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Sub crossover frequency

I have been contemplating completely redoing my system and have been doing tests with subwoofer crossover frequencies. I have always been of the mindset that stereo subs offer superior sound performance for music. However, most H/T systems these days are using just one, and interestingly, at a 80Hz crossover frequency, which I think is somewhat high, especially for music reproduction.

I think that the low frequency transients of drums and other instruments are localizable with such a high crossover frequency. Have others out there done any tests? I know that the 80Hz crossover setting is the Dolby standard for H/T but what about for music?

Any ideas, comments, opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
errivera
sogood51
2,157 posts
 
The 80hz one size fits all X-over is a poor idea. You need to measure your speakers bass output and work from that point. Most people have a small center channel speaker and must use higher X-over settings for this reason.

Dave
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Yes, use two subwoofers, and experiment with crossover frequency. I think that setting this frequency according to how low your main speakers can go is not necessarily best. Even a speaker capable of response well below 80 Hz may sound better when that "grunt work" is taken over by another driver. People worry about "smearing" of higher frequencies when a speaker moves by a tiny amount due to floor vibration or the like. Take a look at what the driver cone is doing to reproduce LF that should go to a SW.
timperry
41 posts
 
I run two powered subs in my home theater for the benefits of the smoother room response,and one sub is at 80hz and the other sub is at 65hz and I am very happy with the results and all of the speakers in the theater are set to small.
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