Tomorrow (8-30) I'll receive my LFM1 and I have some questions about my new speaker configurations. The manufacturers frequency range specs. on my current speakers are Fronts 46-20, Rears 58-20 and Center 56-20. So I have two options as I see it. I can set my 950's xover points to 40 for the fronts and 60 for the rears/center, or I can enable the Analog Bass Management switch on the rear of the 950 and xover all of the five-channel inputs at 80. Does this switch only work in the Analog domain? What is the best xover option for my current speakers? I'm confused about the different choices available. Thanks.

You've got several options, actually, and it may take a little experimenting to determine which you prefer. First, the analog switch on the back only effects the six-channel analog input, and if you are using that input (such as for DVD-Audio or SACD), I'd recommend turning it on. Second, we need to find some good crossover points for the digital bass management that you'll be using for all other inputs. The fronts have a -3dB point of 46Hz, so the crossover needs to be set above that point. One school of thought on crossovers is to go one octave above the -3dB point by taking the -3dB point and doubling it; in that case, the target crossover point would be 92Hz and you could use either 80hz or 100Hz for the mains. I don't always follow that method exactly, as I tend to use a slightly lower crossover point. I'd start at either 60Hz or 80Hz and try both with some familiar material (such as a music CD with a good bit of bass in it). Your center and surrounds all hit their -3dB point around 60Hz, so you want to probably use at least 80Hz for the crossover. You might even set it those crossovers to 100Hz and see how that works out.

Oh, and while making these bass management changes, make sure to set all of your speakers to "small" in the 950's speaker setup. Best of luck - the LFM-1's a great sub.

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gonk -- 950 Review | LFM-1 Review | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | Saloon Links

Thanks Gonk. That's about what I was thinking of doing, setting all of the speakers to small and setting all of the xovers to just under their low freq. specs. I'll experiment with different settings including setting all of the speakers to large and letting the .1 portion of a soundtrack handle the extremely low frequencys.

With the -3dB points listed for your speakers, this option probably doesn't merit a significant amount of time investigating - the rears and center in particular are most likely designed for being operated as "small" with a subwoofer to supplement them, and the mains will likely benefit from it with a lot of low frequency material. From my experience with the LFM-1, it blends nicely when crossed over around 80Hz or 100Hz (which is the highest crossover I've used). Having said all that, it is still OK to experiment - if nothing else, hearing your system with the speakers all set to large and then switching them to small may help demonstrate some of the benefits of your newest home theater toy.

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gonk -- 950 Review | LFM-1 Review | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | Saloon Links

You are a great help, gonk. It occured to me last night while laying awake waiting for my LFM1 that DD/DTS discrete audio tracks already cross over my system by sending all the low freq's to the .1 channel. But I've never owned or used a sub before today (in a few hours) so I'm speaking from considerable inexperience. I'm sure that all of this crossover business will become clearer to me once I hook up my sub and start experimenting. I'll try your setting suggestions first. With my 950/770 combo and my soon to be LFM1 all I need now is a slight upgrade of my front LR speakers and one of those old fashioned popcorn machines that Costco sells to be in movie nirvana!

[This message has been edited by worldwide (edited August 30, 2004).]

The Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 tracks do contain a dedicated channel of low frequecy effects that is intended for the sub, and if you have your sub currently set to "off" and mains set to "large" in the 950 then that channel is being redirected to the mains by the 950. When the movie soundtrack is mixed, however, all five other channels are still allowed to contain a full range signal and those signals all pass unchanged from the DVD player's digital output to the pre/pro. It sounds like you've got a good plan in place, though, and the 950 will take care of your bass management needs quite nicely.

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gonk -- 950 Review | LFM-1 Review | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | Saloon Links