Bass Management Configuration


Many times when a subwoofer is not playing as much as you would like, it is because your electronics have not been configured correctly. The crossover setting on your AV Receiver, or Preamp should be set no lower than the lowest manufacturers’ rated speaker response at +/- 3dB. You can find this in your speaker users’ manual or on the manufacturers’ website. 

If you can’t find this specification anywhere, you can guesstimate based on the diameter of the largest driver in your speaker. For a 6” or larger driver, use 80Hz. For 4-6”, use 100-120Hz, and for smaller than 4”, use 150-200Hz.

Subwoofers are THX recommended to be set at 80hz.


The LFE channel should be left in it's default setting of 120Hz.

 

Making sure your subwoofer is receiving a signal from your receiver

 

  • The best way to make sure your subwoofer is receiving a signal is by first connecting a subwoofer cable to your LFE input on the back of your subwoofer and leaving the other end disconnected.  Have your subwoofer level set to about 40% and now hold the other disconnected end of the cable in your hand and firmly tap (multiple times) to see if you’re getting feedback from your subwoofer.
  • Next perform a TEST TONE sweep in your receiver to make sure your receiver is sending a signal to the subwoofer.  This will typically be located under settings/setup, listed under speakers and look for LEVEL.  You should see an option for TEST TONE.  Make sure your receiver is at a loud enough volume level to hear the test tone it’s sending.  Also make sure your level control for your subwoofer isn’t below -5 so your receiver is sending a strong enough  signal.
  • In your receiver, you should have an option to pick YES for subwoofer but if you have your speakers set to LARGE, there will be no information sent to the subwoofer for that channel. In the vast majority of cases you should use the SMALL option. 


For more detailed information on how to correctly configure a subwoofer and the Bass Management settings in your electronics, take a look at our Subwoofer Setup page here: https://martinlogan.com/en/subwoofer-setup


 Note: For information about your receiver or receiver settings/setup, please check your receiver manufactures manual or contact them for support as every manufactures settings can be slightly different.