We recommend the following steps for fine tuning your system: Achieving good bass can make or break the overall fidelity of your home theater. It's important to invest the time both in setup and critical listening evaluation to ensure you get the most out of your system by getting the bass right. We hope this basic guide helps you in achieving sonic nirvana both heard and felt. If you run into a snag during setup, peruse the Audioholics forums and post questions for our staff and or other forum readers to help you. Remember youre not a dummy for wanting to set things up right and asking questions. There is an inverse relationship between Gain and Crossover. If you prefer to not manually calibrate and instead wish to rely on your receiver's auto calibration process, follow the manufacturer's instructions on how to perform this task. Unless otherwise stated by the manufacturer, always place the microphone supplied with your A/V receiver on a tripod or stand away from your body or surface of your couch at your primary listening position. Position the microphone at seated ear level position and let the A/V receiver take its measurements. Home Theater Multiple Subwoofer Set-up Guide, An Easy Solution to Subwoofer Calibration, Subwoofer Calibration using Rives Test CD, Crawling for Bass - Subwoofer Placement Tips, Connecting a Subwoofer to a Receiver with No Subwoofer Output, Subwoofer Set Up and Configuration for Bass Performance. Steve currently reviews audio products for CNET and works as a freelance writer for Stereophile. As you move about you'll notice the bass' apparent loudness and definition changes from place to place.
How long is long enough?
The sound is output from both the receiver and the TV. Your receiver measures what your speakers are capable of, and configures the crossover accordingly. Precisely matching the volume levels of the front left, center, right, and surround speakers is important, but subwoofer volume is more subjective.
If you're still not satisfied with the sound try using the receiver's manual speaker setup. How do you know if youre doing it right? On some receivers you'll be presented with a wide range of subwoofer or crossover settings, from 40Hz up to as high as 250Hz. This is the single most important factor when getting ready to setup your subwoofer. Although bass waves below 80Hz are non directional to the ear, placement of the subwoofer is vital to how it plays in the room and how it will sound at your listening position. We have written many articles broaching the topic, offering common placement suggestions. In rectangular rooms, it's very predictable as to where the best locations are to place your subwoofer(s). We give very specific instructions for such rooms. Crawling for bass is a viable option for those in more oddly shaped rooms. won't have adequate bass in such circumstances. To non-audiophiles the maze of connectors can be intimidating, but in most instances the single-cable Sub In connection will be the easiest and best-sounding hookup method. Second, just let it play for 20 minutes or so at moderate volume and let the power supply begin to charge itself. Gene manages this organization, establishes relations with manufacturers and keeps Audioholics a well oiled machine. Does that sound occur even if nothing other than the subs are connected. Learn how to correctly set up your subwoofers for optimal placement and connectivity. Merely buying a great subwoofer is no guarantee that you'll wind up with great bass. Stay right here, well walk you through a few misconceptions and get your system up and running at an altogether higher level. A sound level meter can be a big help when setting speaker levels, but it's nearly useless for determining the sub's correct volume level. That's not necessarily the best choice of crossover. Dolby Digital or DTS multi-channel sound is not reproduced. I can set the sub's volume level with DVDs in 10 minutes or less, but with CDs I might be fiddling around for days. available only at authorized retailers. This article aims to help you dial in the sound of your system by making sure the basic settings of both your subwoofer and receiver is configured correctly. When listening to music, your subwoofer will be quiet. Note: When watching movies, the soundtrack typically have a dedicated subwoofer or LFE channel. This makes the life of your subwoofer a little easier. This will result in a sound that is fatter, boomier and improperly integrated with the main speakers. As in, Holy ****, plug that thing back in, my systems broken. Having worked side-by-side in numerous high end reviewers systems, those very words have been uttered by some of the bluest of blue bloods so youre in good company. It certainly beats the alternative of owning nice equipment that doesnt sound good because of bad or improper setup. The easy-to-use, zero-compression, embedded wireless system for No.25, Serie S and Habitat1 that frees you from conventional cables. Let our rigorous testing and reviews be your guidelines to A/V equipment not marketing slogans, Get a 1hr consultation with Gene for $150. Sigberg Audio loudspeakers provide pinpoint imaging, a neutral, balanced and engaging sound signature, as well as effortless dynamics and realistic sound pressure. Very few A/V receivers offer balanced subwoofer outputs, so this article assumes the reader is using unbalanced RCA line level connections., Simply run a good unbalanced COAX or shielded twisted pair cable between your A/V receiver and subwoofer. A test tone is output from a different speaker than the speaker displayed on the display panel. Try to increase the volume until you can clearly hear the sub, and then dial it back again a little bit. Slightly above or below the lowest theyare specified to reproduce, might be a good starting point for the crossover. Once you have your subwoofer positioned properly in your room, it's time to connect it to your A/V receiver.. You also need to set the crossover on the subwoofer. The correct setting is the one that yields more bass. The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. Connecting audio-visual devices and the antennas (aerials), Connecting devices with jacks other than HDMI jacks, Digital audio formats supported by the receiver, 5. Now play music and movies with lots of bass, and take a little stroll around your room, stopping in the spots where you'd like to place the sub. If you don't hear any difference between the 0 and 180-degree settings, leave the phase control in the 0 position. Again, if you feel like this is all a little too complicated, relax, take a deep breath, run the auto setup program, and let the receiver sort things out. Before you begin, set the crossover control to its lowest setting, well come back to it in a few minutes. Your receiver will control crossover. Setting up the receiver using Easy Setup, Assigning the surround back speaker terminals (, Enjoying video/sound from the connected device, Enjoying sound of an ARC (Audio Return Channel) compatible TV, Watching HDCP 2.2 copyright-protected content, Enjoying audio content using the BLUETOOTH function (Pairing operation), Enjoying audio content stored on a USB device, USB specifications and compatible USB devices, Receiving RDS broadcasts (for European and Asia-Pacific models only), Relations between sound fields and speaker outputs, Resetting sound fields to the default settings, Enjoying clear sound at a low volume level (, Enjoying audio content stored on a BLUETOOTH device, Enjoying audio content stored on a BLUETOOTH device with a one-touch connection (NFC), Controlling a BLUETOOTH device using the remote control, Compatible BLUETOOTH version and profiles, Using SongPal to control the receiver from a smartphone or tablet device, Controlling the receiver using a smartphone or tablet device (SongPal), Interlocking with BRAVIA TV and other devices (BRAVIA Sync), Preparing to use the BRAVIA Sync function, Turning off the receiver and connected devices simultaneously with the TV (System Power Off function) (STBY LINK), Enjoying TV sound from the speakers connected to the receiver (System Audio Control function), Enjoying an input source from a connected device immediately (One-Touch Play function), Selecting the optimum picture quality and sound field automatically (Scene Select function), Operating the receiver menu using the TV remote control (Remote Easy Control function), Enjoying video and sound with your desired way of use, Switching between digital and analog audio (, Operating the receiver with the menu on the display panel, Outputting a test tone from each speaker (, Setting the crossover frequency of the speakers (, Selecting the unit of measurement (DIST. Made in Norway. You can even try 100hz. What experts mean when they say that is that one shouldnt hear a boomy, overly rich sound quality stepping all over music or movies. Its purpose is rather more single-minded than simply being a dumb volume control. The receiver is turned off automatically. Typically, you will get a much better bass response if you relieve your speakers of the deepest bass, even if you have pretty large speakers. Yes, I know that sounds like a crazy idea, but it's just for test purposes. Most also do a decent job at applying EQ to correct for standing waves in the room. Rarely will the Crossover setting greatly exceed 15-16 clicks up. Your A/V receiver typically has a better Low Pass Filter (LPF), typically 24dB/Octave ensuring your sub wont be localized since the frequencies above what it was designed to produce will be attenuated better. Hope this was helpful! August 29, 2012: This is an update of my subwoofer setup article from 2008. Cannot find an available input when connecting several digital devices. Developed by our engineers specifically for use with REL subwoofers to maximize the information available in the high-level connection. His goal is to educate about home theater and develop more standards in the industry to eliminate consumer confusion clouded by industry snake oil. 2022 CNET, a Red Ventures company. UNIT), Setting the FM station receiving mode (FM MODE), Selecting the language of digital broadcasts (DUAL MONO), Enjoying content of a connected device without turning on the receiver (, Setting the HDMI audio signal output of connected devices (, Reverting to the factory default settings, List of messages after Auto Calibration measurements. If it does, keep turning up the crossover until it booms again (a click or two) and again reduce the gain a click or so. The Control for HDMI function does not work properly. The "by ear" method works well enough. That might be all you need to do. Volume: You may need to adjust the subwoofer volume after room setup. Theres a link to the 2 setup cuts needed to go through your audio life at the end of this blog. Most of the article is written with theassumption thatyou have an amplifier / receiver / processor with a dedicated subwoofer output and crossover capabilities, but there's a small section towards the end for those who don't - so scroll down if that's you! You also need to dial in the volume manually. This can typically be configured as one setting for all speakers, or individually for each speaker category (front, center, back, etc). The receiver does not turn off even when the TV is turned off. Phase: Can be set to 0 or 180 to control driver polarity so all speakers are working in sync. Copyright 19982022 Audioholics, LLC. This article makes this assumption and thus focuses solely on this application. Since we typically run our subs in mono, only a single RCA or balanced level connection is needed between the A/V receiver's LFE output and subwoofer line-level input. Denon AVP-A1HDCI Auto Setup for Audyssey MultEQXT, Most auto setup programs are pretty accurate at setting distance and levels for each channel. A USB device cannot be connected to the USB port. Make sure there is plenty of slack as the cable should never be under tension when it's connected to equipment on both ends else you risk damaging the cable and connected products.. The sound skips or fluctuates, or the connection is lost. Meaning, unplug all other cables to see if the interference is origination from a noisy source or receiver pre-amp. Our subwoofers offer tight, tactile and natural bass so you can enjoy full range music. test tones) and an SPL meter set for slow response "C-weighted". Position the SPL meter with a tripod or other device to ensure the microphone is in the upright position firing at the ceiling about seated ear level at the primary listening position. Using the internal test tones, calibrate each speaker to roughly the same level (use 75dB as a reference). It's ok to boost the sub level a couple of dB if you want a bit more bass impact. So if you set all of your speakers to 75dB, don't sweat setting your sub to say 77-78dB. It's a good idea to measure the SPL at least two locations and calibrate your main channels with respect to your sub to within few dB of each other to ensure they are more closely level matched for your listening area. In fact THX suggests that you shouldn't rush your measurements. Take your time when performing SPL and RTA measurements. The easy-to-use, zero-compression, wireless system designed for S/510 and S/812. This will also be handled by your receiver. Please note: comments must be approved before they are published. Image and sound are not output from the TV when the receiver is not turned on. We'll go through the most common controls likely to be present on your subwoofer. As a general rule, this should be set to "small" regardless of how large your speakers are. A workaround for this is selecting a subwoofer setting called "LFE+Main" if you can find that in your settings. RDS does not work (for European and Asia-Pacific models only). Good, this means that youre hearing things correctly. Typically this gives poor integration, and is not advisable. You'll be amazed just how different the bass sounds in different locations -- some will be muddy, some will sound louder, and some will reduce the bass volume. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. Your subwoofer is properly placed and setup. Now it's time to level match it to the rest of your speakers so it blends in seamlessly without drawing attention to itself. You can do this in two different ways: auto setup (if your receiver has this feature) or manual calibration. Here you just have to try what sounds best. All of the bass should appear to come from the speakers. This will have the subwoofer and main speakers both play bass during music.
But, we usually recommend going into the setup menus afterwards and adjusting crossover points to 80Hz and all speakers that were set to "Large" back to "Small" to ensure the best possible integration in your system., It's important to set the proper distances for each of your channels, including your sub(s) via the A/V receivers bass management setup menus. Make sure you have a tape measure handy to measure the distance of each speaker relative to the primary listening position. Do this before level matching as the output levels when playing the main channels in conjunction with the sub(s) can vary if you don't have the proper distances set since the sub(s) and main speakers may not properly sum at the crossover point if they aren't properly time aligned., It's important to level match your sub relative to rest of the speakers in your system. The proper way to level match your sub is to use the internal pink noise generator of your processor (aka. Using Sneakers (cut 4), and with your system playing medium loud (most people know what this means) bring the High/Low Level control up until the REL begins to be noticeably too loud. If you don't have an amplifier with crossover capabilities or room correction software, you can still benefit from adding a subwoofer to your system. Before running the room setup procedure on your receiver,let's check the settings on your subwoofer. It's always a good idea to experiment, and of course choose what you think sound the best. Conversely, setting the Crossover too high means you will need to reduce the High/Low Level Gain control. Adjust the listening seats as needed (placing chairs near a back wall may result in excessive bass boost). Consider using equalization to tame room modes, Consider adding a second subwoofer to smooth response across your listening area. No sound or only a very low level of sound is heard, no matter which device is selected.
Since you will be unable to cut any bass from your main speakers, you will need to select a lower crossover frequency than you'd otherwise would. So if you have any doubts, try turning the subwoofer's volume control up or down. Learn more about the songs we recommend using to set up your system in our article, Tuning Tracks, the Definitive Guide to Getting it Right. But your center and surround speakers will still likely work best run as "small" speakers. Don't forget to setup the bass management in your A/V receiver. Go into its bass management menu and set all speakers to "Small" and the crossover frequency to 80Hz. This is a great starting point and a common configuration that works best for most systems. It's also the THX recommendation for good reason, it works well. Make sure you also properly set channel distances when configuring your bass management. The sub and speakers have to work together as a team, and ideally you should never hear the sub as a separate sound source. Buying a cable a foot or two too short is a drag, and after you've opened the package you may not be able to return it for a refund or exchange. Its true purpose is to carefully set the RELs output to precisely match that of your main speakers. Join our Exclusive Audioholics E-Book Membership Program! Turn the volume control halfway up. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Then again, don't be surprised if the sub still doesn't sound as good as you think it should. Adjust level up or down as needed via your A/V receiver subwoofer level control, Adjust the subwoofer position using our crawling technique to ensure you've found the best possible location. While this is intended for classic RELs (aka those that feature our High Level connection) the principles apply to all RELs as do the reference setup tracks we use. When the language for the on-screen display of the TV is changed, the on-screen display language of the receiver is changed simultaneously. Volume / Gain: Set this straight up or half-way to max (12 O'clock). If you have any other controls or settings on your subwoofer, leave them at their default setting.