bk xls 200 set up?

[bumble]

a big thank you to all regarding opinions on the bk xls 200,i was considering the REL quake but after a few hours on these forums i chose the bk........i have only set it up in a very basic way and have to say i'm impressed but of course i need to set it up to near perfection? any suggestions? at the mo i have the crossover in the 'LFE' position the phase i haven't touched so it's a 0 and volume just touching 2 on the dial. it seems many people have different opinions on 'phase' what is the correct explanation as to it's purpose??? oh the sub is only used for home theatre with amp crossover set at 80hz......any ideas would be great!

[eviljohn2]

I wouldn't worry about the phase, it only makes a minimal difference to the sound and I doubt you could say which was "better". It can make a difference if you're interested in retentively optimising your room response. Try different spots and see what you think.

Your volume (gain) setting sounds about right, ideally check it using your amps test tones and an SPL meter. As far as setting the crossover frequency goes, adjusting it does make a lot of difference to how the sub integrates with mine but I only found that out after spending a day plotting various responses and the bass management on my Denon 1802 is rubbish. Try it at LFE, 80Hz, 60Hz and 40Hz then see which you prefer, again the difference will probably only be small.

HTH

[bumble]

many thanks,i will play with integration using suggested crossovers and report back,best to watch a selected movie on each and pay attention to bottom end......i love my system but bless the day when i can relax knowing all is is well with my set up

[eviljohn2]

Basically, adjust things in this order until you're happy:
* Gain
* Crossover
* Phase

You might be best just watching a single scene from a film that you know well rather than the whole thing but that's entirely up to you.

Unless you're planning on acoustically treating your whole room for that perfect frequency response then just play until you're happy. I have the gain on my BK a little higher than I should because it's more fun

[bumble]

as i am in an upstairs room on carpeted floorboards i have isolated as best i can, i have spent £1.59 on a concrete slab which i will carpet to stop boom,do you have any experience with sub isolation and what works best for you?

[eviljohn2]

I've got little experience myself (as I move around a lot so can't attach the spikes I've got mine resting on some doorstops).

I've heard that the carpeted block technique you're using works well, also try making a sandwich by maybe putting another on top. Less aesthetically pleasing but should help isolate it. Plenty of advice in this forum, search the forums for the Auralex Gramma platform. In fact there's an interesting thread somewhere describing a DIY one.

Good luck

[bumble]

as you seem fully aware of all things sub like,what would be the correct way to measure the correct volume output?....let me elaborate as i mentioned the gain on the sub is set to 2 ish? when i did a level check with an spl using the test tone the sub volume was way too low??? Do i set the output on the amp with that of the speakers so it reads the same or do i leave the amp output at 0 and just adjust the gain on the sub itself?? hope that makes sense

[eviljohn2]

I know more than some, and less than others

It shouldn't make any difference which way you control the subs volume but I would tend to adjust it using the physical dial rather than using your receivers channel volumes. With a little practice and patience it's not too hard but is a bit of a pain dashing around the room!

Once you've got that right you can fine tune it for different surround modes if necessary using your amplifiers channel volume. I've had to increase the gain by 1dB in stereo mode for example.

In essence, it's best to get it right with the amp volume set to 0 and adjust the actual subwoofer.