1056 - 603s/LCR600/601s/ASW650 setup

[benxx]

I was wondering if anyone here has this combo and any suggestions around how to setup speakers for both movie and music?

The dealer told me to use large for every speaker. I was wondering if that is the right setup. Should I use the sub even if I set the front speaker to large? Would it be better if I set everything to small for movie? What is the best cross over frequency? Many thanks

[aud19]

That's mostly a matter of personal preference which you'd have to confirm by trying different settings/crossover points and see what sounds best to your ears on your gear and in your room.

For a starting point though.. most people set their speakers to small, especially for movie listening, with an 80hZ crossover. You could experiment with a lower crossover, especially with the 603's. Also, pick up an SPL meter to properly calibrate your speaker levels. A copy of Avia or Digital Video Essentials will help with this as well as helping you set up your display for better video performance as well. Don't forget to also measure your speaker placement distances to properly set the delays as well.

Other than that Rotel and B&W's are a popular and very good combo, enjoy :T

Jason

[stantheman2]

I have virtaually the same setup - 1056 and B&W 600 Series 2 (6o3s/LCR6/601s) with a Boston Acoustics sub. For HT, I run all speakers small @ 80 Hz corssover. That works great in my room (13' x 14'). You might try the 603s at 60Hz and/or the 601s at 100hz to try to optimize the cutover to the sub just above each speakers' natural rolloff frequency, but I don't think you would hear much change. IMO, there would have to be a lot of content right at the cutover frequency for you to hear much difference. Of course, it's what YOU hear and like that's important.

For music (CDs), I almost always run just the two 603s in analog bypass mode w/o sub - the "purist" approach. I've tried music in DPLII and just 2-channel with sub. Both sound "cool" but I get listener fatige after about 20 minutes. In the "purist" mode, I can listen for hours without fatigue.

Also, I've found playing with the position of the 603s can really improve the sound. I have them about 3' out from the back wall, about 1' from my RPTV on either side, and toed in about halfway between straight ahead and pointed directly at a listener centered between the speakers and 10' away.

[benxx]

Too bad, I really don't have that much room in the back for 603s. The menu says there should be at least 0.5m bettwen the speaker and the wall. I am not sure how critical is that. Do you plug your back port? Does that make a real difference?

[David Meek]

Plugging the port will definitely change the sound of the speakers. In some cases much more than others. IMO, the most noticable thing that will happen is that it'll reduce your low-end extension. Whether you need to plug it will depend on your placement - if the port is too close to a wall, you could hear a "chuffing" sound as the air moving out of the channel reaches this compressed area. Experimenting will tell.