descent theater mode

[ted betley]

I've had a descent for a long time to supplement my Monolith III's. Been happy for long time. I use a digital crossover for my panel mid bass and for my Descent. I use balanced cables through out except for my interconnects to the sub. I was reading my manual for the Descent and was surprised that theater mode (LFE if you will) was rated 20-150 hz whereas in stereo mode it is limited by the 40 or 70 crossover toggle switch. I read else where that the LFE mode bypassed the incoming filter for either 40 or an 80 hz x-over. Because I was curious I ran my sub with balanced interconnects to a y cable (to sum left and right signals) into my LFE input....whoa big difference. It gave me more flexibility to choose where to run the sub but I ended up running it close to where I was with the stereo rca inputs ... about 80 hz. I run my bass in the panels from 80-300 hz. All in all very close to where I was. But big big difference. Now I had seamless sound from the lower registers all the way through the panels and there was lots of air around lower instruments ...cello's double basses, basoons, big horns. Lots of solid weight to the orchestra.You really owe it to your self to try this even as just an experiment. It really paid big dividends in my system. Yes the Descent sounded good through the stereo inputs but I believe it is that much better now.

 

[Pener]

Ted,

using LFE on your Descent means that its internal x-over is bypassed. Using Stereo inputs, you set low pass filter (40/70) on the x-over and go from there. Each of the two x-overs have different slopes. Since you're are already using one adjustable x-over for your Monoliths, you may as well use it for the entire system (Descent). No wonder it gives you great results.

What works best depends on many factors and that's why experimentation/tweaking is so important.