Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Advice on Family room setting

I think there is confusion out there (at least in my mind) as the term "LFE" seems to be used two ways ... there is the LFE channel, coming in from the source, which is what I think Anthem was referring to and then there is the x-over from the LRC and surrounds which routes the low-end from each of those to the sub channel (which some including me, perhaps wrongly, often call the LFE) ... when I say LFE I mean the latter ...
Ok ... that said ...


How you blend your subs (cross-over and LFE v.s. LFE+Mains), IMO, is dependent on your speakers, amp, sub(s), and the amount of time you’re willing to spend exprerimenting. The reason 80Hz is often picked as an x-over point is that below that frequency localization of the source becomes difficult (if not impossible). Above that some people might be able to place it at the sub ...


Reasons that you might want to set the LFE x-over higher:
-- 1) The speaker response is down more than 3db at 80Hz
-- 2) You need to off load power from your amp. Most receivers will benefit by not driving a full range speaker. Especially if you play it loud and are driving the center plus all the surrounds. Only so much juice to go around.
-- 3) 1 & 2 are assuming you sub can reach up to and beyond what ever x-over point your going for.

Reasons that you might want to set it lower:
-- 1) your speakers can go lower (the designer spent a lot of time getting that range to play well ... you should use it)
— 2) your amp is a beast
-- 3) or perhaps your sub is sub-par (so to speak) just for train rumble, crashes, and explosions.

Reasons for going LFE vs. LFE+Mains:
Going LFE your receiver will handle the x-over smoothly you just need to get the levels set right. Going LFE+Mains might be good if your trying to smooth out the bass at the low-end. Think the sub level should be set as high as you can get it without knowing it’s there (i.e. sounds the same turned on/off)

Anyway … just my thoughts …