Crossover setting

[MrGrim999]

Silly question....regarding the crossover setting in the receiver, if my satellites' range is 110hz, do I set the crossover to 110 or 100?

 

[bradly1101]

110 or 120 (if possible), low frequency response can be overstated. Mine hit 75hz but are attenuated at that frequency, so I use 100.

 

[MrGrim999]

110 or 120 (if possible), low frequency response can be overstated. Mine hit 75hz but are attenuated at that frequency, so I use 100.

I'm trying to hit that G spot with the levels and crossover setting. I want my ears to spooj!!

 

[purbeast0]

just test it out and see what works for you best. i know after i ran audyssey i had to change my crossover to a lower number because what it was set at initially was not nearly enough bass that i wanted to hear, and this is with the audyssey that calibrates with dual subs too. try watching a scene you like with different settings. i think i ended up keeping mine at 80 and it went to like 120 after calibration.

 

[LoveMachine]

Define "satellites". If there are wee cheapo 2.5" single drivers from a HTiB, they may need as high as 250hz. Bookshelf sized speakers might be safely run at 80Hz. And listed low end range is wildly optimistic, and probably might be accurate at 1 or 2 watts RMS, but at any significant volume, they could be damaged at the listed low end range. A simple test might be to turn off your sub (assuming you have one), and play a midbass heavy song (think bass guitar range), and listen for distortion as you crank up the volume. Play at various cutoff settings and see what sounds good without distortion.

 

[stockwiz]

My monitor 70's seem to go down to about 50 hz alright but they seem to sound more 'alive' if I set the crossover around 100 hz and let the sub do the rest so that's what I do. Experiment to see what sounds better.

Anything much above 80hz might start sounding 'directional' ... even under 80hz I find I can't place the sub to the right or left of my listening position unless I was to get a second one for the other side. Behind or in front for me. (behind right now)

 

[MongGrel]

It's a matter of playing around I guess sometimes, I've had mine as high as 160 and it wasn't interesting, and low as 80, have a few speakers handle it fine here.

I usually stick around 110 - 120 personally also.

 

[MrGrim999]

Define "satellites". If there are wee cheapo 2.5" single drivers from a HTiB, they may need as high as 250hz. Bookshelf sized speakers might be safely run at 80Hz. And listed low end range is wildly optimistic, and probably might be accurate at 1 or 2 watts RMS, but at any significant volume, they could be damaged at the listed low end range. A simple test might be to turn off your sub (assuming you have one), and play a midbass heavy song (think bass guitar range), and listen for distortion as you crank up the volume. Play at various cutoff settings and see what sounds good without distortion.

They're decent satellites. I'm using the Klipsch Quintets 5.0's. I looked up their specs and they go to 110hz.

 

[MrGrim999]

just test it out and see what works for you best. i know after i ran audyssey i had to change my crossover to a lower number because what it was set at initially was not nearly enough bass that i wanted to hear, and this is with the audyssey that calibrates with dual subs too. try watching a scene you like with different settings. i think i ended up keeping mine at 80 and it went to like 120 after calibration.

But if I changed it to 80, doesn't that mean the satellites will take more stress?

 

[bradly1101]

I'm trying to hit that G spot with the levels and crossover setting. I want my ears to spooj!!

I live in an apartment so I can't use volume levels that would justify the use of larger speakers (I have the Infinity 5 1/4" ones). But if I really wanted nice, loud sound I'd have 6 1/2"s with an 80hz x-over.

 

[razel]

But if I changed it to 80, doesn't that mean the satellites will take more stress?

I wouldn't fret over the difference. You can get larger gains/differences of frequency response by your location in the room or your location of the speaker. Like everyone mentioned, try different settings. At least you have an idea (110hz) of where you should be.

Also crossover at 80hz means at 80hz it's -3db down. So with xover at 80hz, at 110hz it might be -1db. Where it starts to drop depends on the slope and some math.

 

[MrGrim999]

I appreciate all the responses guys. Just one last question in case I'm risking damage to the satellites. I looked up their specs and the range is 110Hz-23kHz. I know a few of you guys recommended experimenting and I've read online that most people are using a crossover setting of 80 hz. But, since these satellites low range bottoms at 110hz, wouldnt i be damaging or stressing them out at a setting of 80hz? I'm probably overthinking this but I just want to be sure after spending all that money 🙂

 

[MrGrim999]

OMG....just got that terrible feeling in my stomach like I made a big big mistake. I just looked at the specs on other speakers I was deciding between at the time (Pioneer BS22's & Definitive Technology Pro Cinema 600's) and saw that their frequency ranges significantly lower than 110hz. Does that mean there are alot of sounds below 110hz that are meant for the surround speakers when watching a blu ray for example???

 

[Anubis]

your not missing it, its just being routed to your sub

stuff 100hz and below is mostly bass and midbass

 

[MrGrim999]

your not missing it, its just being routed to your sub

stuff 100hz and below is mostly bass and midbass

Oh ok cool. I thought maybe they were sounds that sounded better coming from all speakers. But if it's only bass sounds under 100hz...

 

[Randy99CL]

First, I'd set the crossover at 120Hz because of your satellites. As you said, if the setting is too low (and you like it loud) you can blow the smaller drivers by pushing them too hard and too low.

But this is not as simple as it seems at first.
Crossovers are not switches; the sound doesn't switch from one speaker to another at one exact frequency. It's actually a slope where the mains are slowly phased out as more of the signal is directed to the sub.
With your crossover set at 120, your mains are still getting some power even down at 60 and below. I think most crossovers slopes are about 12db/octave.
In a perfect world the slope (cutoff) of the crossover would match the low-end response of the mains and the high-end of the sub...but that likely never happens.

Just play with the crossover freq and listen critically for the best balance to your ears. One thing that I listen for is good definition of bass guitar notes. I've heard some systems where the bass sounded boomy because the crossover was too high. IMO the mains (midbass) have a lot to do with the "punch" and definition of bass notes.

Or get the system calibrated.