Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems 861 bass management with analog speakers

Hi

My setup has 5 active analog speaker with a range of 35-20k Hz. The sub can do 18-100Hz. Currently I set the bass management to: all large and LFE sub with low pass filter at 30Hz (I don't want the sub to try to do anything above 35Hz).

But after reading this ... I asked myself, why not try setting: all small and mono sub with 35Hz crossover. But the question is.. does the 861 then only route the 5 channels to the sub or all 6? Do the sound mixers put all the low frequency info on all 6 channels (same amount and level)?

When setting all speakers to small, does the crossover limit the sub too? If yes, why isn't the LFE low pass filter disabled?

And what does the toggle 'all subs are thx or flat to 20hz' do? Does it maybe rolloff below xxHz to protect the sub??

cu

This thread Meridian 861 Bass Management Odyssey might be of some use...

I still remember writing this! How things change over time... I hope it's useful for you.

Yes, by all means, try All Small with Mono Sub.

And set the crossover a little above 35Hz (Minimum). The 35Hz Spec is usually after the speaker is starting to drop off and is fully capable somewhere above that spec. My speakers are also 35hz and I set the Cross Over to 40Hz. Since you can't set crossover per speaker you need to set it above the smallest speaker.

It's really a good idea to get comfortable with something like REW Software because you need to get the Phase/Distance correct because different subs have different delays through them and your distance value you set in preamp can be completely wrong. If it's all Meridian Speakers it's not a problem. But with anything non Meridian you have to sort it out yourself. And it's not easy.

I leave the LFE Crossover value at Default.

Yes, any channel can have low frequencies on it (Movies or Music).

Wow, nice compare you did 17 years ago, must have been the legacy software ... maybe things changed since then.

Yeah, you're right, have to let the sub do more.. L/C/R go down to 35Hz, RL/RR down to 40Hz.

The Mconfig bass management is definitely NOT built for complex analog setups. Maybe I should ask Meridian to make it more flexible

Just curious, why?

Because if your speakers can do 35Hz, why not let them?

It's less likely to have strong room nodes if the bass is coming from more speakers than just the sub (s)

Some people prefer to off load their main speakers for better midrange performance.
I prefer distribute the bass and let the speaker do what it was designed to do, go down to 35Hz.

But by all means, experiment.

Understood, thanks.