Cross over frequency ???

I think you laid it out very well Sean. Just one thing added, if you use something like a 6 db slope the transition will be very smooth but you may find out that you may negate part of the effect of the subs because the satellites are still active for too long and the sub sounds muddy because it extends too high. As Sean said, then you definitely want the crossover point to be different between the subs and the satellites.

In my system the processor does both the high pass and low pass.Your advice if I understand it correctly is to use the processor to xover the ported monitors and a seperate xover to xover the sub ? I use Paradigm Mini MK3's as mains and center.The extra goes to the ES ch.The subs both sit in the same corner stacked.Funky stuff happens when I try to seperate them.The manual for my EAD say it uses a 24db/oct linkwitz riley.Seems steep enough to do the job ? The room has a very robust sound with films.I am very happy with it but my mini's tend to not like the lows of HT.80hz just didn't cut it.Oh well.

No, not two separate crossovers just different frequencies for each section. If you could you would leave the subs at 80 hz but crossover the monitors at lets say 100hz. Twenty -four db is pretty steep. That should be a fast enough slope. If your monitors don't like 80 hz try raising the crossver gradually upward. The higher the bass the more likely it is that your sound will get muddy.

Yes, use the processor to cross the monitors (high pass), then use the crossover on the subs (low pass). The gap between will simply be 'lost' as a tiny amount of heat in the circuitry. Anyway, as usual, Sean has given the best and easiest-to-understand description of crossover gapping I've ever seen...just wish I had seen it before I went through hell setting up my subs : )

Kg: If you cross your monitors over at 80 Hz @ 24 dB's, that means that the signal is down -24 dB's at 40 Hz, -12 dB's at 60 Hz, -6 dB's at 70 Hz and "flat" at 80 Hz. At the same time, your sub is running at full output at 70 - 80 Hz, so the monitors are adding to what the subs are already contributing there. Even though the monitors are "sloping down", the amount of output that they can contribute may be too much for the room when combined with the subs. On top of that and as you can hear by ear, the amount of output that the speakers are required to make with that crossover frequency selected is still putting a strain on them.

If possible, you might want to select "small" speakers for the monitors and then tinker with the crossover point for the subwoofer. This should roll the monitors off a little quicker and clean them up while letting you fine tune the contribution of the subwoofers to a greater extent. I don't know if your Pre / Pro will allow you to take this route, but it might be worth checking out.

As a side note, placing the subs in the corner will give you the most reinforcement at low frequencies. While i've no doubt that you can shake the room like this, bass transients, pitch and definition typically suffer in such an installation. I would encourage you to do some further reading on the subject and do some personal experimentation with your installation. If you are using this system primarily for HT, it may be fine the way that it is with the subs in the corner. If you are using the subs to listen to a lot of music, i'm near certain that you can do better. Whether or not where the subs need to be place is convenient is an entirely different matter : ) Sean
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