Setup Question - Integra 7.8 and B&W 5.1 Setup

[mleuba]

Hi All!

I have an Integra 7.8 receiver with B&W CM7-CMCENTER-CM1 5.1 setup with Velodyne Mini-Vee subwoofer.

I used the Audyssey setup and then experimented with the setup menu, Speaker configuration, which allows you to select Full Band or a cross-over frequency for each speaker. I set my front CM7 to Full Band, the CM-Center and the CM-1 Rears I set to 80 khz(THX). To me, it sounds like this provides a clearer midrange, I think by directing <80 khz to the front towers and the sub-woofer only.

Does this make sense to you all, and have I "cancelled" the Audyssey setup by doing this or not...

Thanks!

[Jon Liu]

mleuba, you have not cancelled Audyssey by doing this. In fact, the crossovers for the speakers are really the area that Audyssey rarely gets right, in my opinion.

Distance is nearly always very accurate for me. Level trim, a lot of the times is really good, too.

My suggestion is to play with the crossover settings for each set of speakers and see what sounds best that way. Go slowly through the crossovers and see which one provides the best sounding blend. Another thing you might want to do is check the frequency response with AVIA or something like it to see if one particular crossover setting gives you the smoothest response. This way you'll also be able to find out if one absolutely does not work and introduces any frequency nulls, too.

All in all, experiment, experiment, experiment!!! Hope this helps!

[tonyvdb]

An 80Hz crossover is the recommended setting by most people however as Jon says its all about what you think sounds best. If you want to "see" what your speakers sound like give REW a try as it will help you understand what each setting does.