz for the surrounds. Or, if you had true full range L/R speakers you could do "Large" and no crossover for the L/R, "Small" and 60Hz for the center and "Small" and 100Hz for the surrounds. Oh, the SE's may spec a -3 point around 45Hz in room, but that is with a 1w/1m measurement. If you pump a 50Hz tone through them at really high levels, you'll bottom them out. It's nothing that is wrong with the speaker, it's just the way it is designed and is the reason that speakers that'll do high levels from 20Hz to 20kHz will cost you upwards of 10k a pair. It's just something that needs to be considered when choosing a crossover point.

edit: Just thinking that a bass reflex speaker has a 24dB/octave roll off below tuning point, so couple that with a 12db/octave crossover from the processor or receiver and I don't know exactly how loud it would be trying to play a 30Hz tone with wide band pink noise at a 90dB volume setting. I'm not technical enough to wrap my brain around it and explain it properly. I do know that a lot of info leaks through and have confirmed this by playing increasingly lower sine waves with an 80Hz crossover and the sub turned off. Just trying to make a point that how loud you like to listen vs. the low bass capabilities of you speakers is something equally important to consider when choosing a crossover.

[azanon]

So what is "really loud"? I dont own an SPL meter, but i do have a H/K receiver (AVR 140). For me, a sweet spot loud setting is when i set the receiver to -15db. Any louder than that, starts to hurt a little.

So, standing about 10 feet away from the speakers, what kind of decibels am i looking at with a -15db reading on my H/K receiver using Logic 7 (crossed over to a VTF-2 balanced with the speakers using the test tones)?

Azanon