Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions subwoofer crossover, receiver impedance

Hi, folks,

Just got a new receiver: Denon AVR-3312ci.

I have a few questions for you great people:

1.
I don't see a speaker impedance setting in the Denon manual. It simply says, "speaker impedance 6-16ohm." So I assume nothing I can do about that to prevent any problems. M22 and QS8 are 8ohm, VP150 is 6ohm...

2.
Since I have my mains as the M22 v2, what should I set the sub crossover in the Denon to?

3. Link to the HSU subwoofer manual is dead.
a.
I have a "crossover" flip switch on the back of the HSU: "out" or "in." What should I set that to?
b.
Also on the back of the HSU, there is a "crossover frequency" know that goes from 30Hz to 90Hz. What does that do and what should I set it to?

I had set all this stuff up years ago (properly, I think...), but kids always fool with those knobs and switches, and since I got a new receiver, I'm trying to set everything up again then lock the door to HT.

Thank you,
Rodney

Rodney, long time no see; welcome back! Five years ago you were starting to tell us about you and your daughter listening to those classical CDs, then nothing further on that.

Excellent receiver you got. The impedance setting should be left at the default higher setting regardless of what the rated impedances of the speakers are. The lower setting reduces the voltage, current and power capacity to help prevent receiver overheating, but this therefore cuts the maximum power available by roughly half and should never be used.

I use an 80Hz crossover with my M22s, which is the most commonly suggested number to relieve the speakers and receiver of some of the lowest bass burden and put it on the sub which is designed to handle it better.

Set the "crossover"(actually not a crossover, just a low-pass filter)on the Hsu to "out", which bypasses that internal filter and allows the receiver to handle the bass management frequencies without interference. Since it's bypassed, the setting on the 30-90Hz control is irrelevant.

Edit: if as you and Randy indicate there's no impedance setting at all, that's fine, since it's useless at best. There's no need to try to adjust for different impedances.

1. All the Denon receivers I've ever owned don't have such a setting. It will work with any combination of speakers.

2. I'm guessing the receiver should have the Audyssey mic setup, which you should run. That will give you ideal settings for speaker distance, crossover, etc. But if you do it by ear, set the speakers to "small" and start around 80hz crossover.

3. Not sure but I'm sure a Google search might help. b) since your receiver will be handling the bass management, you normally get the crossover setting on the back of the sub out of the way, or to the highest setting. The crossover settings for each speaker on the receiver will direct the low freq's to the sub, below those points you set, or Audyssey.

Ha, John!

Yes, life happens. Sorry. I just set it up, and I hardly ever enjoy the music or the movies. BUT, when local BestBuy was giving a new, unopened 3312ci for $399 (NOT a typo), I snagged it. So here I am again. Hope not to disappear for 5 more years.

I don't remember which CDs were mentioned here, but "The Planets," Wynton Marsalis' "Carnaval," and Norah Jones "Come Away with Me" are the only CDs I find myself popping in again and again when I do get some minutes.

The one movie that rocks my HT is Master and Commander where the booms are big and the scenes from inside the boat with the wood creaking are amazing.

Anyway, thank you for your help. I will set sub like you mentioned.

Cheers,
Rodney

PP,

Just saw your post.

I did run Audyssey, and I think it set the mains to small and the VP150 to small. I'll check.

Thank you!

as it should have, then I would check the crossover setting next, most likely that is around 60-80, or possibly higher. With Audyssey, you can adjust the crossover setting up, but you don't want to lower what was found. So if it set your speakers to say 60hz crossover, it would be ok to bump them up to 80, and send more lows to the sub, which will do a better job in that category.

Also, with that receiver, did you run Audyssey from more than one location, creating a "bubble" within the seating area? The first measurement would be taken from the central (primary) location.

correction: Audyssey set my M22s as large and the VP150 as small...

PP,

you are fast. I just saw your post above.

I did not set but the main listening position up through Audyssey. I'll check what it set the crossover to.

Then manually set the M22s "small" with an 80Hz crossover.

copy that!

thank you.

edit:
Audyssey had set crossover:
- on mains to "Full Range"
- on VP150 to 80
- on QS8s to 60.

I changed them all manually to 80Hz. Good?

The distances Audyssey had found were spot on, except for the sub, which it found at 9.5', but it's really more like 6.5'... Should I change that? Do you recommend I do more than one listening position?

Cheers,

Yes, setting all to 80Hz is fine.

The sub distance is often set as longer than its actual physical distance because of a delay in the sub electronics. It should be left that way.

Yes, use all the listening measurement positions available. Note though that these shouldn't be widely separated, but should be clustered around the listening position just a foot or so apart from each other.

Also keep the mic between the mains. The first time I tried it I was outside the mains and got poor results. I have non standard seating positions, so I just use the center of the room, instead of seating position with fairly good results.

I scared the heck out of my son with the first battle scene. The part where they beat to arms and you hear foot steps across your ceiling is amazing!

Fred,

Yes, YES! Amazing. Truly surround(ed) by sound... I'd forgotten about the steps from ... above.

CatBrat,

I placed the Audyssey mic where I usually sit, which is the traditional listening corner of the my-2-mains-and-me triangle.

The point of Audyssey is to create a bubble around the listening area, not just run it from one location like the old receivers. The first measurement should be done from primary seat, yes, but then you should run a few more locations "around" where you sit, up to 8. The more measurements you take, the better results you will have.

Do you think it can create a "Cone of Silence" from my noisy street out front? More importantly, can it provide Agent 99 on the couch next to me?

Maybe, why don't you try calling her on your shoe phone.