upgraded speakers; question on 1066 settings

[Mats]

hey folks, it's been awhile... greetings once again!

just upgraded my surrounds to match my mains (paradigm studio 80's); i have a paradigm pw2200 sub. i've got the 1066/1075 driving the outfit, and i intend to add a universal sacd/dvd-a player towards the latter part of this year.

question for the 1066. bought it in early april, to my knowledge it's up to date in terms of firmware (though i should check that out). since i've got full-range speakers set up all around and the sub, how should i approach my setup with respect to crossover to the sub? alright, maybe this is a speaker question as well....

in any event, what are my optimal settings based on the assumption this is going to be 50/50 for music and cinema- large or small all the way around? want to get the most out of the excellent rotel combination which never lets me down.

without sacd/dvd-a, i was toying around last night with dave matthews band, live from luther college. played it in two-channel, dpl2 (cinema and music), 5-channel stereo, the works. i know this is all about personal preference, but how does everyone play their music- do you venture into dpl, or keep it in 2-channel?

i understand my post is all over the place, but it's been a while and it's good to be back with this board.

[Danbry39]

Welcome back valongi

The Paradigms are relatively efficient and go down to 40 Hz, +/- 2 decibels, so you'd most likely be best served setting the crossover at 60 or 80. I'd suggest that you try both, with a DVD and some music and see which you like best.

As for the multi-channel vs. two-channel, I personally still enjoy two channel best, followed by 5 channel stereo, then prologic II. I really don't like any of the multi-channels other than these.




Keith

[Mats]

thanks for the reply, danbry. i did enjoy the 5-channel stereo the most; but i wasn't too keen on the center channel handling the vocals for some reason. the mains and surrounds did have a little extra 'oomph' to them, as it seemed... is this my imagination, or what?

[Danbry39]

What I noticed with regard to which mode to play things through is that it is very much dependent on my mood and the recording, so I listen to different modes with these in mind. If I want a rock concert in my face though (ie, want to work off stress 8O ), I like five channel stereo.

About the subwoofer crossover settings, if you're using the Rotel to set the crossover, turn the sub's crossover all the way up, which will in effect take it out of the picture.

Probably setting your Rotel to the 80 Hz crossover will prove best.




Keith

[thedarklobster]

Danbry39

Just curious about your comment on the sub. I also have the Paradigm 2200. There are 3 settings on the back. I believe the one you are speaking of is the "subwoofer cutoff frequency." It ranges from 50 to 150. I have my crossover on my Rotel 1066 set to 60hz. Should I turn the sub dial all the way up to 150 or have it reflect the setting on the Rotel? Thanks for all the help!

Shane

[Danbry39]

Not familiar with your particular sub, but, yes, I would turn it all the way up to 150 Hz. I would calibrate the system using Avia or some similar software with the settings at 150 Hz on the sub and 80 Hz on the Rotel. See how it sounds, then try it at 60 Hz. I don't own Paradigm, but feel the best setting would probably be at 80 Hz. As a matter of fact, I'm going to link you to another thread with the same sub and different, but still Paradigm speakers. The thread was started by someone experiencing pretty much the same issue as you and was responded to by posters much more knowledgeable than I about subs. I haven't gone through it for a while, but I think they'll come close to the settings I suggested. Hope it helps and you can't believe how good it will all sound once it's set up and calibrated correctly.

Here you go: Click here




Keith

[thedarklobster]

Wow! Thank you! I just read through the post and got out my SPL meter and Avia test disc. What a difference in the sub now. I have the setting at 150hz and the crossover at 80hz on the Rotel. However, I'm considering lowering it to 60hz as my Energy Veritas 2.4's seem to handle the bass very well. I will have to listen to for a little longer......
Thanks again!

Shane

[Danbry39]

That's great!!! With regard to setting it at 60 hz, I would try this too. I'm curious as to whether it improves the sound, especially for music. Let us know.




Keith

[sdecker]

I use the same speakers for my mains and surrounds(klipsch KG 5.2's) so I'm in the same boat as you.

I set my 1055's crossover at 60hz. I found that music sounds "better" with the crossover set lower, and HT sounds "better" with the xover set higher. 60hz was a nice compromise, I liked 40hz for music and either 80 or 100hz for HT. The best advice I can give is is to try a few different setting and pick the one YOU like best.

Just in case you dont know how to check your firmware, just press and hold mute on the remote until the firmware is displayed. Make sure that you have the newest firmware (1.49/2.25) as it solves some of the double bass issues. Not the multi input BM issues.

Earle

[Mats]

thanks for the info, guys. i'll have to check what i have my sub set for (on the back.) it sounds great now, but what the heck. toying around with the settings may further enhance everything.

i have the avia disc, i'll run it again since i haven't calibrated with that disc since i got the two new speakers in.... i only used the test tones from the receiver.

[thedarklobster]

When I press and hold mute to display my firmware what I have on the units screen(1066) is V 2.2.2.020905. Is this the firmware number and if so is it the most current? I apologize for asking this under this thread, I did search but didn't seem to find a specific thread.
Thanks,
Shane

[Danbry39]

No, it's not the most recent. If you go to the top of Club Rotel and click on Frequently Asked Questions, there is a listing of all firmware upgrades and the changes you can expect with each.




Keith

[Mats]

i don't see that, danbry ???? :roll:

[Danbry39]

On the topic page for Club Rotel, where it has headings like Topic, Originator, etc. (where the topics for threads such as this one are all listed), there are at the beginning two "sticky" threads, the second being the Frequently Asked Questions or FAQ's. Click on that and scroll down.
Let me know if you still have a hard time finding it.




Keith