@allears4u Yes u can try that. Subs are all about experimenting, but for sure you only want to use one crossover, either the sub or the integrated. I never hi pass or low pass my mains, just did not like the performance. Set the crossover around 10-20 Hz above how low your mains are rated, then adjust from there.
with the SVS subs you also get a variable phase adjustment which is also critical for integrating with your main woofers.
Have fun!
SVS SUB BETTER WITH LOW PASS FILTER OFF
After endless tweaking and experimentation, I have concluded beyond a shadow of a doubt, my system sounds profoundly better by turning OFF the SVS "low pass filter"! My amp has a sub out with a filter option set at 80 db's. Like all good audiophiles I carefully followed instructions, searched google to tweak all settings. I tried all variables in frequency. Until one fateful day, for no special reason, I turned it OFF. "WAIT", I said to myself. This sounds better. "Can't be!" "It must be boomy, or bloated, or congested .....or something bad. NO, it wasn't. It not only sounded more cohesive but the "hole" in the sound stage was gone. (I had a sense there was a perceptible hole in the musical picture which kept vaguely appearing which destroyed the whole overall enjoyment. I'm interested if anyone else has tried this heretical approach?
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Yes, but by that time it’s all pretty low in level. The point is not that this should always be done but to try it and listen for yourself. In some cases this can even help with room related bass bloat. I’ve had one A’goner say that plugging 1 of the two speakers finally dialed in the bass for him. This is a safe, reversible experiment. |
Soon as I read the OP, I realized he has both crossovers engaged, preamp and subs, disabling one of them will produce the best performance. I have dual SVS SB2000 and was using a Halo HINT which has bass management system including high and low filters. |
I'll be setting up a new system in a second location soon so keen on hearing about others' sub integration. In regards to plugging ports in ported speakers as @erik_squires suggested, while this lowers the f3, doesn't it also lessen the effective roll-off slope at the low end? Wouldn't a steeper one be easier to transition to a sub like the SVS with selectable slopes? Also along these lines, what role does the hack of adding straws in the ports make? I thought this was supposed to de-tune the port's dominant tuning frequency while still allowing for the same mid woofer performance that the XO was designed for. Since most subs interact with mains like stand mounts around 80hz, and the "phase correction" on subs really operates as a time delay based on 80 hz, a setting around 90 deg should help mitigate causing a notch or a bloom. All else being equal. Room etc. |
What @erik_squires said is pretty much dead on: The only heresy I know is trying to do this all without measurements first. I mean, it's dogma, but I find getting this right by ear alone is so random. Bloom and bloat IMHO had more to do with room modes, where a little EQ can go a long long way. Glad you found a setting that works for you."
I have a very odd shaped living room listening space, and the speakers are set in an odd spot. I -need- a sub, but room nodes were a nightmare to figure out. I found a website that you plug in your floor plan dimensions, and it literally shows you every frequency and where it nulls or blooms in your space. This helped me narrow down the worst frequencies. Then my step dad made me an electronic notch filter and I could 'dial back' those specific frequencies to at least some extent. Then I would sit and play each bass frequency, check it's level, tweak the notch filter, and adjust. Like Erik said, it's basically doing some basic EQ tweaking. |
Glad you found the settings that work for you in your unique room. Agree we need to see pictures your room sounds cool. I have a pair of SVS SB1000 Pros. My 2 preamp sub outs are also fixed with no adjustments available so like you I have the crossovers setting on the SVS app for each sub set to “off”. It sounds great. The one thing I will adjust is the sub volume as needed on the app depending on the music I’m listening to. If the bass starts to overwhelm I’ll turn it down a few dbs or occasionally up. Usually have them set to -12 db. As instructed in the SVS manual. |
I have the Arendal subwoofer and set the bypass at 10hz -15 hz above the floor of my main floorstander speakers that go down to 35hz. I read somewhere that 10hz above the low was a good place to start. I too switch the low pass 12hz filter off, as that works for me too. Saying that I use very little db gain, about 2.5db to get a very smooth integration. I agree doing it by ear even though I can do it through an app strung in my listening position is not as good as having some form of room correction, but in my case the room, is the room, is the room! |
One things for sure… I need to see pictures of the yurt hifi room!
I would think your room would be almost 100% null free other than ground bounce. the La scala having very poor bass extension I am sure aids in the higher “crossover” point. I find my personal subs always lack a bit of detail compared to my mains above 100hz. I also find the sound stage with deep voices can get a little strange when using high crossovers. With that being said I will say a lot of subs play very clean all the way up to 200hz. |
I’m not 100% sure but it sounds like you might have been double ganging the filtering. You say your subwoofer output from your preamp or amp is 80 dbs, I think you might have meant 80Hz. If so, in most cases you would NOT need the low pass filter set at all on the SVS subwoofer itself then. The correct thing to do in this case is to either bypass it entirely (which you have found sounds better) or to turn the setting on the subwoofer as high as it would go, say 250 Hz or whatever, such that the slope of the crossover in the sub doesn’t interact with whatever slope is used by your preamp when it does its low pass at 80Hz. Anyway, that is what my old Klipsch subwoofer manual says to do. In other words, you’d only engage the sub’s crossover and low pass filtering if you were sending it a FULL range signal from your preamp. So, I’m just guessing here, but what you were hearing before might have been the crossover slopes of the preamp or amp subwoofer output interacting with the slope of the crossover in the sub. Removing the one from the sub filled in that "hole" you were describing, so it now blends better with your main left and right speakers. |
Super good tip! My mains are Klipsch Lascala (II) so the bass is weak. The amazing thing is that the music sounds so much more "organic" (if you can imagine what I mean by that). Cohesive may be an even more unhelpful word but whatever...I like it better. My room too is unique in that I live in a yurt which fails to provide any reflective hard surfaces. (All fabric) So the normal rules don't apply.. I'm afraid I'm on my own on this one. But...it sounds amazing...just sayin' |
If you play just your subs you will probably hear male vocals in your subs this way. If it sounds fine… no big deal. The slope at your amps 80hz might not blend well with your mains. Maybe try a different slope if possible. If the slope is 12db for example it is out of phase and you would need to make the sub 180 degrees or change the leads on the speakers. Could just be nulls and room nodes |
