Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Need help setting up EQ levels for my Epic 80

hey guys. I finally got a receiver with room EQ (HK 635) and am setting up the x-over levels etc. I need some help!

The automatic setup is garbage.. so i'm doing it manually. I have the M80s up front, VP150 center, and 3 QS8s for 6.1 surround.

At what point should I set the x-over for these speakers? Should I set the mains to LARGE or small? I have an SVS sub. The auto EQ sets the mains to large and the x-over to 40, and the surrounds x-over to like 150. But i'm reading you should set the x-over to 1 level above the max lowest the speaker can do so you don't hvae "holes"

Does anyone have any idea how I should set up these speakers?

thanks for the help guys!!

Jim

Jim, the best way to find holes in the frequency response is to buy a set-up disk, like Avia or Sound & Vision. These disks can run a frequency sweep and it is fairly easy to tell where the crossover should be. If it's set too high, the sub will kick in too early localizing itself and try to reproduce sounds it's not built for. Set too low and you will have a drop out, or hole, in the sound.

In the meantime, play around with different settings for the M80s. Try 40, 60, and 80 and then play the same song over and over again and your ears will pick up the differences in sound. Be patient and have fun. Find the sound you like. For my tastes, I might bump the surrounds down to 100, but I don't have QS8s, so I'm just speculating.

Hey, I appreciate it! I have the AVIA disk... I completely forgot that is has audio too!

If you want a good starting point, set the mains to "small" and crossover to 80 hz. That seems to be the most all-round popular setting here. I run the mains crossed over at 80 but the center and surrounds crossed over at 100 because they aren't quite flat to 80 but I'm not convinced that actually sounds better.

The main benefit of setting your mains to "large" for normal listening is if you can't find an "aesthetically acceptable" location for the sub which gives you decent bass in your listening position. In that case you can get smoother bass by running your mains in "large", and then you would want to move the crossover point for the mains way down -- usually to 40 Hz. You also want to set the sub to "main + LF" to make sure that the low notes from the mains still go to the sub.

A lot of people (myself included) often prefer listening to music with the sub turned off. The HK receivers will do that, but you have to set the bass management to "independent" which lets you have different settings for every input and audio format... but of course you have to SET all those settings which is a pain in the butt.

Strenuously suggest you leave the bass management set to "global" until you find a good all-round setting, and only then play with different settings for music.

Good luck !!

I have almost the same setup as you Jim. HK630, M80s, VP150 and 2 QS8s. My recommendation is to set all speakers to small and set all crossovers to 80. Since you have an HK635, you can move individual speakers sets around. You may want to try moving the M80 crossover to 60 or even 40. I keep my M80s at 60.

That's about it.

Hey guys. Thanks for all the help. I was able to set them up using the AVIA disk... and the sound is quite nice.

One thing I notice though.. using the sweep paterns.. the Center channel (VP150) is HORRIBLE when compared to the M80 fronts... i mean they sound like 2 completely different speakers during the front sweep (timber matching).

I can believe how bright the VP150 is. I'm finally sending some power to it (Crown 402b amp) and it has really shown just how bad it sounds. I'm thinking of getting a M22 or something to replace it. Anyone have any success with a setup like that?

I'm very disappointed in this center.. and just never realized it until I put some good power thru it!


Jim

I don't have a VP150, but. like most center channels, it is a sealed design and will sound a bit different than your main speakers. I find this difference in sound apparent in pink noise tests and frequency sweeps. I don't notice a difference when watching a movie or playing a video game (which, by the way, may be the best way to test for timbre matching). Keep in mind, the VP150 is a bit placement sensitive. Make sure it is not tucked away in a cabinet. Try bringing it out so it is aligned flush with the shelf. Worth a shot, anyway.

If you still aren't satisfied and space permits, go for a bookshelf as center.