Full range speakers option in W7

[geraltofrivia]

Does anyone else find it strange that a high-pass filter is enabled by default in Win7? My audio sounds much better after disabling it (by checking the Full range speakers option in Sound Properties -> Configure speakers).

 

[Bojamijams]

Thats because most speakers that are 2.0, which are included with brand name computers, are pure shit and second highest is a .1 type system that has a sub... either way, the speakers are not full-range

 

[Medion]

Would it make sense to enable full range and set the limit to 70hz for Dayton B652s with no sub?

 

[matteos]

Does anyone else find it strange that a high-pass filter is enabled by default in Win7? My audio sounds much better after disabling it (by checking the Full range speakers option in Sound Properties -> Configure speakers).

What? I did not know this, thanks for the tip will have to check my setup tonight, I have all my music on a win 7 based htpc.

 

[TESLA]

Sending low frequencies to speakers which cannot even come close to handling them can often introduce distortion and make the whole setup sound worse.

I would agree that this option is likely enabled by default in order to appeal to the vast majority of users.

 

[Medion]

I R retarded. Enabling full range disabled the high-pass crossover (I'm an audio noob). So, my speakers claim that they have a 70hz-20khz range, and the default crossover is 80hz. I changed it to 70 to match my speakers (2x Dayton B652, no sub). I can't notice a difference, but then, I didn't exactly ABX it.

 

[matteos]

I have full range speakers, will fiddle with this when I get home.

 

[XenIneX]

I R retarded. Enabling full range disabled the high-pass crossover (I'm an audio noob). So, my speakers claim that they have a 70hz-20khz range, and the default crossover is 80hz. I changed it to 70 to match my speakers (2x Dayton B652, no sub). I can't notice a difference, but then, I didn't exactly ABX it.

1). Your speakers' specs are probably rather optimistic. Best case, it rolls off -3db at 70hz; more likely, it's a bit worse.
2). The difference between 80hz and 70hz is about two semi-tones -- which is pretty much nothing, spectrum-wise. You might get a hair more presence on the lowest note of a bass guitar...except you won't; see point 1.

 

[geraltofrivia]

What? I did not know this, thanks for the tip will have to check my setup tonight, I have all my music on a win 7 based htpc.

I have full range speakers, will fiddle with this when I get home.

I can easily tell the difference with audioengine A2's (2.0 compact bookshelf speakers). Actually even the Dell Soundbar on my other setup sounds better with the full-range box checked.

 

[PCMusicGuy]

It is definitely odd. Using an X-Fi card further complicates things in my experience. When I setup my bookshelves with a dedicated sub, I had to set the configuration to 5.1, turn off the center and rear channels, turn off the full range option, and the sub still didn't work. I had to go enable Bass Redirection in the Creative software and set my crossover.

 

[SirMaster]

I find it odd that full-range isn't the default.

Don't most people use headphones? Headphones are full-range.

 

[LeninGHOLA]

I don't think most people use headphones

My mains are not full range, so no point in it. Speakers should be run at the frequency range they are designed for.

 

[haste]

I don't think most people use headphones

My mains are not full range, so no point in it. Speakers should be run at the frequency range they are designed for.

most speakers have crossovers and such. why not just send the full signal and allow the speaker itself to sort it out?

 

[LeninGHOLA]

most speakers have crossovers and such. why not just send the full signal and allow the speaker itself to sort it out?

Not every speaker crossover has a high pass filter on the woofer. Filtering is also not a wall, more of a gradual roll off. So you can have speakers playing harmonics an octave below their intended use, creating much distortion. It's not healthy. Like I said, play your speakers at the frequency range they are designed for.

 

[TESLA]

Crossovers in speakers generally only separate the frequencies for different drivers rather than filter them out altogether. (Although certain sound bars, TV sets, and etc. devices will sometimes apply filters to the sound to limit dynamic range and thus mitigate some issues caused by frequencies outside of the unit's capabilities.)

All speakers, for example, will experience increased distortion if they are sent frequencies outside those which they can accurately reproduce, but without a sub, cutting out the low frequencies, for instance, can make the sound seem thin. As an example against distortion, distortion in some more extreme cases (think truly anemic speakers here for a given listening volume and environment) can make human voices more difficult to understand and generally drown out detail sounds.

This is not to say that distortion is a black and white subject. The micro driver in your phone will likely buzz to all hell if it tried to reproduce a sound at 20 Hz, but distortion caused by that same 20 Hz in a bookshelf speaker may not be audible (or at least not bothersome) at a listening distance. Detail may still be lost, but the speaker may (and maybe even will, for many people) still sound better overall if run full range.

That said, you are talking about setting default for the mass market, and most computer speakers won't be able to reproduce those frequencies anyway. So they probably decided to play it safe in order to avoid any distortion, etc. tickets.

 

[djoye]

It is definitely odd. Using an X-Fi card further complicates things in my experience. When I setup my bookshelves with a dedicated sub, I had to set the configuration to 5.1, turn off the center and rear channels, turn off the full range option, and the sub still didn't work. I had to go enable Bass Redirection in the Creative software and set my crossover.

That's exactly how you have to do it.

To run an X-Fi with bass-redirection:
- Uncheck full-range box in the Windows speaker config
- Enable bass-redirection in Console Launcher

To run an X-Fi without bass-redirection:
- Check full-range box in Windows speaker config
- Disable bass-redirection in Console Launcher

You can get full-range sound without disabling bass-redirection in the Console Launcher but Windows will fight with this so it's best just to take both steps.

I like to run full-range since I have bigger speakers but I use Foobar2000 for music and I use this channel mixer plugin to mix bass to the subwoofer. That plugin can be funky and sometimes you need to close Foobar and restart for it to work but it's good.

For most games I'll run without bass redirection because many games send bass to the sub without the need for redirection but quite a few games don't send bass to the sub so I'll do redirection for them.

 

[matteos]

I can easily tell the difference with audioengine A2's (2.0 compact bookshelf speakers). Actually even the Dell Soundbar on my other setup sounds better with the full-range box checked.

I looked and I'd already set it up correctly, good thing to know though as not everyone plays music from there pc to pc style speakers.

 

[haste]

Thanks for correcting me on the speaker crossovers, I wasn't sure. I do know for a fact if you have a A/V receiver hooked up, you can send a Full Range signal and let the receiver sort it out for the speakers...as long as the settings on the receiver are correct, of course.