BASS MANAGEMENT/SPEAKER SETUP SETTINGS
DOLBY PRO LOGIC
Wide–(center speaker only) The center speaker is sent a full-range signal: all the sounds that are on that channel will go to the center speaker.
Normal–(center speaker only) Bass fre- quencies below 100Hz are filtered out of the center channel and sent to the Front and Subwoofer outputs.
Phantom–(center speaker only) Not part of the bass management/speaker setup system at all. This simply sends all the center information into the front speakers.
Subwoofer Output Jack–In Pro Logic units this output is nothing more than summed left and right front channels with a low pass (lets only bass through) filter, usually fixed at 80Hz. Because a fixed filter negates the Variable Low Pass Crossover function, one of your main bass “tuning” tools, you shouldn’t use this output unless it is unfiltered. See page 13 for information on filtered and un-filtered outputs.
THX Variation–In THX certified Pro Logic receivers and processors, the front main speakers can also be selected as WIDE (LARGE) or NORMAL (SMALL). When selected as NORMAL (SMALL), the bass is filtered out of the front
channels and sent to the subwoofer output jack.
DOLBY DIGITAL AND DTS®
Dolby Labs mandates that Dolby Digital- processor equipped electronics must offer “all channels small” and “all chan- nels large” options, but beyond that there are no standards. Most units allow any combination of “Large / Small” choices for Front, Center and Surround channels, but not all do. In such cases, the PSW1200 allows you to overcome that limitation.
Large–When you select a speaker as
“Large” that speaker will be sent a full- range signal: all the sounds that are on that channel will go to that speaker.
Small–Most often Center and Surround channels are small, bass-limited speak- ers and are set to “Small.” When you select a speaker as “Small,” frequencies below a certain point (usually 80Hz) are taken out and sent somewhere else. Where does that bass go? It will go to the subwoofer output jack if that jack is turned “On” (see below). If the sub- woofer output jack is “Off,” the bass should go to the front Left and Right channel outputs. If you select Front speakers as “Small” and Subwoofer “Off” you are going to lose a lot of bass.
Subwoofer Yes (ON) / No (OFF)–
This determines whether the subwoofer output jack is fed signal. If it is “Off,” any bass redirected from other channels and the LFE-channel bass should go to the Front L&R outputs.
SMALL AND LARGE DECISION MAKING
Most of the time this choice is easy to make. A very small bookshelf or on-wall speaker should always be selected as Small. A main speaker with built-in powered subwoofers should be selected as Large. Sometimes this choice is not so clear cut. Is a “beefy” bookshelf speaker like a Polk RT55 “small” or “large”? Is it good or bad to have such a speaker play bass?
“Small” Advantages
•By rolling off the bottom end (taking out the bass) of a speaker, it can play a lot louder, with less distortion. If you play your system very loud, and your speakers are not full-range behemoths, this is the right choice for you
•The midrange will be clearer and better defined
