(Sierra 1) small or large?

[tdercole]

I have been stumped for weeks now on whether to set my sierras on small or large. I personally like the sound of them crossed over at 80hz and sub off which automatically sets them to large. I keep reading that setting speakers to large is a bad thing to do because all the low signals will not go to the subwoofer and most drivers cant handle the low frequencies. When i do the audyssey it sets them to small and puts them at +12db.

Lately I have been turning the sub on for movies and turning it off when i listen to 2 channel music.
I would like to hear from the pros on what they think,can the sierra
51/4" driver balance all of those frequencies accurately on large?

[qwknuf6]

If using a sub ,set the Sierra to small , no sub set them to large


Large = no bass management
Small = bass management

Mark

[tdercole]

Yea like i said i turn the sub on for movies and off for music. When i turn the sub off on the receiver it automatically sets them to large. I just need to know whether or not i am not going to blow the woofer or lose sound quality.

[curtis]

You won't blow the woofer.

As for sound quality, the quality of the bass on the Sierra is outstanding. Which subwoofer do you have?

[tdercole]

Ok great, thanks curtis. I have a polk psw 10

[SnowmaNick]

Double check your wiring/connections. Audyssey should not be having to set them at +12 db unless some kind of issue is going on.

[tdercole]

my connections are fine, i know that the sierras are a little power hungry and it takes more juice to get that woffer moving than your average woofer. Besides it sounds better running them louder than my center (BIC AMERICA 62clrs), kind of produces a deeper soundstage.

[krs]

Audyssey is setting your speakers to large when you turn off the sub BECAUSE there is no sub.

You are incorrect in thinking that Audyssey will not send signal to the sub if your speakers are called 'large' -that only means that it will send low signal to the speakers without anywhere else to send them.

Turn on the sub full time, set your speakers to small and crossover both at 80 hz, or if your speakers have a large driver (over 6") set them at 60 hz for a little smoother handoff between the sub and speakers. Leave the sub at 80 hz.

You don't have to take Audyssey as gospel. It other settings sound better to you use manual corrections to adjust to taste.

I'd agree that you might look at your Audyssey techniques if it's boosting your speakers to a +12 db setting. That is an unusual requirement for front balance and the Ascend speakers aren't THAT inefficient.

Ultimately though - they're YOUR ears. Do what you like.

[hearing specialist]

From a guy who loves all the available and crazy calibration systems, if it were me, I would let them play fullrange/Large for music no sub. Looking at the specified measurements of those speakers and using music as your reference signal they should sound awesome. Now, unless your listening to hardcore rap or synthesized sound (i'm sure you don't roll that way) then you should send those over emphasized, non real sounding bass sounds to the sub. Also is true for organ playback, if your really into sub-harmonics then use your sub and cross them over low for super blending.

For your HT, if your receiver allows it, lower the crossover down to 60hz for even better blending and here's the reason for my thought...Even if the enclosures are set to "Large" and Audyssey is sending the LFE to your sub, your still going to benefit by running the enclosures lower or at "Large". When LFE's are sent it extracts the complete effect thus protecting your smaller main drivers. There is still sound that's important for realistic playback down in the 60-80hz range that's not necessarily "thump". Speakers can still be optimized at the "Large" setting while LFE's are sent to a sub.

But, what do I know...I'm just a Hearing Specialist

[vsollozzo]

I'd experiment a bit. In my living room, with a Hsu VTF-15h sub, I set the Sierras to small, crossed at 40hz and the sub crossed at 60hz for some overlap. Sounds great in this space, seamless, with little noticeable bump around 50, so the room acoustics may be producing a soft spot there that the overlap heals over. When I crossed them at 80 in my room I felt the sub climbed high enough into the mid bass to become obvious tonally and the Sierras play that range quite nicely with speedy transients that the sub can't match.

I can also just run mine at large and crossover at 50 or 60 on the sub with the same effect. I just find it easier to tweak it via remote on the receiver instead of having to climb behind the TV to adjust the crossover on the subwoofer (I'd love a remote control for subs!)