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New member Username: IronheadSan Antonio, Texas U.S.A. Post Number: 1 Registered: Sep-09 | I am setting up a 3.1 system Think of getting the Onkyo TX-SR706 or the TX-SR607. Speakers are going to be Definitive Tech a pair of BP7004's with the C/L/R2002 center Can any help with what receiver to use and how to set my sound field? I live in a small apt 600 sq/ft with some walls going up to over 20 feet. Ironhead. |
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Gold Member Username: John_sColumbus, Ohio US Post Number: 2510 Registered: Feb-04 | Robert, you should be able to set up a very satisfying 3 speaker system. I own the DefTech BP2004 towers and the CLR2002 center. The 2004 towers are roughly similar to the current 7004 model in that they both have the same tweeter and midrange bipolar sets, and they both have 10" powered woofers. The older model has a 250 watt amp powering the woofer, whereas the newer 7004 has a 300 watt powering the 10" along with two 10" passive radiators in each tower. I am running the DefTechs in a 15 X 25 room with standard 8' ceiling. Based on my experience, you should never feel the need to add a subwoofer, as these towers will output more than enough bass in most rooms. You should plan on placing the towers as far out from the back wall as practical, since they emit as much sound from the back as the front. Center placement will work well below the screen as above it. The ideal setup would have the tweeters on a even plane across the front, but of course because you cannot put the center speaker behind the TV, compromise must be made in this regard. The general rule is that a good setup will not place the tweeter in the center more than 2 feet above or below the main speaker tweeters. My CLR2002 center is mounted above the screen on a bracket and is tilted toward the main seating. Here's a picture link: http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t171/JohnS45/cave55.jpg It is difficult to see, but I've moved the towers 22 inches out from the back wall. This definitely helps with imaging. The side mounted woofers are facing outward. I have thought of reversing the towers to see how they sound, but I have been so happy with the bass response in this room I haven't done it. Maybe it's just a happy accident, but these two towers will rattle the walls with usable bass down to 25 Hz. I started with the speaker's sub volumes at 12 o'clock, but over the years I have settled on a 10:30 setting that is the best compromise for my listening habits (50/50 movies/music). The DefTech towers have, in addition to the standard speaker wire binding posts, a line-level LFE (Low Frequency Effects) input that is designed to work with the subwoofer line out on a surround receiver. I don't use it as I prefer to have the speaker's internal crossover do the bass management. Using the LFE input on the speakers will add to the setup complexity and in my experience, isn't necessary. I have checked the Onkyo 706 manual, and the setup should be fairly simple. You would go into the receiver's advanced speaker setup menu, and select "NO" for subwoofer. This automatically selects "FULL BAND" for the mains. Then you select "NONE" to both the surround and back surround speakers. The center would normally be set to "SMALL" with an 80 Hz crossover, however I do not think you would cause any great harm by selecting a "LARGE" setting for it. I have no personal experience with the Onkyo's (and others) Audyssey setup procedure, and I definitely don't know how much help it would be in this instance, with no separate subwoofer and no surrounds. The Audyssey system does have an excellent reputation, and using it might help smooth out any bass problem you may have in your particular room. It seems to me that the two biggest speaker setup issues for you will be the proper bass volume setting on the tower controls, as well as the volume level setting on the center relative to the main speakers. Ultimately, your ears have to be the main guide, and you should not be afraid to experiment with setting this system up. Incidentally, since you are not going to use a separate subwoofer (or presumably the receiver's LFE output), you are talking a "3.0" system, rather than 3.1. I hope this helps. |
