Manu and John, the correct way to set the sub is to find out the frequency at which the fronts stop. For example, if the fronts stop are 70Hz, set the sub to take over from 80Hz. That way, the transition from the fronts to the sub will be smooth. There is no harm in letting the fronts go as low as possible. Most good fronts (even bookshelves) can handle up to something like 60-65HZ comfortably. Most sound in movies such as drums, gun shots, baritone voice etc., are easily handled by the front speakers as their frequency range is between 60 to 100Hz. What is important in such cases is the speed and tightness of the speaker - how quickly does the sound die? How sharp and tight is the sound. One of the dangers of sending such signals to the sub is the artificial boom and expanse that is added. If you hear a gun shot in real life, it is very sharp and has a slightly HF tonal quality to it. As the bullet explodes, it sets the gun to vibrate and the metal tone is added to the gun shot. It will actually sound slightly tinny. A good speaker should be able to deliver that precisely. If you send such signal to the sub, it will remove the HF sound and make the gun shot sound like a explosion.
In movies, most of the regular low sound is sent along with other audio signals. For really low signals, the AVR will, in any case, send the signals to the LFE. That is how the sound engineer will record. This is discussed with the movie director and they decide together how the sound should be delivered. George Lucas created THX exactly for this reason. To ensure your system sounds exactly how it was intended. The THX standard is 80Hz.
Most of us mistake loudness and boominess as being good. It is not. Accuracy and sharpness is what is important.
Experiment with the AVR and subwoofer settings to get as tight and accurate bass as you can get. Let the fronts go down as low as they can before the sub takes over. Remember the sub has a very small frequency range and will sound unnatural with most sounds other than what they are designed for.
Cheers
In movies, most of the regular low sound is sent along with other audio signals. For really low signals, the AVR will, in any case, send the signals to the LFE. That is how the sound engineer will record. This is discussed with the movie director and they decide together how the sound should be delivered. George Lucas created THX exactly for this reason. To ensure your system sounds exactly how it was intended. The THX standard is 80Hz.
Most of us mistake loudness and boominess as being good. It is not. Accuracy and sharpness is what is important.
Experiment with the AVR and subwoofer settings to get as tight and accurate bass as you can get. Let the fronts go down as low as they can before the sub takes over. Remember the sub has a very small frequency range and will sound unnatural with most sounds other than what they are designed for.
Cheers
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