# Just got a BFD!



## 310Turbo (May 15, 2011)

Hey all, first post but have been lurking for some time now.

I just recently picked up a BFD 1124p and calibrated the input levels using Tron:legacy. The opening when he gets transported to the grid seems to have a fair amount of bass! I adjusted my avr so the sub channel was at -12 just so the clipping lights would come down to mostly yellow with some red now and then. Using this channel level results in my having to eq by adding positive gain (in some cases +16 dB) to flatten my response. I've played multiple heavy bass scenes using this setting and I don't hear my subs bottoming out; is this generally ok? I would just increase my sub volume but I'm also using a filter set to -16 dB to take out a huge resonance in my room.

I'll post a few graphs shortly.

Setup:
Energy RC 50 mains
Sub1: Hsu vtf3.3
Sub2: yamaha yst-sw315


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## 310Turbo (May 15, 2011)

Here's a graph of my mains (showing 15-200Hz only):









Here's a graph of my mains + yamaha, unequalized and no smoothing:









Here's a graph of my mains + Hsu, unequalized and no smoothing:









Note the peak between 40-60Hz, this is the one I had to knock down using a filter with a gain of -16.

Here's a graph of where I'm at today, both subs and mains, no smoothing:









How's it looking so far? I don't have a MIDI/USB cable so I'm manually inputting the filters. So far, I'm using 4 filters per sub. It looks a lot better using 1/6 smoothing.









How's it looking so far? I'm concerned I might be doing this wrong since I'm having to use such extreme gains on the BFD. Just bad room acoustics? All measurements taken at the MLP.

Thanks!


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## robbo266317 (Sep 22, 2008)

The final graph certainly looks alright. The subs seem to be 6 - 8 dB above the mains but a lot of people like that. (See Wayne's asticle on house curves)


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

Looks good, but wow ±16 dB? That’s some really severe equalizing! Do you have any other location options that might give a better baseline measurement? In any event, as long as you’re not bottoming out the subs you’re okay. :T

BTW, it’s best to keep the BFD out of the red, if possible. There’s only 1/10 volt between the point where the red LED comes on and actual distortion sets in.

Regards,
Wayne


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## 310Turbo (May 15, 2011)

Wayne A. Pflughaupt said:


> BTW, it’s best to keep the BFD out of the red, if possible. There’s only 1/10 volt between the point where the red LED comes on and actual distortion sets in.


I'm curious if there's anything else I can do to get it out of the red? Based on the bfd guide it seems the input signal is dictated by how hot the source is mixed and how high the volume/channel level are set. At -10 from reference I have to set the channel level down as far as it will go on my avr. Even then on some of the heavier scenes in Tron it appears the lights are firmly in the red at times. The sub stills sounds good, however I'm wondering if I'm losing out because of this. If the bfd starts clipping it will sound distorted? Any possible damage to my sub if I try to do this intentionally so I can hear what it sounds like?

I think my next step will be to look into setting a house curve; the bass sounds a lot cleaner and tighter now than before but I feel like I'm missing some of the punch I used to have. It's probably because that peak after 40hz is gone.

One last question, is there an easy way to set the bfd so I can disable all filtering and just do a +12 db across the board? I'd like a filter set so I can hear what my sub sounds like without eq (and without having to go into the receiver menu).

Thanks,
Cam


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

> I'm curious if there's anything else I can do to get it out of the red? Based on the bfd guide it seems the input signal is dictated by how hot the source is mixed and how high the volume/channel level are set


The standard method is to reduce the AVR’s sub output level, and then increase the sub’s gain setting. But if your AVR is turned down all the way, you’re probably getting clipping because of your +16 dB filter.




> If the bfd starts clipping it will sound distorted? Any possible damage to my sub if I try to do this intentionally so I can hear what it sounds like?


It won’t damage the driver, but it might be audible if you push it hard enough (the BFD’s clipping that is).




> One last question, is there an easy way to set the bfd so I can disable all filtering and just do a +12 db across the board? I'd like a filter set so I can hear what my sub sounds like without eq (and without having to go into the receiver menu).


Not getting what you mean. You can’t hear what the sub sounds like w/o EQ if you have filters engaged.

Regards,
Wayne


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## 310Turbo (May 15, 2011)

Wayne A. Pflughaupt said:


> Not getting what you mean. You can’t hear what the sub sounds like w/o EQ if you have filters engaged.


Sorry - what I meant was is there an easy way to turn the eq effects of the bfd off so I can hear the sub without eq? To do si now I have to turn the bfd off then go into my avr menu and pump the channel level back up. It would be convenient if I could just push a single button 

With respect to input levels - what is everybody doing to ensure their bfd isn't clipping during a movie like tron? How do you turn the source material down?


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

> Sorry - what I meant was is there an easy way to turn the eq effects of the bfd off so I can hear the sub without eq? To do si now I have to turn the bfd off then go into my avr menu and pump the channel level back up. It would be convenient if I could just push a single button


I assume the situation is that the sub is a different level when you bypass the BFD? This is because of the filtering you employed. It’s typical for the sub’s level to change after equalizing. Sorry, but there’s no remedy for the Engaged / Bypass volume change issue. Many pro audio equalizers have a gain adjustment on-board to compensate for such level changes, but the BFD does not.



> With respect to input levels - what is everybody doing to ensure their bfd isn't clipping during a movie like tron? How do you turn the source material down?


Have you tried changing the rear-panel gain switches to the +4 position? 

Regards,
Wayne


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## 310Turbo (May 15, 2011)

Wayne A. Pflughaupt said:


> I assume the situation is that the sub is a different level when you bypass the BFD? This is because of the filtering you employed. It’s typical for the sub’s level to change after equalizing. Sorry, but there’s no remedy for the Engaged / Bypass volume change issue. Many pro audio equalizers have a gain adjustment on-board to compensate for such level changes, but the BFD does not.
> 
> Have you tried changing the rear-panel gain switches to the +4 position?
> 
> ...


I'll try that this weekend! Thanks!


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## bribowsky (Dec 3, 2010)

310Turbo said:


> With respect to input levels - what is everybody doing to ensure their bfd isn't clipping during a movie like tron? How do you turn the source material down?





Wayne A. Pflughaupt said:


> Have you tried changing the rear-panel gain switches to the +4 position?
> 
> Regards,
> Wayne



Late to the party, but this is what I ended up doing. In the -10 position I was maxed at -15 in sub trim. I didn't have any red at that point, but I didn't like having the level down that low. 

Switched to +4 position, and I am at -3 sub trim in avr. Much more to my liking. Now searching for that perfect house curve.


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