Newbie help with new sub (XLS200) installation please?

Xionn

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Hi all,

Well I've just brought my first separate 5.1 home cinema system upgrade (items in sig) and have got everything setup apart from the sub as it arrived today (thanks to those who helped in previous threads). Currently using an older sub we had which was part of a Sony speaker system setup, which only has a on/off button and level dial and connected via a Mono cable from sub to AV.

I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to subs as this is my first sub with proper dials you can adjust and fine tune, so have a lot to learn here.

So the sub I got is the BK Electronics XLS200-FF MKII.

The AV I am connecting my sub to is a Sony STR-DH820.

So the three cables I have are the power cord, one Neutrik Speakon socket (had no idea what this was at first, big connection at one end and the other end has three thin cables, red, white and black) and one gold ended RCA cable (I requested mono) which has the same connection at both ends.

I was wondering what is the best way to connect the new sub to my new AV?

High Level Input - Which would be the big Neutik lead into the sub and the other end as follows:
White cable --> Left Red
Black cable --> Left Black
Red cable --> Right Red
(Unsure about this, I have banana plugs currently going into the back of the AV for the Front left and right, how does this work?)

Low Level Input - Which would be the gold plated mono cables with one end into "R Mono" on the sub and the other end into "Subwoofer Audio Out" on the AV.
(Seems much more simple! This is how the current sub is connected to the AV)

The setup after that seems a bit confusing at first with the adjusting of the gain to match level of main speakers / frequency control adjustment to meet crossover point etc but I'll see how that goes once I connect it all up and test on a film.

The sub will be used for watching Sky+ HD / Blu-ray / DVD / Games and not connected to a HiFi. I am planning on having it at a fairly low level so it isn't too OTT but just right to take the load off the speakers and have a good effect.

Also we have wooden flooring in the living room, should I still use the spikes provided but buy some spike shoes? Or leave the spikes and just place it on the floor?

Any help would be much appreciated please!

Thanks a lot.
 
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Don't bother with hi-level, it's designed for stereo amps without preouts. Use the low level single phono. Set low level gain to 11 o'clock, hi-level gain to 0. Set phase to 0. Set frequency cross over dial to max / bypass (it might go click) and then set up your amp to handle the distribution of frequencies. If your amp can do different crossover freqs. to different speakers, try 60Hz for your fronts and 80Hz for everything else. If it can't then go for 80Hz for everything. You may have to read your amp's manual.
 
mfife - Thanks for your reply :) I'll go with the low level single phono and try out the values you specified.
My amp can do different cross over frequencies for each speaker, they are currently all set to 80 but I'll put the front L/R to 60.

What about the floor spikes, is it best to use those for a sub, and put some spike shoes under?
 
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I use spikes/spike shoes and am pretty happy with the result! Also my sub is sitting on a 4cm thick slab of concrete.
 
Can someone give me a quick overview/explanation on the High Level Gain, Low Level Gain , Filter (has a Out LFE section), Frequency and Phase dials please?


I'll be sticking to low level so I guess I don't have to worry about the High Level Gain and keep that where it is. I'll stick to 0 for the phase and 11 o'clock for low level gain. Then do I stick my frequency to max as mentioned above?

Once these are set, which dials should I keep as they are and which should I tweak etc?

Thanks
 
Once you've run Audyssey or whatever your Sony AV has you shouldn't adjust anything on the sub as it will mess up the equalisation.

If you want to adjust the levels use the level controls on the Sony.

Having said that after a few hours use you will probably want to adjust the settings on the sub as it runs in and you get used to it and then re-run the Audyssey.

Basically though its your sub so just fiddle till it sounds good to you I did with mine then after a few weeks I re-ran the Audyssey and just adjusted the levels on the amp a little to suit (ISTR I added about 3db).

Enjoy:)

Regards

Mark

P.S. I have a Bk200xls as well as the Monolith I retired the 200 to my bedroom setup where it does sterling service with all the bits I've retired from the lounge.
 
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The Sony does not EQ the sub channel so the best thing to do is run the auto set up (leave the sub at (0^ phase for now and set the gain at roughly half) and look at what values it sets for the sub (if it does any) and jot them down then tweak to see how it suits you. Also post up what the settings where here so they can be explained to you.

The standard settings are around 80Hz crossover (set the BK crossover as high as it will go and let the Sony sort it out) with all speakers set to small (this just means that any sub 80Hz frequencies for the other speakers go to your sub as well as any .1 parts of the sound track).
 
Don't bother with hi-level, it's designed for stereo amps without preouts. Use the low level single phono. Set low level gain to 11 o'clock, hi-level gain to 0. Set phase to 0. Set frequency cross over dial to max / bypass (it might go click) and then set up your amp to handle the distribution of frequencies. If your amp can do different crossover freqs. to different speakers, try 60Hz for your fronts and 80Hz for everything else. If it can't then go for 80Hz for everything. You may have to read your amp's manual.


Can I just check,I too needed help with my BK 200 setup and was given the same advice apart from low gain to around half? is it better to set that to full then?
 
It is highly inadvisable to crank the volume of any amplifier, including sub amps, past the half way mark, or 12o'clock position in your case, whether hi or low level. Putting it on full is a good way of blowing your sub. And it'll sound crap into the bargain, before you do blow it.
Incidentally, the above rule applies differently to modern AV amps, which have the countdown -dB volume display, with 0dB being louder than -20dB. In their case, 0dB (or reference volume level) is the equivalent of the volume set at the halfway mark, i.e. the loudest you can safely crank it whilst leaving headroom for dynamics etc, and not pushing distortion too high.
 

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