# Sub crossover to make the best of a small center speaker



## rrskda (Apr 22, 2014)

I'm in an unfortunate situation with my 5.1 setup as my TV is not wall-mounted, and my TV cabinet doesn't have a shelf for a center speaker. Finding a center speaker that will fit beneath the TV bezel ain't easy, so I'm currently using a Boston Acoustics Soundware XS. It's good enough for me (for now), but its crossover is 150hz.

So here's my question. Once my subwoofer arrives, which of the following would be the better option? 

Should I set the AVR crossover at 150 and let the sub handle everything below that? However I worry this will create a localization problem (sub will most likely be off in a corner). 

Or, should I set my AVR Mains to large and set "double bass" to on, thereby feeding the bass to the mains and the sub? Then on the sub, set the crossover to 80hz (mains are rated down to 42hz or so). This would let the mains handle the potentially localizable bass that the center needs, while sub would handle everything lower. However I wonder if this is going to put me at risk for boomy bass in the mid-bass range.

(FWIW the sub will be a Reaction Audio BPS212)


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## gazoink (Apr 17, 2013)

rrskda said:


> I'm in an unfortunate situation with my 5.1 setup as my TV is not wall-mounted, and my TV cabinet doesn't have a shelf for a center speaker. Finding a center speaker that will fit beneath the TV bezel ain't easy, so I'm currently using a Boston Acoustics Soundware XS. It's good enough for me (for now), but its crossover is 150hz.
> 
> So here's my question. Once my subwoofer arrives, which of the following would be the better option?
> 
> ...


This is one of the problems with using a center that doesn't match the L/R. The L/R would be fine with Double Bass on, but the center wouldn't, especially if it has to cross at 150. I'd probably favor setting the system to optimize performance for the center, since it is by far the most used channel in 5.1 (60-80% of the total sound is center), and let the L/R fall wherever. In some AVRs, you can pick "large" vs "small" for each speaker. You'd want "large" for the l/r, "small" for the center. Be sure to use the crossover in the AVR only, bypass the sub crossover or dial it out of the way.


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## rrskda (Apr 22, 2014)

I think I can set the mains to large and the center to small, so the center would still have the AVR crossover at 150 and then set the sub's crossover to 80hz. 

Another option might be to wire the sub via high-level inputs to the mains, set mains to large/center small and crossover at 80hz on the AVR. But then I wonder if the center is set to small, mains are set to large, and you have a sub on the LFE, would the AVR crossover both large and small at the same frequency? Seems like it should have one crossover setting for smalls and one for large. 

Anyway sub should be here in about 2 weeks. I'll play around and see what works best.


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## gazoink (Apr 17, 2013)

rrskda said:


> I think I can set the mains to large and the center to small, so the center would still have the AVR crossover at 150 and then set the sub's crossover to 80hz.
> 
> Another option might be to wire the sub via high-level inputs to the mains, set mains to large/center small and crossover at 80hz on the AVR. But then I wonder if the center is set to small, mains are set to large, and you have a sub on the LFE, would the AVR crossover both large and small at the same frequency? Seems like it should have one crossover setting for smalls and one for large.
> 
> Anyway sub should be here in about 2 weeks. I'll play around and see what works best.


I would let the AVR do all the crossover work. You can set the mains for large the center for small, but set the sub's on-board crossover so that it's bypassed. One thing you don't want is two different crossovers at work.

You didn't say what AVR you have, most have some sort of auto calibration system. You might run that and let the AVR figure out what's best, then experiment from there.


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## rrskda (Apr 22, 2014)

Thanks gazoink, I'll try letting the AVR handle everything and see how it goes. Unfortunately it is the lowest end Onkyo from last year (HT-RC430) and doesn't have any built-in calibration. Another item on the upgrade list for some day in the future


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