# Help Setting Subwoofer Crossover Frequency



## punman (Feb 21, 2009)

Help Setting Subwoofer Crossover Frequency
Just got a subwoofer and have a setup question. AVR is Harmon-Kardon but I doubt that is too pertinent.
My centre channel starts at 70 Hz, fronts at 43Hz, and surrounds at 50Hz. I plan on setting these speakers at “small” and setting the AVR at 80 Hz to send all signals lower than 80 to the subwoofer. I know I can change the 80 figure if I need to down the road.

My question is “what do I set the crossover frequency dial to on the back of the sub?” It only gives min. and max. settings on the dial. At first I thought that I might need to guess where 80 is on that dial, then I read the following from an audio website:

*You do want to set the subwoofer's crossover to its maximum rotation so you remove it from the circuit. This is done to avoid "cascading" two crossovers, which might cause uneven and erratic deep bass output.*

So now I am not sure if it needs to be set to max. (140Hz) or not? Will that override the receiver and send 130 Hz to the sub instead of the other speakers? The article seems to imply the opposite, that this avoid gaps and overlaps that you would get if you set the dial somewhere in the middle.

Also a question about the sub connector cable. I am using the white ends of an old red-white RCA connector from a tape deck. Are sub cables a gimmick or worth the money?


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## tcarcio (Jun 27, 2007)

You read correctly, set it at maximum and let your reciever do the bass managment. :T You can use the cable you have and if it works fine then you are fine. But you might want to get a higher quality cable with better shielding. I actually had an old component 3 wire cable and I just split them up and use them. They work fine.


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