B&W 685 Questin ?

[Opus007]

Hello all been awhile since I have posted here.

Since selling my Rotel gear and B&W 683's I am left with only a pair of 685's and a crappy sony receiver and 2 subs.It is tough times and having to sell my gear due to financial reasons.

I am trying to make the best of what I have left and need a little help on what I should crossover the 685's for music.Unfortunatly the receiver only lets me set the crossovers at 60,90,120 and 150.

I tried 120 and not good...to shrill and lacks musicality.I tried 90 and better not good either.I tried 60 and much better but still just a tad thin.I tried no crossover and ran full range which equals little bass as the 685's have no bass drivers as they are monitors.

So my main question is am I hurting these speakers by running them crossed over at 60 as this is the best sound I can achive with what I have.They do not appear to be bottoming out .

I did a search and seems some are running them at full range with no sub but to me it is missing something that way.

I miss my 683's :boohoo:

Thanks for any input...
Shaun

[ryan.devry]

I'm crossing over at 80, and I basically just adjust the gain on my subwoofer depending on what I'm listening to. Proper placement, decent amplification, and a good subwoofer will make the 685's sound pretty good.

[Opus007]

I'm crossing over at 80, and I basically just adjust the gain on my subwoofer depending on what I'm listening to. Proper placement, decent amplification, and a good subwoofer will make the 685's sound pretty good.

Unfortunatly I must live with a crapy reciever for awhile so trying to make it the best it can be.

Room is treated and placement is correct so not much I can do.

[stuofsci02]

There is no reason why you can't run at 60hz cross over, or no cross over at all...

Sounds like your reciever will give out before your speakers, so watch out for distortion that could damage your speakers..

[Opus007]

Even though it is a crapy sony receiver it hardly gets hot with hours of playing music and I hear no distortion.The sound is just not the best and a new pre/pro amp and speakers would be just what the doctor ordered...but not my wallet.

So I guess I am safe with the 60hz crossover.Thanks
Shaun

[emig5m]

I've actually cranked my 685's full range with no sub with an Emotiva XPA-5 with no problem. Really, they're not that far behind the 684. Run them with no crossover if you want. I used 80Hz when I did use a sub with them. I remember my corny Sony receivers and they also didn't have 80Hz for a crossover frequency. I'd probably try 90 myself... Too bad you couldn't get a nice lower-mid Yamaha AVR as my Yamaha was a major leap in sound quality over my Sony's. I'm using Denon now and I don't even think Denon is as good as Yamaha for 2-channel music. That sucks that you had to sell your 683's. Hopefully next year will be a better year and you can bounce back with something even better than the 683's. Maybe CM9's or something....

[Opus007]

Thanks emig5m for the info.

I think a used receiver will be in my future.The Sony will do for now but the sound just doesnt cut it.