Rel Stampede settings with Naim AV2

Richard

I use my REL Stampede with a Naim system (552/500) driving the front channels and a Denon A/V receiver for the rest. I don't use a center speaker but that is by the by.

I take the .1 output from the Denon to the line level input on the REL. This input on the REL does not have any frequency control because it assumes the A/V receiver will set the frequency. I set all speakers to 'large' which neans I just run the .1 channel output via the REL. I do not recommend using a 'small' setting for any of the speakers unless absolutely needed since even good quality bookshelves can work well as 'large' speakers when doing surround duty. Generally using 'small' settings and diverting lower frequencies from some of the main channels suffers from level boost problems which can cause overblown bass.

So in the Denon speaker setup menu I have the sub level set to 0dB and I use the gain control on the REL line level input to match the volume in the sub channel to the rest using a Radio Shack dB meter. I also adjust the bass level on the REL when switching from say Music DVD's to Film DVD's or DVD-Audio because I find the bass level varies quite a bit from music to film.

So.....throughut it is just the bass from the .1 channel which has been put there during the recording process that is going to the sub. This works well IMO.



regards
Geoff

Hi Richard;

I use a Strata 5 in a way very similar to Geoff. it is fed the 0.1 channel signal via the RCA cable. However I differ from his setup when it comes to settings. I have my crossover set at 100 Hz for the subwoofer (done at the AV receiver which is a NAD T753). I have two huge floor standers in the front so those are set to large while my rear tiny standmount Jamos are set to small. The 100 Hz crossover point is the recommended standard for THX certification for home theaters.

Regarding Channel settings, I use my left front channel as my 0dB reference point and with the aid of a radio shack SPL meter I adjust the gain settings at the NAD until I get zeros on all channels. The exception to that is the subwoofer where I leave the subwoofer gain setting on the AV receiver at 0 dB and use the REL's LFE level for adjustments. But if you do find that you are needing to reach extremes on the REL's gain (+95 for example) I'd drop it down a bit to say 80 or 85 and use the AV receiver's gain function. This would serve to relieve the REL's built in amplifier from any clipping.

I did have the Stampede on home demo for a good bit of time and I remember that the LFE setting I had for 5.1 use was somewhere around the 55-65 range and the frquency was at 99Hz. I just learned from Geoff that there is no crossover setting on the LFE signal but by selecting 99Hz, I was technically ovveriding it, had it existed. With the Strata 5 I'm currently using a somewhat lower volume setting compared to the stampede (can't remember and I won't run to the subwoofer now :P)

Good luck!

P.S. I recommend that you have a preset on the REL saved for movies and another for two channel music. That way you don't have to worry about settings ever again And please use the hi-level out when using your sub for stereo music.

I'll just stick my two pennyworth in!

LF crossover frequency for THX multichannel surround sound is 80 Hz, and provided your sub. is of good quality (which I'm sure the REL is) and importantly of adequate size and power to properly "Load" your room with LF effects, you're better off letting it handle the frequencies for which it is specifically designed, i.e. from 100 down to 20 or so Hz., and provided the transition from mains to sub is relatively smooth with no holes the results will be better than allowing your main speakers, no matter how good, to venture too far into LF territory.

It might be slightly sacrilegious to mention this here, but room EQ does wonders for surround sound setup, and particularly for LF tuning.

quote:

Dolby Digital, or AC-3, is the common version containing up to six discrete channels of sound, with five channels for normal-range speakers (20 Hz – 20,000 Hz) (right front, center, left front, right rear and left rear) and one channel (20 Hz – 120 Hz) for the subwoofer driven low-frequency effects

From the Wikipedia link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Digital


In short....

If you set your sub's crossover to cut off at, say 100hz, you're limiting the sub's ability to play the upper reaches of the LFE channel, which covers 20-120Hz.

Your AV processor is meant to take care of the crossover duties, and feed the sub with any bass your other speakers CAN'T handle, ALONGSIDE the LFE stuff.

Hence it is vitally important not to set your upper frequency rolloff any lower than 120Hz.


Hope this helps

Mike

This depends enormously on the relative in-room frequency response and quality of L/R main speakers and sub., and the quality of the processor. At over 100Hz, subs are reaching into areas generally best handled by the main speakers.

The object of the exercise is to achieve an even frequency response.

Also depends on where the high pass filter for the front channels (crossover) is set for the front speaker by the AV receiver. For example, my NAD will set crossover frequency to 80Hz for any speaker selected as "small" It will provide the full signal to any speaker set to "large" i.e. no crossover. In those cases the subwoofer will only receive the information on the 0.1 channel regardless of its frequency. I know some fancier AV receivers will allow u to specifically set the crossovers for the various channels in preset increments.

Regards...

Thanks for all the replies. I think the AV2 only has the crossover frequency selectable only as a universal value for all speakers.

I'm not too sure how low the M&K K-4s go in terms of bass. I think I'll probably need to select these as small speakers for purpose of AV duties.

I've also read that the THX standard stipulates that 80Hz is the optimal frequency. I think I'll start there and have a play around and see how I get on

Richard