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Setting Crossover Frequencies

G

gilga

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jan 26, 2006
Messages
1,867
Hi everyone,

I recently bought a Polk CS1 center channel and Polk t15's for the rear surrounds. I am a dunce when it comes to setting the speakers up properly. With the receiver I have, I can select from seven possible settings: 40Hz, 60Hz, 80Hz,100Hz, 120Hz, 150Hz or 200Hz.

I am not sure what the ideal crossover settings should be based on the specs of my speakers.

Polk CS1 (Center Channel)
Overall Frequency Response 55Hz - 25kHz
Lower -3dB Limit 65Hz
Upper -3dB Limit 24kHz
Nominal Impedance 8 ohms
Recommended Amplifier Power 20 - 125 w/channel
Efficiency 89 dB
Crossover 2.3kHz, second order high and low pass

Polk T15 ( Rear Channel)
Overall Frequency Response 60Hz - 24kHz
Lower -3dB Limit 65Hz dB
Upper -3dB Limit 20kHz dB
Nominal Impedance 8 ohms
Recommended Amplifier Power 20 - 100 w/channel

Any help is greatly appreciated. Take care
 
80 or 100 would probably work, should run some sweeps with both. Maybe try 120 as well, but 100 is prob highest you would need to go.
 
forgive me, but are those frequencies for the surrounds or the center?
 
This should be the setting for the sub. Most people have 100hz, so anything below 100Hz is for the sub. I would go for 80Hz in your case.
 
80hz for teh sub????? what would be ideal settings for the surrounds and center
 
your surrounds and your center have the same specs so you want to cross them at the same frequency. The crossover is for both the sub and the speakers, its where the speakers stop making sound and the sub starts making sound (really there is overlap, the crossover rolls it off gradually). You want it set to 80 or 100 in your receiver and you want the crossover on the sub turned all the way up (basically off) to like 250hz or whatever the highest is on the sub's crossover dial. Letting your receiver take over the bass management.

Since you dont have capable mains you want all of your bass going to your sub.
 
thanks for all the replies. From what I can gather I should set my center channel and surround speakers to 80-100? which of these two settings would be better? I found the info on my sub if it helps 33Hz - 160Hz

thanks
 
Ideally, you should set ALL channels to 80hz, the general consensus being that a setting of 80hz minimizes localization issues with the sub itself.
 
gotcha, so i need to set all speakers including the SUB to 80hz? I am looking to get polk monitor 50's for the front channels to replace the yamahas I currently have
 
You can set the sub xover to it's maximum setting, as the 80hz xover set in your receiver will only allow sound below 80hz to be sent out to the sub...making the sub xover redundant.

What receiver and sub are you using ?
 
im using a crappy insignia sub for the moment (eventually will be replaced) my receiver is a harman kardon avr 146
 
There may be a slight null in frequency response if you set the crossover to 80hz rather than 100hz, it depends on the speakers and the subwoofer, however as stated the higher you set the crossover the more you run the risk of localization of the subwoofer. This is why i suggested trying both and see what sounded better to you.

a quick test would be a frequency sweep to see if the volume sounds uniform across the entire range.
 
The crossover frequency is "the hz which bass get's transitioned over to your sub". You don't set this individually for your mains, you use Large or Small for that part. The hz adjustment only affects your sub.

Go to your sub, set it to maximum (120 most likely) then set the actual number you want in your receiver. 80hz is the THX standard, not "generally accepted". It's the default of what people use if they don't really know how to fine tune it.

In most situations (even with full range towers) you want to set your mains to small, and your crossover accordingly. 80 is a good place to START, but you can tweak it to your liking.
 
Blast8180 said:
80hz is the THX standard, not "generally accepted". It's the default of what people use if they don't really know how to fine tune it.
Click to expand...

OK, I'll reword :

It's the general consensus of those that have moved past the point of caring what THX has to say, that 80Hz is a good compromise between range and localization, but as every room/setup is a different animal, this may(will) need to be adjusted to fit.
 
cerwinvega said:
OK, I'll reword :

It's the general consensus of those that have moved past the point of caring what THX has to say, that 80Hz is a good compromise between range and localization, but as every room/setup is a different animal, this may(will) need to be adjusted to fit.
Click to expand...

Perfect!

I didn't want him to think that everyone just uses 80hz for the sake of it. It's just a good starting place. Then +/- 10 etc.

More important than the hz is where your sub is located. Don't put it in a corner if you can help it. This will give you more immediate bass, but you might be able to tell where it's coming from (bad). For one subwoofer, try putting it along the middle of one wall in the room. You may have to move it around. It really helps if you have a helper, to move the sub around while you're sitting in your normal viewing seat to hear where the bass is both the loudest and hardest to localize.
 
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