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Full range/no sub home theater

Are there many people out there that run a home theater system with ALL full range speakers? In other words, no subwoofer. It seems to me, and from my experience, that running such a system would be the way to go. I'm in the planning stages of building a system and I was going to run seperate subs until I heard a system that had no seperate subs at all. every speaker in the room (7.1) was full range with full sub-sonic capability. Obviously, the sound was something that I will NEVER forget. Not wall or window shaking bass but the kind of bass that is so low and so tight it actually hits you and hits you hard. Each speaker had it's own built-in powered sub, of course, but I didn't get a chance to ask the guy how they were wired. The speakers in question were the Klipsch RP-5's I have several questions.
1.Is it possible to wire the speakers full range without using the LFE input and still utilize the built in sub amp?

2. Is the LFE signal from the pre/pro a dedicated signal from the recording or is the signal merely "re-routed" from the main "small" speakers?

3. If the LFE signal is used, does the pre/pro need to be set up to use "small" speakers? Can "large" speakers be specified when running LFE signals?

4. Would there be any benifit to running the speakers as "large" AND using the LFE input?

5. How many times can an LFE signal be split?

6. Is the LFE signal the only thing that will power the built in amp or can the amp be powered if the speakers are wired direct without LFE?
Any help would greatly be appreciated.
mborner

Showing 1 response by audioguy123

audioguy123
40 posts
 
I have a system where all speakers are full range, large floorstanding speakers. For surround music (what very little I listen to) this is adequate.

For movies, the sub is still necessary. I have tried running the speakers full range and no sub, and the bass slam is just not as much fun .I have alos set it up to just let the sub do the .1 stuff(it is not derived from the other speakers, it is actually on the source (DVD) as a separate output)and also have rolled off the fronts to the sub. Not a lot of difference in my case because the subs are made by the same company who makes all the rest and because I have them integrated pretty well.

On the other hand, when I roll the other speakers into the subs and crank the subs up (greater than the other speakers) it can add enjoyment to things like explosions,etc.

IMO, a lot would depend on the actual speakers used for the mains and the subs.
In my experience, you get better sound with full range speakers and a sub rather than samller speakers and a sub....but at a huge cost difference.

You can split the LFE a lot of times so long as you can adjust the gain on the subs (whihch virtually all processors allow you to do
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