System Setup Help....please?

[nohav]

Ok, I finally have all the pieces in place and could use some suggestions. I have a Rotel RSX-1065 with Tower fronts (NRT), a Sierra 1 center(NRT), 170 surrounds and Rythmik F 15 sub. My room measures 13'w x 15' d x 10-14' h (vaulted). Speaker placement is limited by furniture and WAF. Towers are 1' off back wall with the Sierra horizontal and fairly well aligned with midpoint of tweeter and mid of the Towers. Surrounds are in back corners toed in 45 degrees (side walls not an option). I sit on a small couch 9' from the Towers. Sub is on the back wall (window) and behind my couch, facing forward (only option). I'm about 50/50 music vs movies.

Where do I start with settings??? The receiver is pre-auto set-up. It does give me a tone to level speaker output. No clue where to set crossover...do I let the receiver or sub decide? Should settings for the Sierra 1 and 170s be for small or large speaker? I do notice when I play George Winston piano solos I get a thunk from the sub when the volume transitions that isn't piano pedal noise. Should I change the phase? I don't listen at horrific volumes so I shouldn't be pushing the sub that hard.

Trial and error adjusting of all these parameters is gonna take forever so hopefully someone can head me in the right direction.

Thanks!

[curtis]

Do you have a SPL meter? If not, you will need one.

A lot of good info on how to set things up here:
http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/calibrate-your-system/home-theater-set-up-basics-101

[Sonic Ray]

Good reference, Curtis, thanks.
Question: Do you recommend setting the towers and STC as "small" when using a subwoofer as descried in that reference?

[curtis]

Good reference, Curtis, thanks.
Question: Do you recommend setting the towers and STC as "small" when using a subwoofer as descried in that reference?
Every room/setup is different, so I suggest experimenting.

I would start out with them set as small, and crossed at 50-60hz.

The Towers have excellent bass quality, and should integrate with the F15 extremely well.

[nohav]

Oops, I should have written the towers were 1' off the front wall.

Thanks for your input Curtis, but why would you set the towers to small? Aren't they full range?

Do you recommend the RadioShack spl meter or would a few bucks more get me more accurate measurements?

And where do I start with the sub?? The degree of control is overwhelming.

[curtis]

Oops, I should have written the towers were 1' off the front wall.

Thanks for your input Curtis, but why would you set the towers to small? Aren't they full range?

Do you recommend the RadioShack spl meter or would a few bucks more get me more accurate measurements?

And where do I start with the sub?? The degree of control is overwhelming.
They are absolutely full range, but you set them to small so that the same bass signal is not sent to the sub and the speakers. Of course you can experiment with it. You should also experiment without a sub.

For the sub, check here:
http://forum.ascendacoustics.com/showthread.php?t=4432

[Sonic Ray]

Here's another question:
In soundtracks, is the LFE signal separate from the other content? In other words, if speakers are set to Large, does that pull the LFE to the speakers or is that content only sent to the subwoofer irrespective of speaker setting?

[curtis]

Here's another question:
In soundtracks, is the LFE signal separate from the other content? In other words, if speakers are set to Large, does that pull the LFE to the speakers or is that content only sent to the subwoofer irrespective of speaker setting?
LFE is the .1 in 5.1 or 7.1, and is a separate channel and has its own information/material.

When you employ bass management (ie. a crossover), information meant for the speakers below the crossover point is routed to the subwoofer as well. When the speaker is set to small, the information below the crossover point is taken away from the speaker.