Hi Kruncher and all,

My "starting-out" advice to anyone setting up a 5.1/7.1 system is to always use "Small" speaker settings and an 80-Hz crossover. Turn off all auto-calibration and auto-EQ (Audyssey and similar auto-EQ systems are always error-prone and produce inaccurate setup) and do a manual setup, then you can experiment with different crossover settings if you have large full-range front left and right main speakers and a full-range center.

You'll always want to bypass the subwoofer's internal crossover since your AV receiver is setting all the filters.

Now, about that article of mine. I modified my earlier text for that article because Ian wanted me to allow for greater flexibility. He and some of my other Axiom colleagues prefer more bass than I do (what I call "overwhelming bass", much larger than life) and so do lots of Axiom customers.

I've found that in most setups, if you set the front main speakers to "Large" AND you use the subwoofer, it simply produces far too much bass. But lots of bass-heads love it.

Certainly experiment with lower crossover settings for your front mains--in some installations, 60 Hz or 40 Hz may be preferable with full-range speakers.

Regards,
Alan

Alan Lofft,
Axiom Resident Expert (Retired)