Bass management--high/low pass filtering


A few days ago I posted to this forum seeking recommendations for a new subwoofer, and that discussion has turned out to be very enlightening, offering advice about subs and integrating them into my system. One reply mentioned the advantages of bass management for my main speakers (Ryan R-610 bookshelf speakers), but rather than sidetrack that discussion I thought I'd ask this separately:

It was suggested that I try cutting off the frequency response of the Ryans at 60 or 80Hz and letting the sub take over from there, thus relieving the mid/bass woofers of that substantial burden. On paper, this seems like a promising avenue to pursue, so I'm wondering if anybody has tried this and if there is a hardware device that can accomplish it. I'm certainly not an electrical engineer--far from it--so trying to design and build one is way beyond me. 

My integrated amp is a Modwright KWI200 and my previous sub (which is now dead and not repairable) was connected via speakon (speaker level) cable, though the Modwright does have a pre-out that can also be used to connect to a sub.

While pretty much all active subwoofers have adjustable low-pass filters, it appears that this would entail a high-pass filter somewhere in the chain. Is this something I can buy as an add-on? Couldn't find anything online, so I'm hoping that somebody may have some suggestions. Thanks.

cooper52

Showing 1 response by classdstreamer

@cooper52 I have an suggested experiment that you could try. Your integrated has both pre-outs and HT-bypass. So, you could send the signal from the integrated’s pre-outs to an active crossover, then at the crossover, fork the signal, sending the higher frequencies back to the integrated’s power amp (via HT-bypass) and the lower frequencies to your subwoofer. 

Options for your crossover include Sublime Acoustic’s K231, maybe a MiniDSP, or a JL sub crossover

My experience. I’ve heard a JL crossover + subs in a buddy’s system. I think it sounded great. I haven’t heard the Sublime unit--I’ve only seen OCD Mikey recommend it on his channel as a solid contender for the money. 

I’ve done what your describing with my TV system. In my TV system, I currently use KEF LS50 Wireless II’s, which have their own internal DSP engine with both high and low pass filters. I paired them with a REL HT sub. I had initially tried the crossover at the speaker’s -3db point (45hz) and at 70-80hz (often recommended in HT situations). I left the crossover at 80hz to live with for a while. Then, one day, I found someone’s charts showing when the LS50 speakers distorted across the frequency spectrum and at different volumes. I don’t recall the exact chart figures, but each chart showed distortion across the frequency spectrum when playing the speaker at different volumes like 80db, 85, 90, 95, 100, 105. What I saw in these charts was that starting at some volume, say 90db, that all frequencies 100hz and below were above some distortion percentage while frequencies above 100hz were not distorting. Charts at higher volumes saw a greater distortion asymmetry across the frequency spectrum. From that information I hypothesized that I should try handing off all frequencies below 100hz to the sub to see if I noticed any change in the sound. I went into the KEF software and changed the crossover to 100hz, and even though I wasn’t listening at 90db, the system sounded more effortless. (I also tried setting the Xover to 120hz, and that sounded equally effortless to me.)

Still today, I have this hypothesis that (1) some systems can benefit when offloading frequencies to subs typically handled by the speakers, that (2) crossing the subs over higher than usual (higher than 80hz) can be effective, and that (3) that a good setting for the crossover is the point where your specific speakers begin to distort asymmetrically across the frequency spectrum. 

If you get into JL’s sub integration philosophy, you’ll learn that they’re big proponents of offloading low frequencies from the mains, and of crossing over at higher frequencies, even for expensive speakers that are "made to play full range." But, I haven’t seen JL articulate where to set a crossover at. Anyway, audio is an experiment, and in experimenting with this philosophy, you may find a solution that works for you.