NOTE: There are two types of bass in a sur- round system. The first is normal bass recorded in each of the main channels (front, center, and surround). This bass is present in all re- cordings and soundtracks. In addition, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 recordings have a Low Frequency Effects (LFE) channel – the .1 channel. This bass channel, typically played by a subwoofer, is used for effects such as explosions or rumble. The use of the LFE chan- nel will vary from soundtrack to soundtrack. Recordings that are not encoded in Dolby Digi- tal or DTS do not have the LFE channel.
The following configuration instructions refer to LARGE and SMALL speakers, referring more to their desired bass configuration than their physical size. Specifically, use the LARGE set- ting for speakers that you want to play deep bass signals. Use the SMALL designation for speakers that would benefit from having their bass sent to more capable speakers. The bass management system redirects bass information away from all SMALL speakers and sends it to the LARGE speakers and/or the SUBWOOFER. It may be useful to think of LARGE as “full-range” and SMALL as “high-pass filtered.”
Four typical examples of the many possible system configurations illustrate the principles behind bass management:
•A system with five LARGE speakers and a subwoofer: This system requires no bass redirection. All five speakers play the nor- mal bass recorded in their respective chan- nels. The subwoofer plays only the LFE channel bass. This may not be the most ef- ficient use of system resources. Depend- ing on the soundtrack, there may be mini- mal use of the LFE channel, so the subwoofer would be underutilized. Meanwhile the normal bass places higher demands on the capabilities of the other speakers and the amplifiers driving them.
•A system with LARGE front, center, and surround speakers, but no subwoofer. The normal bass from the front, center, and surround channels is played in its respec- tive speakers. With no subwoofer, the LFE bass is redirected to all five LARGE speak- ers. This places significant demands on these speakers and their amplifiers, as they must play their own normal bass plus the very demanding LFE bass.
•A system with LARGE front speakers, SMALL center and surround speakers, and a sub- woofer. The normal bass from the SMALL center and surround speakers is redirected to the LARGE front speakers and the sub- woofer. The LARGE front speakers play their own normal bass plus the redirected bass from the SMALL speakers. The subwoofer plays the LFE bass plus some of the redi- rected bass from the SMALL center and surround channels. This might be an ap- propriate configuration with a pair of very capable front speakers driven by a large separate power amplifier.
•A system with all SMALL speakers and a subwoofer. The normal bass from all chan- nels is redirected to the subwoofer, which also plays the LFE bass. The subwoofer handles ALL of the bass in the system, while the other speakers benefit from the added dynamic range and reduced strain of not having to play low bass. This configura- tion realizes the full benefits of bi-amping: bass is played by the speaker most suited to do so, the other speakers play louder with less distortion, and the need for am- plifier power is reduced. This is the most popular home theater configuration and should be strongly considered even if the speakers are physically large and capable of playing low bass. This configuration is particularly advantageous when driving the speakers with moderate power amplifiers.
NOTE: As an alternative configuration with a satellite/subwoofer package as the front speakers, follow the speaker manufacturer’s instructions, connecting the high-level inputs of the powered subwoofer directly to the front speaker outputs of the RSX-1055 and con- necting the satellite speakers to the subwoofer’s own crossover. In this arrange- ment, the speakers would be classified as LARGE and the subwoofer setting would be OFF for all surround modes. No information is lost during playback because the system redirects bass information to the front LARGE speakers. While this configuration ensures proper satellite speaker operation by using the speaker’s own crossovers, it has some disadvantages in terms of system calibration.
The following speaker options are available:
FRONT SPEAKERS (small/large): Use the LARGE setting to have the front speakers play low bass (full-range). Use the SMALL setting to redirect normal bass away from these speak- ers to a subwoofer (high-pass filtered).
CENTER SPEAKER(S) (small/large/
none): Use the LARGE position (not available with SMALL front speakers) to have the cen- ter speaker play low bass (full-range). Use the SMALL position if your center channel speaker has more limited low frequency capability, or if you prefer that the bass be sent to the sub- woofer (high-pass filtered). Select the NONE setting if your system does not have a center channel speaker (the surround modes will automatically divide all center channel infor- mation equally between the two front speak- ers, creating a phantom center channel).
SURROUND SPEAKERS (small/large/
none): Select the LARGE setting (not avail- able with SMALL front speakers) to have the surround speakers play low bass (full-range). If your rear speakers have limited bass capa- bility or if you would prefer that the bass go to a subwoofer, use the SMALL setting (high- pass filtered). If your system has no rear sur- round speakers, select the NONE setting (sur- round channels are added to the front speak- ers so none of the recording is lost).
CENTER BACK SPEAKER(S) (small/
large/none): Some systems have one or two additional center back surround speakers for use with 6.1 channel surround signals or 7CH stereo processing. With the RSX-1055, such a configuration is available using the preamp outputs and external amplifiers. Select the LARGE setting (not available with SMALL front speakers) to have your center back speakers play low bass (full-range). If your side speak- ers have limited bass capability or if you would prefer that the bass go to a subwoofer, use the SMALL setting (high-pass filtered). If your system has no center back speakers, select the NONE setting. With center back speakers, the Rotel XS extended surround and/or other decoders will provide center back signals for any surround mode.
SUBWOOFER (yes/no/max): The YES set- ting is the standard setting if your system has a subwoofer. If your system does not have a subwoofer, select NO. Select the MAX setting for maximum bass output with normal bass being duplicated by both the subwoofer and any LARGE speakers in the system.
