Subwoofer settings

[LennyBruce]

My current speakers are Q Acoustics 3050i flood standers.

Their specs have a frequency response of 44 Hz – 30 kHz.

I have an old Kef PSW 2000 in the loft, it's specs say 35 to 150 Hz.

Should I apply settings for the subwoofer to deal with everything up to 150 Hz?

Or just everything below 44Hz?

Or is it a matter of trial and error?

Is it worth even bothering?

 

[rccarguy]

Very best scenario your subwoofer goes 9hz lower. But that all depends on subwoofer and speaker location, room shape and size , and phase /delay on the sub

if you have a wiim with high pass function try setting the crossover to 60hz. On the subwoofer itself, set the crossover to maximum

 

[Smartplug]

Very best scenario your subwoofer goes 9hz lower. But that all depends on subwoofer and speaker location, room shape and size , and phase /delay on the sub

if you have a wiim with high pass function try setting the crossover to 60hz. On the subwoofer itself, set the crossover to maximum

Did you sign up for independent peq beta?

 

[Smartplug]

My current speakers are Q Acoustics 3050i flood standers.

Their specs have a frequency response of 44 Hz – 30 kHz.

I have an old Kef PSW 2000 in the loft, it's specs say 35 to 150 Hz.

Should I apply settings for the subwoofer to deal with everything up to 150 Hz?

Or just everything below 44Hz?

Or is it a matter of trial and error?

Is it worth even bothering?

I like setting my subwoofer where my spec of my speaker on -3db. I only like the subwoofer taking over where the speakers fall off on its response. I tried default setting 80 or 90 did not sound natural even after rc or without rc. 50hz is where I find best sound setting in my situation so experiment with wide range.

 

[rccarguy]

I like setting my subwoofer where my spec of my speaker on -3db. I only like the subwoofer taking over where the speakers fall off on its response. I tried default setting 80 or 90 did not sound natural even after rc or without rc. 50hz is where I find best sound setting in my situation so experiment with wide range.

You may have boosts or nulls so that spec sheet shouldn't be taken as literal. My speakers have F3 of 36hz +/-2db but in room they go down to 24hz before they drop off.

 

[Dennis from Venice]

the KEF manual has this handy explanation for the KC62 which has a different output but you get the idea:

 

[rccarguy]

the KEF manual has this handy explanation for the KC62 which has a different output but you get the idea:




View attachment 11356

Phase effects the crossover point also see here my tests, you want a subwoofer with variable output, or a pre out feature with delay and or phase (they are similar but afaik not exactly the same thing)

 

[LennyBruce]

Thanks for all the advice.

However, I'm not sure I really understand it!

I'll a play around and see if it makes any significant difference.

 

[rccarguy]

Thanks for all the advice.

However, I'm not sure I really understand it!

I'll a play around and see if it makes any significant difference.

Those tests are with my speaker and sub active at the same time. I then played a sweep with phase at 0. Then adjusted to 15 degrees, then another.

At the end I had several responses, and from that I can compare each one- the ideal would be the flattest response with as little cancellation and boosting as possible. For example you can see the red line at 130hz (sub phase at 150 degrees) results in a massive valley. So that isn't a optimal setting. There are two red lines, which isn't ideal but you can see the other has a peak.

 

[harkpabst]

Delay, latency, distance, variable phase are all exactly the same thing, just expressed in different ways.

Ironically, the poorly named "phase" switch found on most subwoofers and also in the WiiM Home App should rather be called "polarity" and is just a specual case of 180⁰ phase angle.

@LennyBruce, don't even try to base your sub settings on brochure specs of your speakers. They don't apply to your speakers placed in a room, anyway. Back in the days when stereo equipment didn't provide any high pass filtering for the main speakers it was rather difficult to match a sub and there often used to be too much emphasis on the frequency range covered by the mains and the sub (which is unwanted in most cases).

Today and with your WiiM Ultra the situation is completely different. It can create clean symmetrical SPL slopes as seen in the KC62 Manuel (which is oversimplified). The idea is to ...

• place the mains and the sub independently in the spots where they work best without any boom or acoustic gap. For the mains this is usually free standing at some distance from the walls. The sub works most efficiently close to a wall or even corner.
• relieve the mains speakers from some bass duties, reducing their distortion and non-linearities, also furthe up in the frequency range. This is most important for smaller speakers, but your 3050i are still 2-way designs with relatively small woofers and will benefit.
• extend the low frequency response, of course. The PSW 2000 features just a 210 mm woofer, it's not exactly a monster. But since you already own it, why not simply try it out?

As far as the setup goes, I recommend this approach:

Help with subwoofer settings please

Never had a sub before. I have Wharfdale Denton 85 speakers. Posted a pic of their frequency response and my current sub settings in the Ultra. Is this about right? Not sure at all. Any more knowledgeable help is appreciated. Thanks

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