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Subwoofer Crossover Setting/Directional Bass Freq.

My speakers are rated down to 28 Hz. I decided to experiment and hook up my sub woofer that I had in my home theater system to my music only system. The sub woofer (HSU VTF3 MK2) has a built in amp. I must be getting old because lugging a 70 pound box up the stairs took some concentration. At any rate the sub woofer has a crossover control. Should I set it to take over where the speakers drop off (28 Hz.)or should I set it to overlap the speakers say at 60 or so Hz.?

I have heard that at some point, bass frequencies become non directional. This might also come into play on which crossover frequency I use. At this point I may have to power the sub from another outlet/circuit and placement might have to be away from the main speakers. Does anyone know at what point/frequency bass becomes non-directional?

Lastly, I'm wondering if I really need a sub with my speakers that go down to 28 Hz. Initially after hooking the sub up to my music system, I'm not totally crazy about it. I may have to play with the settings a bit. It seems that the best setting is one that makes the bass very, very subtle. If the sub woofer bass is not set proportionately, it almost seems overpowering and takes away from the music. Maybe I would be better off without it.

I am new at all of this so if anyone has any suggestions or opinions on the matter, please free to pass them my way. Thanks in advance.
grundig
apachef1
164 posts
 
I'm not sure that is the right sub for your application HT subs don't mate well with two channel only systems
Its more challenging to incorporate a single sub into a two channel system
Low bass under 80hz will be non directional as you stated
You will need to tweek with placement and crossover settings
You don't want the sub firing back at your main speakers from across the room. This will actually cancel out bass frequencies from the sub and speakers you end up with odd bass anomalies similar to the issue you are experiencing
The best place to start is to position the sub with your main speakers firing in the same direction.
nick778
147 posts
 
My Veledyne DD-15 makes it very easy to equalize for the room and for a smooth integrated frequency curve with its software that you can see on the TV and then adjust.

I mainly listen to 2 channel but also some HT and my processor has both music and movie modes and the DD-15 is set-up differently for each mode.

My speaker's do down to 30-35hz with no problem but you do have to play with phase and polarity and crossover to get a seemless integration. One of the more common errors is setting the volume on the sub too high and 'hearing' the sub as a separate speaker. It should blend seemlessly into the music or movie sound without drawing attention to itself.

Quite honestly, I don't know how I would have been able to do all this without the Velodyne's room eq software and on-screen frequency graph that instantly depicts andy changes made to crossover, phase, polarity, placement, etc.

Without it as the previous poster said, I'd start maybe 5-10 hz above your speakers' low end range and go from there.

Be prepared to spend some time but once dialed in, it will sound very good even with stereo music.
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dbphd
1,623 posts
 
I agree completely with Mr. Reynolds. I use a Velodyne HGS-15 with SMS-1 to supplement my KEF 104.2 mains. I find that the KEFs sound fine by themselves, but when used with the sub, they sound a bit more transparent if high-passed at 80 Hz. Maybe something about double coverage of the mid low range. Even careful listening cannot identify the sub as a separate source, except you realize the KEFs could not produce certain sounds, especially that felt more than heard vibration when a large pipe is invoked, the feeling you get at a live organ recital.

db
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