Missing something? (Bass Management)

[happydad]

I own a Rotel RSX-1055 in whch I performed the bass/resister fix last year. I use JM Labs Chorus 715 (set at large for fronts) I have JM 706's for rears set at small) and A DefTech TL15+ as the sub. Everything has been calibrated using AVIA.

Now the question. I don't feel I need to make any changes (except volume, of course) as I go from DVD movies to SACD or DVD-Audio, or digital cable. Everything sounds great (to my ears) including bass levels - which is wher my question lies.

Am I missing something by not tweaking the subwoofer to different crossovers or other settings based on the audio source I am using? Is it normal to - once settings are made - to not have to tweak setting based on the audio source?

I'm always reading about folks changing their settings to get more bass
or to change some parameters in order to "optimize" their experience. I know at the end of the day that listening is an individual experience - but I wonder if I am missing out on something by not tweaking every now and then.

[Aussie Geoff]

Happydad,

No - you are not missing anything... On a well calibarated system the subwoofer level should be perfect fo movies and music...

A common tweak is to set the sub level higher by 3 dB to 6 dB for movies. FOr example the Rotel SUBWOOFER SeTUP menu lets you do this. for just DOLBY DIGITAL and DTS. A further refinement is to have a slighly higher level for Dolby than DTS as DTS is already boosted. Why some people to this tweak is to get extra bass punch and slam for movie special effects while still having natural bass for music etc... But this is personal preference rather than something that is required...

Personally - I have very good subwoofers and I'm happy to have my bass flat for music and movies and even slightly down for DTS to compensate for the extra boost they give it...

Geoff

[happydad]

Happydad,

No - you are not missing anything... On a well calibarated system the subwoofer level should be perfect fo movies and music...

A common tweak is to set the sub level higher by 3 dB to 6 dB for movies. FOr example the Rotel SUBWOOFER SeTUP menu lets you do this. for just DOLBY DIGITAL and DTS. A further refinement is to have a slighly higher level for Dolby than DTS as DTS is already boosted. Why some people to this tweak is to get extra bass punch and slam for movie special effects while still having natural bass for music etc... But this is personal preference rather than something that is required...

Personally - I have very good subwoofers and I'm happy to have my bass flat for music and movies and even slightly down for DTS to compensate for the extra boost they give it...

Geoff

Here are my sub levels setting for the 1055:

Crossover: 80 db
Dolby: 0db
DTS: 0db
Stereo: -3db
Music: 0db
Multi-input: -3db

Sounds like I am doing what you suggested - right?

[Aussie Geoff]

Happydad,

Absolutely - in terms of a little more bass for Movies than music..
A personal preference choice...

Two other things you could try as expiments are:
>> Using the ADVANCED SPEAKER menu to make your fronts SMALL for DTS and Dolby Digital, leaving them LARGE for Music
OR
>> Having your fronts SMALL and using the ADVACED SPEAKER menu to give them a crosover of 40 or 60 Hz (I like 60 Hz) this means that you even get deep bass for music but the transition is lower.

You can (of course) combine the two!

Geoff

[happydad]

Happydad,

Absolutely - in terms of a little more bass for Movies than music..
A personal preference choice...

Two other things you could try as expiments are:
>> Using the ADVANCED SPEAKER menu to make your fronts SMALL for DTS and Dolby Digital, leaving them LARGE for Music
OR
>> Having your fronts SMALL and using the ADVACED SPEAKER menu to give them a crosover of 40 or 60 Hz (I like 60 Hz) this means that you even get deep bass for music but the transition is lower.

You can (of course) combine the two!

Geoff

I shall give them a try. :T