This is the question probably every asks: When to set the 1723 THX to Large
When you are driving the 1723 THx speakers I would recommend using a separate amp that can handle the 4ohm output of the speakers.
I always had them set to small and the bass output was mmeeh but I noticed a big jump on the bass output of these speakers when I set them to Large.
What do you all have yours set to please reply
99% of the time you want your speakers set to small since subwoofer will be taking care of lower frequencies below the crossover that you have set. And this is a good thing. Subwoofer will be far more efficient at producing lower frequencies than your speakers would, it has an active amplifier which means it take load away from your main amplifier making it run cooler and having more juice to power the main speakers.
One reason for having your speakers set to large would be if you didn’t have subwoofer. “SOME” purists say that stereo music should only be listened with two speakers and no subwoofer and in that case yes you would have speakers set to large BUT I don’t quite believe that to be the case.
tldr: 99% of the time use small, unless you don’t have a subwoofer :)
I love your answer and thank you. I will set my towers to small. Snd frequencies down to 40Hx maybe up to 80Hz depends on if I need a little more bass from the subs.
What subwoofer are you using?
I am using two Starke Sounds SW12’s they are great subs but nothing like SVS. I am going to get the Arendals subs later on.
Oh then definitely set them to small and use crossover or 80Hz as that’s a good balanced point
I go back and forth – I have a small room with dual subs and currently have my towers set to large. When I run them small I crossover at 80 across the board. Much better after I added an external amp to power the towers/bed layer.
1961 Series.
Mikal, yeah the benefit of adding an external amp is more headroom with your speakers. I do go back and forth with Large and small, I noticed with just two channel listening its best to set the the towers to Large and no sub on as I find it more neutral with the music. However for gaming and movies, small is best for those subsonic levels of bass that your towers cant do. There are some Pros that like there towers set to large and some say small is the best way. I say which ever sounds best to your ears is what you should go with.
It also depends on how your processor handles bass management. Bass response is very difficult to get it consistent in a room. Adding more speakers producing bass can cause additional issues if not managed properly. It’s easiest to just correct for the subs you have and run 80hz for the other speakers.
@danmarchio the bass frequencies are 90% controlled by the room and this is control is really hard. A single sub will have room modes which still cause issues this is why dual sub setups are highly recommended. I use minidsp 2x4HD to control my 4 subwoofers. Further more I use multi sub optimiser to get them integrated properly to work together and results have been phenomenal.
In general for music it’s better set the speakers to large and don’t use the sub, for movies it’s better set the speakers to small with a crossover around 80hz and a good sub.
Also setting the speakers to large will stress the power amp more, so it’s not suggested if you’re using an average AVR to drive the speakers.
