Hi logan,
How close are you to clipping the BFD's input? That's what determines how to set the sub level on your receiver.
Quote:
| BFD User Guide wrote:
On the top right front of the unit you will see the "IN/OUT" button. Press and hold this button for a moment until the button light blinks. You are now in the "BYPASS" mode with no filtering active. You can only monitor the setting of the input level in the "BYPASS" mode. The input level is monitored by the LED's in the far left section of the display window. If the unit is not in the "BYPASS" mode then the LED's will monitor the "output" level. |
Crank up something to what you think will be pretty much as loud as you would ever want to play it. Choose something with lots of bass; many people use WOTW's "pods emerging" scene, Finding Nemo's "Darla tapping" scene, Master and Commander's cannons and so on. Follow the instructions above, but you may want to turn your sub's amp off, so that you don't damage your sub during the test. You don't really need to hear it; the important thing is to monitor the LEDs on the BFD.
As you run this bass heavy scene, set your receiver's sub out level such that the red LEDs on the BFD never or very rarely light. A little clipping isn't going to be the end of the world, but you don't want to be running up there frequently. I'll usually push it a little, as I won't be listening at this "max volume" for 99% of the time.
Once you figure that out, you can pretty much leave the sub level on your receiver alone, and your input level to the BFD is set. That said, I would certainly allow the option to tweak sub level from the receiver based on program material. As you know, some movies/music are recorded so HOT in the bass region that you simply must turn it down. Likewise, some program material is lacking bass and you have to turn it up, otherwise it just sounds very thin. I do this all the time, and usually I adjust by no more than 3 dB in either direction (but I'd go more if I felt like it). Remember, if something's really heavy in the bass department, then you would potentially be clipping the input to your BFD earlier, so it would be appropriate to turn down. Just keep in mind where your initial sub level was, and hang around there.
That's pretty much how it works for setting up the input level to the BFD. After that, do your filters and adjust overall levels to match mains as desired.