Speaker setup

1. The Audyssey DSX Height speakers should be placed as high as possible on the front wall.

2. The Audyssey DSX Wide speakers should be placed at 60° ideally. Yes, they are intended to be to the side of the listener.

3. Surrounds are not as critical, but it's probably best to use dipoles above ear height. They should be at 90° so that the dipole null is pointing to the listener. Direct radiator surrounds should be at 110° and pointing to the listener.

4. There is no standard for Surround Back speakers. I would recommend keeping them at the same height as the main surrounds.

Chris,

Regarding Wides and Surrounds.  Not clear on the best height.  Should they be at the same height?   I've read at ear level, 1-2 ft above, 2-3 ft above.  This can be challenging as I have three different seat levels.  I'm guessing to make the third tier ear level and therefore be above on the first two tiers (about a 2 ft drop from back ear to front ear level).  Not sure whether I should point them down a bit for the first tow seat tiers...

Tom

Hi Tom,

Wides should be at ear height like the fronts.  Surrounds are best above ear height to reduce localization.  Exact height of surrounds doesn't matter as much.  Pointing not needed for surrounds as the idea is to not know where they are.

I have a bose acoustimass 6 speakers with Denon AVR2312CI . On the bose's manual it says the speakers should be set as Large. I just read a comment from where you said that large is the wrong setting. I need some advice in how should I set them up?  

Hi Luis,

If the Bose woofer is powered then you should connect it to the Sub out of the AVR and set speakers to Small.  That way you will take advantage of the higher resolution MultEQ filters in the subwoofer channel and also let the AVR be in charge of redirecting bass to the sub rather than the analog filters in the woofer.

Chris,

For listen to music what is the best option?. Audyssey, Audyssey Bypass L/R or  Audyssey flat. The Bose woofer should be set on 80 hz or 120 hz. What is the difference?. The rest of the speakers I already set them on 80 hz it is thatt Ok?  

Audyssey Bypass L/R should never be used.  It turns off Audyssey in the L and R speakers and is not something we understand...

I would recommend using the standard Audyssey target curve for all content.  

Not sure I understand the 80 Hz or 120 Hz setting.  What does that do?  Is it a lowpass filter on the woofer?  If so it should be set to the highest number so it doesn't interfere with proper bass management in the AVR.

Chris,

The rest of the speakers I already set them on 80 hz it is thatt Ok? Or should I set all of them different like L and R 80 hz center 150 hz and SL and SR 120 hz. What is your recomendation. Thanks

If these are the small cube speakers then there is no way they can go down to 80 Hz.  What does MultEQ say the roll off is?  That's where you should set them.

Yes they are the small cube. The Multeq set them on 40hz, but I just read a comment from you where you said that the speakers should be set on 80 hz.

Are they connected to the woofer box? Or are they connected directly to the AVR?

they are connected to the woofer box

That explains it.  The woofer is being seen as part of the speakers.  Does the woofer also have a line-level connection to the Sub Out of the AVR?

yes it has

the woofer has his own connection to the avr

OK, I understand.  You should move the crossovers for all speakers up to 80 Hz so that more content is sent to the sub.  That way the higher resolution MultEQ XT subwoofer filters can have more to work with and produce a smoother response.

Hi Chris. I have a question. I just bought a ProCinema 800 System from definitive technology. I ran the audyssey on my denon AVR2312CI  and the front speakers were set up as full range. could you give me some tips in how should I set this system up. thank you

Hi Luis,

The first thing to check is if the front speakers are connected to the AVR and not to the subwoofer. Hopefully that is the case. The subwoofer should be connected to the line level Sub Out on the 2312.

Yes the main speakers are connected to the subwoofer (high pass filter built in the sub). the sub is connected to the line level sub out in the 2312. So, your recomendation is to connect the speakers directly into the 2312.

How should I set the crossover's Htz on the 2312 ?

Yes, that is my recommendation.  If you connect the speakers to the sub directly then the AVR doesn't know you have a sub.  Because of that it will always set the front speakers to Large.  There is no other choice!  Once you connect the sub via line level connection to the Sub Out and run Audyssey again, it will find the best crossover value for your speakers.

That is maybe the reason the sub crossover value was set to - 12?

The crossover is a frequency measured in Hz.  The sub level may be set to –12 dB, but that would only happen if you have the sub connected to the Sub Out of the AVR.  If that's the case, then turn down the volume on the back of the sub.  It's set way too high...

Ok I will run the Audyssey again and see how it goes. thank you.

Hello....Can I run polk audio monitor 70 as my front and polk audio RTI 70 as my wide? They are both floor standing speakers.

Sorry I mean monitor 60 and RTI 70

Yes, absolutely.  As long as you make sure that the Wides are at ±60°, which typically puts them along the side walls.