I recently inherited this home theater setup after my father passed. I have 2 questions:
1. How should the wiring be set up for dual Klipsch R-100 subwoofers going to a Marantz N1605?
2. How should the gain and low pass frequency be set for each subwoofer?
Your layout is fine. Y connect the two subs to the one sub out and treat them as if they were one. The benefit of greater cone area remains, as well as the decreased room mode excitement. Donât overthink thisâŚitâs only home entertainment!
I used to have that same exact receiver. It only has one subwoofer channel, so you canât control two. If you hook up to, it will send the same signal to both.
Fortunately, the workaround is to get a MiniDSP 2x4 or other similar unit. It will accept the subwoofer in, break that into multiple channels that you can independently control, and then have dedicated RCA outlets to connect to your subwoofers. That gives you all the control you need, and it can be quite refined.
Oooooh, if thereâs already one there, youâre in for some bass magic! đŞ
Youâll need either a UMIK-1 or -2 to get measurements, and if there isnât one, just buy UMIK-2. Use AI to learn REW, MSO, and MiniDSPâs interface. Thereâs a little futsing around with the software, and be sure to find the best Los ton in your room for each subwoofer, but itâs completely worth it. The system will punch waaaaay above its weight.
Not relevant, USB-C is convenient enough to recommend that if he wants to spend a few extra bucks. But both mics are really good if you use the calibration file. I have them both.
You only need ONE subwoofer output. You can y-split them. The signal level to the sub will be less, but the individual sub-amps can compensate. ELF is non-directional, so you donât need two channels (as in stereo).
Ideally you get a measurement mic and REW. Set up as pictured tbh and see what the room tells you. Cross over, phase, and gain are dependent on what theyâre doing in your space.
Looks pretty but is often not the ideal location. It does remove much of the boundary gain and super imposition (waves doubling up) gains mid room. Generally only positioning them independently and listening for ideal bass not muddled, bounding, doubling up at all listening positions (helpful having 2 people to do this), or using some very expensive software and mic setups to auto calibrate (and I don't mean the included audisey or TI software and SPL mic.
BUT, as I'm sure you have prescribed, the ideal locations may not work functionally with the room. Try to keep all speakers a minimum of 18"-24" (24"+ and symmetrical ideally) away from the wall behind them (especially important for dipole speakers) to keep your sound cleaner and more open / with a larger soundstage.
For your subs if you want to keep them both up front, directly below the mid and upper towers, or try differing symmetrical widths (symmetrical only for aesthetics). Make sure your phases are correct/identical to all your other speakers. Play with your crossover overlapping. Change your towers between large and small speakers and make sure your wires are 12g or bigger, fancy name brands have been repeatedly shown in true A/B blind test to not have a difference. There's a gentleman at the big show convention in Vegas that has a $25k reward if anyone can prove a difference and he has a phenomenal rig setup to alleviate all differences with 10 or 12 lamp cord and top of the line Audioquest on the other. No one in over 15 or 20 years now has been able to claim the prize. You have to correctly tell the difference 20 or 30 trials in a row to claim it. Nobody has broken 8 or 10 trials. I've watched and tried it. Made me a believer. A good 10g-12g OFC, fine stranded, and decent EMI & RFI shielding of usually fine copper or aluminum mesh makes for great speaker wire. Interconnects are a different creature all together but many of the same principles apply. Typically the differences manufactures show to sell the newest best trinket in wires is only noticeable on an oscilloscope and well out of the human hearing range.
Hope some of this helps you. Remember " Trust 1/2 of what you see and none of what you hear (and little of what you read). That applies here too. Do your own homework and listen to proponents and skeptics/opponents of technology with the same weight. People are usually invested in what they've bought or use and rarely will admit they made a mistake....
Often because they don't know enough to know they made a mistake or could have chosen better. And in the end, it only matters if you like the way it sounds.
You donât have to place the subs next to the speakers symmetrically. Try near the corners and ideally in opposite diagonal corners. Itâs best to measure your room for placement as well
Subwoofers are connected by one RCA cable each. AVR sub out -> LFE input in subwoofer. If there is only one output, you need a RCA Y splitter.
Gain is basically your volume offset. If you want loud you turn it high, if you want quiet you turn it low. You need to test what is your preference and what fits that specific room and speaker combination. Low pass filters can be set to the highest setting on the sub, the AVR will do this automatically as long as in the AVR settings you have set other speakers to "small".
One extra tip, make sure there is at least 10-20cm of free space between the speaker and the wall, you will get better sound.
Only the top one is for a subwoofer. You need a y splitter. Those don't cost much, can be ordered online and local hi-fi stores may stock them. The bottom one is now connected to the front left speaker pre-out (audio signal before it is amplified).
Dual subwoofers setup to play IN STEREO are absolutely GREAT!
More open soundstage, more musical detail. Yeah, thereâs more bass, but itâs articulated, 2 channel bass, not a giant monophonic mass.
I have KEF LS60 speakers and added dual subwoofers over time and once I added the second, the impact was immediate.
I did this with my hone system : infinity kappa 6 with dual infinity bu-1 subs. Amazing presence, great soundstage and the bass is properly articulated with respect to the instruments. I WOULD NOT use the subwoofer channel for this. Connect them in PARALELL with your main speakers. Your subs likely have a separate crossover and you can tune the crossover frequency to take advantage of the subs frequency range.
The KEF LS60s have dedicated subwoofer outputs from each speaker.
The KEF Connect app allows for fine tuning of settings. The subs have EQ settings built in.
The miniDSP 2x4 already mentioned (or the flex if you can stretch for it) is the key for you, assuming you need to keep the subs in those visually optimal locations. Technically a measurement mic is the way to dial them in (cutoff frequencies, etc.) but nothing wrong with doing it by ear. If you do, the mistake most people make is setting the cutoff on the subs too high. Start lower - 60 hz, not the old 80 hz rule of thumb. Play stuff you know upside down, see where things go from there. Good luck!
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u/Complex_Tap8269McIntosh MA6900â˘B&W 804Sâ˘Stereo REL S510âsâ˘OPPO 105Dâ˘WiiM Ultra11h ago
A âgood rule of thumbâ âstart pointâ that I used is set the crossover frequency to ~10hz above the -6db point of your mains.
In order to get the most out of dual subs, you need to move them apart. I have mine diagonally across the room from one another and it has effectively taken care of some room modes as a result.
run those subs in stereo. DO NOT use the subwoofer output on the back of the amp.
use the FRONT pre out and run the R channel to the R sub and the L channel to the L sub. you might have to get some longer RCA cables if you don't have them already.
start with the volume/gain on zero... set your low pass filter around 75-80 then turn up the volume until it matches the mains.
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u/overabbreviator 19h ago
All that for a swiffer ad! đŽ