The Benefits of Setting Your Speakers to "Large" in Your Receiver or Processor & Why We Recommend It

Hi, John Hunter with REL here. We get a lot of questions about home theater setup and receiver settings this applies to the actual menus within your receiver. Some of the approaches that we use, which are quite different than the usual. A normal receiver comes set automatically to small. The delays are set to zero.
The gains per channel are set to zero and that's done to be as conservative as possible. Obviously, receiver manufacturers have to assume that a number of the people that are buying them are real rookies. They've never done this before, so they're trying to set you up for success. If you want the best performance, however, and it's a different way of going about it. What we do is we're adapting things from the actual professional transfer studio mode, where all five of the channels and a five, one are actually set to large to full range. This is a whole dialogue we're going to have with the receiver manufacturer shortly, but at the end of the day, the way that Dolby conceived of theater was from multiple channels that were individually controllable running full range. Their definition of full range is incomprehensibly difficult to do in the home. They expect 20 Hertz to 20,000 cycles, so full bandwidth at volume levels that are remarkable at 105 DB average, which means you're talking about peaks in excess of 115 DB.
That's allowed enough to hurt your ears, but the bottom line is if we can get all the channels as close to that golden mean as possible, we've got a chance to get what really is supposed to be heard coming out of the transfer studio. So, what we recommend is that you go to large on the speaker settings. Go into your audio video receiver, hit menu, go to set up, select speakers
and you're going to have a whole choice of things in front of you. Size is the first one you have to deal with and it will say small automatically right out of the gate. By setting it to large, you're expanding the range that the main speaker is supposed to be able to handle. Now, a lot of people go, gosh, aren't I going to blow my speakers up?
And the answer is, if you're an idiot, you can. I can assure you if you're determined enough, you can do it to speaker set to small too. So there's a certain amount of judgment that's required to play in this hobby. 99% of the people seem to have it because the exact same speakers that you use in your two channels set to full range, don't seem to get blown up all that often.
So, we trust our consumers. We trust our customers to have good judgment and know what they're doing and if it's simply too loud and you hear massive distortion, Prudent person would turn it down a little bit. The reason it's generally not an issue, and we've done this for 25 years, with six and a half inch, two way stand mounted speakers, right on up to the largest things.
Really small speakers probably should not be run at full. It's, just it's too much for them, but anything from your normal six and a half inch, two way works brilliantly. What we do is we ask you to set those to large. The REL then connects up high level and 0.1. I'll explain that in just a second. What the REL gives you is the ability to extend that speaker's envelope. Let's say a normal six and a half inch, two way that's well-designed can get down to somewhere around 50 cycles.
That's pretty deep. It's deeper than you'd think. It's around where the kick drum works, right, and the REL can then handle the octave or octave and half below that. And what that gives you is that Dolby golden mean of a speaker that's truly full range. Getting down into the twenties, even the very low thirties is a significant improvement on something that sort of dies off naturally at 50 Hertz.
That's all we're doing, we're advocating for what Dolby stood for, for years and years and years. There is however another signal that's needed, and that's the .1/LFE that's the RCA to RCA interconnect that plugs into the back of your receiver. It's marked .1/ LFE and cleverly ours is marked 0.1/LFE as well. When you do that, you have the best of both worlds, because you're able to have with a high level connection, a truly full range speaker.
And with the 0.1, those incredibly high intensity energy bursts that happen with special effects, especially in the military genre and science fiction stuff, which seems to be so much of the big colossus pictures you have both. You have a full range speaker now between your main speaker set to large and our subwoofer properly dialed in using the high level connection and when those suburb huge explosions happen, you also have a dedicated 0.1. In our case, our point ones have a separate gain control so you can get that perfect and your speaker blend perfect. So that's the reasoning for doing what we do.

[@racktech6384]

Listen to this man. I changed the settings to his reccomendations and it sounds totally different like night and day. "Best of both worlds". But then again everyone's system is different.

[@kirkcunningham6146]

Late to the comment section but all you're doing people is allowing the speaker to roll off the signal with it's own built in crossover. As long as you're using good quality speakers, you'll be fine. Remember two channel stereo?? Full range?? I'm happy to hear REL going against the grain and telling us...."It's ok, relax, try it in your system to see if you like it or not" I say set it up for an 80hz crossover as a default then play around with full range. See if you like it...relax and enjoy the hobby. Go outside the norm and experiment a little. You may be surprised what you hear and what you like.

[@Cenkolino]

Thank God some expert is weighing in on this. I find it criminal how so many youtubers still adhear to the very old and WRONG THX guidelines of "set everything to Small + 80 Hz". You are robbing your speakers of dynamic range. There is a reason even Audyssey Multi-EQ X with the dedicated microphone sets them to "Fullrange". Because it is the correct setting. Modern AVRs and especially seperates have more than enough juice to fire them at fullrange. Dont believe these so called youtube "audio-experts". Anyone saying you to set everything to small and 80 Hz is dead wrong.

[@mboljar]

I am so glad I found this video, since I run my system with all speakers set to large and subwoofer to LFE + main, then send bass depending about speaker max low end to subwoofer. Cinema 50 calls this feature “extract bass”. How I see this is, I just give all signal to my speakers and let them play as they were designed. They will not be able to play 20hz anyway but this is why you can set that all bass is extracted from 40 or 60hz. It makes no sense to me to cut frequency at 80 for all, and it makes no sense that I will blow my speakers. I would really need to go loud, really loud to do that. The only “why” to set all as THX recommends to 80hz is if your receiver can not handle it (which I doubt). Thanks for great explanation.

[@NinerowCenter]

I was looking for this explanation for a while, thank you

[@thermionicdude2044]

Such solid advice here. Thank you

[@meemustang]

I set my mains to small from the beginning just to what others said but watching this i set them to Large and wow what a difference my Klipsch RP8000f II speakers are happier now i do get that some people cant drop a lot of cash on mains but this setting made me change my mind great info

[@RELAcoustics]

Thank you for watching, and we are glad that making this adjustment helped to improve the performance of your system! If you have any additional questions then feel free to let us know and we will be happy to assist.

[@barbarashissias9567]

Thanks so much for this!

[@DCfocal]

For the past two months I have been exploring the REL 3D set up. Been a huge learning curve on receiver set up. Loved the results hooking up the centre sub. Huge benefits. Then long debates along with trial and error using various cross over points and settling on full range. You just hear more and there is much better dynamic movements of sound. .

[@RELAcoustics]

Thank you for watching, and we are glad to hear that you are achieving satisfactory results in your home theater system! If you have any questions then feel free to reach out and we will be happy to assist.

[@DCfocal]

​@@RELAcoustics I do have a few questions about the 3D set up. If you use stereo pairs up front, do you hook up the LFE to those subs? In a three sub set up, you usually use the LFE for the ONE sub that supports the LR speakers and the other LFE on the rear surround sub. What about the rear sub if you have subs for the L & R speakers? Obviously most receivers only have two sub outputs. I do not have my fourth REL yet but have been using other brand of subs I have lying around for the rear surround to make them "full range". It's not as smooth as using a wireless high level connection REL. Lastly, what is a good match for the rear REL. The fronts are S510 and the centre is the older R218

[@caballerosuave]

@@DCfocal, in short, if you have Serie T or above, you can also connect the LFE to L/R subs if you want. That is how I'll use it in my setup. This way, I have a great full-range sound for movies, but for music, the LFE will be deactivated because first, there is no LFE track in music, and second, the processor will be set to direct mode eliminating bass management and the sub. This topic is covered on REL's website.

[@1Aquadon]

Thanks John!!

[@garygray3834]

I really enjoy your video thank you sir

[@escapeinto4khd319]

Great video and advice, thank you as I’ve been trying to fix the muddy dialog from my center channel, different ave’s , costly center channels and Atmos content was always terrible with dialog. I was ready to give up and came across this video, all the advice about cross frequencies and almost two years I tried this . What a difference, I do have the center at small, but making the fronts large was key advice. I have the new Sony an 1000 and I’ll be tweaking it out, but the difference already is amazing. Thank you

[@adresc5391]

Well said. Makes perfect sense.

[@melraine919]

Whoa! splendid demo and information thank you Mr Hunter. I first started with my Home Theater System back in 1996 and my first two subwoofer's was the REL Q-Bass Sub-Bass System Rear Firing! My 2x old Q-Bass subs where stud for several years or more and I have past them onto my Son with two new driver replacements back 2019 and they are still going strong 💪 And all this time I didn't know that you could use both the (High level and RCA/LFE) at the same time I've always used RCA for to connect my subs, Well you learn something new each day as saying goes............ UK

[@RELAcoustics]

Thank you for watching, and for supporting REL!

[@melraine919]

@@RELAcoustics You’re welcome.

[@tainosavage2169]

I just watched 2 different vids saying just the opposite..To set your Mains to small so they won't take away bass from the subs.🤔

[@matthewhanson498]

Gotta play with that crossover I think with speakers and sound because there are so many variables rules of thumb make the most sense. My audio processor sounds much better with “bass redirection” and using more subwoofer actually still puts the low notes, down to 40 hertz in the stereo image, I just played with the setup until I got the results I wanted

[@tainosavage2169]

@@matthewhanson498 That's funny..I was just tweaking my set up as you responded...I think I have my subs arranged the way I like but I'm working on my surrounds now..Cant quite get the "immersion" sound that I'm lookin for..Any suggestions?..😁

[@matthewhanson498]

@@tainosavage2169 if they are side surrounds I’d try placing them ahead of the listening position and angle them to cross just ahead of the seating position, maybe lower the height to a few inches below ear level. If the are rear surround, same cross idea; just ahead of seating position and place them a few inches above listening position. Your mileage may vary

[@tainosavage2169]

@@matthewhanson498 Yea they are side surrounds..I will definitely try that ..And do you think ordering new THX Monster sub cable vs my standard Amazon RCA cable will improve sound quality from my sub??.

[@matthewhanson498]

@@tainosavage2169 I would just go to your local music supply store and see what they there over monster or audio quest or any of that. I recently did add a monster hts 3600 power conditioner to my setup and I felt that improved lows and clarity. I found 2 on Facebook marketplace in a week so they are pretty easy to get

[@pwmhurricane]

@John Hunter - as always your videos bring it all down to the simple core. I have some questions. My setup is in a roughly 12 x 19 room, 7.2.6 with a REL T/9x in the rear right corner and a REL S/510 in the front b/t L & C. Both are connected LFE and high level (L&R for front sub, SBR and SBL for rear sub). - When connecting bothLFE and High Level, should gain on each be set the same, or should gain on one or the other typically be higher? (you have independent gain dials for High Level and LFE) - As to setting speakers to large...here's my setup and some questions: - L&R: B&W 702 Signature - set to large, tied via amp to my front sub's high level (also connected via LFE) - Center: B&W HTM71 S3 (not currently driving a center sub). Frequency response goes down to about 50Hz, so should I set these to large when they're not driving a center sub at this time, or just set to small and adjust preprocessor crossover for some overlap? - Surrounds: B&W CWM 7.5 S2 for all - these have frequency response down to about 45Hz. - Right now, I have SBR/SBL set to large since I have rear sub connected to them via high level in addition to LFE. - For SR/SL, to have SBR/SBL on large, these have to be large too, even though no sub is in place w/ high level. With frequency range going down to about 45Hz, is this ok? - Heights: B&W CWM 7.5: frequency response down to about 32Hz. Should I set as large, or to small and set overlapping crossover? Thanks in advance!

[@RELAcoustics]

Thank you for reaching out. In most cases the High/Low Level and .1/LFE Level controls will be set differently. The High Level control should ideally be adjusted so that the subwoofer is equal in output level with the corresponding main loudspeakers, while the .1/LFE Level control can be set to taste so that you hear deep and dynamic sub-bass output during home theater listening, without that output becoming boomy or overwhelming. In terms of speaker output settings within your AVR, we have found that the majority of main loudspeakers will perform best when sent a full-range signal within your AVR and when set to Large, even if you do not have a REL connected to that channel with the High Level input. However, with the non-High Level connected channels you can experiment with setting these to small and applying a crossover to them to see what sounds best to your ears and in your room. We hope that this helps, but if you have any additional questions then feel free to write in to [e-mail] and we will be happy to assist.

[@kevonmanuel]

Your receiver does a little trick called Bass Management. It will send the lower frequencies to your dedicated subwoofer (the .1 or LFE). You set your speakers to small, set the appropriate crossover settings recommended by the speakers' manufacturer (80hz, 60hz, etc). Any frequencies below the crossover setting will be sent and played by your subwoofer. What this guy is recommending more suits a dedicated 2 channel setting. You got a 9 - 16+ channel home theater, are you going to buy 9 - 16+ Rel subs to run everything at full range?

[@triuvm]

I'm not sure exactly what is happening but I have experienced both small and large setups and both sounded amazing when configured with the same setup. In fact large had the edge with certain movies and music. I had my Yamaha v6a ypao set my fronts to large. I didn't find it was as good so I forced them to be small with 80hz. Yes the bass was directed correctly and the front didn't need to work as hard. However I was still wonder why did the ypao see that my speakers are best for large. Well when I played more I put back the large setting with 40hz as detected and found that "extra bass" setting needed to be on. Once it was on I could not only hear the bass strong but feel all the missing lows that small was not doing. So the guy is speaking from experience. I think most are satisfied with small but if you set to large and tweak your setting right it is much better.

[@larsv6144]

“The guy” is one of the most renown subwoofer experts in the Hifi industry. He is famous for designing and tuning in REL subwoofers to any loudspeaker. Just ask all the audiophiles that listened to John’s setups at audio and hifi shows. So it’s funny that people here with the most (unfounded) criticism don’t even own REL subwoofers.

[@yogabyaakaash]

LARGE with LFE + Main works best! 👍

[@triuvm]

@@yogabyaakaash I found this to be true with my Klipsch RP 8000F but the small with LFE with my old paradigm monitor 7 was best. So my take is towers that have more meat will provide the extra umph large setting supplies.

[@Ken-cp9qf]

Currently am in the same boat I have a yamaha rxa2a advantage and dali oberon speakers and just experimented with large settings which ypoa did tune in originally and now can experience better music and cinema quality

[@yogabyaakaash]

@@Ken-cp9qf Small with crossover about 10-20hz window over the lowest freq response also works for many while Large with LFE + MAIN also works for some. I guess whatever sounds good to you will always work! 😊. Would love to tweak further with REW.

[@indreamaker]

I got REL 3D system, dual S/510 for Main(HL) with LEF, T5/i for Center(HL), T7/i for Surround(HL). I found that T series is not the best way for home theater, it cannot match the SPL to the S/510 in LFE level even in max volume, that's why i don't connect LFE to T7/i behind my sofa. May be I need one more HT series for it.

[@Kyle_2412]

I was thinking the other day that it would be fantastic to have a high level pass through on a REL. What I mean by that is being able to take the feed from an amplifier *directly* into the REL and have the REL pass the amplified signal through to some outputs, where one would then connect their speakers. The crossover could then prevent speakers being overwhelmed by really deep bass (My MA GS20s have to work incredibly hard at high volumes - they're set to large) but still give the REL a true high level feed. Incidentally my T2 has stopped working just today. Will power on briefly but then the blue LED flashes and lots of random noise outputs through the driver, while no audio from connected inputs is played back. I know its way past warranty but any advice would be gratefully received, as would advice as to which modern day REL offers the same level of extension and volume output. Thanks for another great video!

[@RELAcoustics]

Thank you for reaching out, and we are sorry to hear about the issues which you are experiencing with your T2 subwoofer. When you have a chance, please write in to [e-mail] and we will be happy to provide troubleshooting assistance and resolution options as needed.

[@Novilicious]

I have a rel 3D setup…magical! Dual 510s are too much fun!!!

[@ericharrelson32]

I've been considering doing the REL 3D set up in my home theater. I currently have the REL 510S six pack line array in one of my two channel rigs, love it.

[@Novilicious]

@@ericharrelson32 Amazing; a six pack is what dreams are made out of.

[@ericshutter5305]

not sure if its the Large setting, the new Cinema 50 receiver or the extra T9x subs with high level for surround channels ... its terrific 😊

[@SheetzChills]

I have the anthony Gallo Strata 2's - should I set them to large. I currently have them set to small with the high level and the .1 lfe connected to my REL.

[@RELAcoustics]

Thank you for reaching out. From what I can see in the owner's manual for the Strada 2 speakers, they can safely be sent a full-range signal without being overdriven or damaging the speaker. In this system we recommend trying both options, setting them to large and setting them to small, and seeing which option sounds best to you.

[@sutraleticsssutraleticss5001]

Big fan of REL and love all your videos. So good to hear you say to set all speakers to LARGE, something that goes against the grain. I understand this would work primarily to extend every channel via a REL subwoofer. Would this also work for a regular 5.1 setup with one subwoofer only connected via LFE? Also the setup guide recommends to set fixed speaker distances and not as per actuals. How would this help?

[@RELAcoustics]

Thank you for reaching out. We have found that the best performance from main loudspeakers is achieved by sending them a full-range signal (setting them to Large within your processor), even if you do not have a REL connected High Level to that channel. If you only have a subwoofer connected LFE in this case, then we recommend setting the sub-output to "LFE + Main" within your processor. With the distance setting, we do recommend setting your subwoofer to the same distance as the main loudspeakers, though you can make adjustments from here when tuning your system manually. Here is a link to an article from our website which describes our recommended process for setting speaker distance in an AVR: rel.net/blog/2020-12-09/setup-deep-dive/rel-recommended-avr-settings/

[@sutraleticsssutraleticss5001]

@@RELAcoustics thank you. This is my go to guide when it comes to settings. I try to follow as much as possible. There are certain preset distances mentioned that do not really reflect actual distances. Also running all speakers at 40hz will not damage the drivers for smaller speakers or force the receiver to push harder? I do run my front towers Full Band with LFE + MAIN, as specified in the guide.

[@cliveangel5729]

I’m running B&W M1 speakers are these to small to set to large on the AV receiver?

[@RELAcoustics]

Based on their manual it appears that the B&W M1 speakers can be sent a full-range signal, though this would be an example of a speaker which could benefit by receiving a bandwidth-limited signal. We recommend trying them both ways in your system to see which sounds best to you in your room.

[@thr0nic]

What about the center speaker when you only high level LR? It should just handle itself? Subs only extending LR and do LFE? Or do you propose a third sub..

[@RELAcoustics]

Thank you for reaching out. Even if you have subwoofers connected High Level to only your front left and right speaker channels, we still recommend setting the center channel speaker to "large" or "full-range" within your processor. However, to get true full range output from the center channel we recommend using a third subwoofer connected High Level specifically to this speaker channel. For more information, here is a link to an article of ours which goes into detail regarding center channel subwoofers: rel.net/blog/2021-06-20/system-thinking/center-channel-rels-take-center-stage-in-rel-3-d/

[@radio73s]

Thanks most say set to Small but Like You prefer Large and smart 👍

[@boigoe]

Hi John...if u set to large doesn't the LFE effects be diverted to the floor standers...so really no LFE is coming out.of the sub...is this correct?..I'm a proud owner of a REL S5

[@RELAcoustics]

Thank you for reaching out. It depends somewhat on the model of AV processor that you are using, though in most cases setting your main speaker channels to Large will only result in them receiving a full-range signal, and will not result in them also receiving the .1/LFE channel in home theater material. The LFE in this case will still be sent from the subwoofer output jack, and will remain separate from the signal received by the main loudspeakers.

[@bingobaz6402]

I set mines to large my main speakers are 35khz-22khz. I have no idea what those numbers mean or if that’s good but I get great bass from them combined with the sub. But one thing I got to do is reduce the volume of the sub for music. But fortunately my sub has presets I can save so I have a setting for music. P.s I have 5 speakers and two in ceiling for armos

[@ebarbie5016]

High-level SW connection is a terrible practice for modern AV processors/receivers with full bass management capabilities, such as Dirac Live Bass Control or Trinnov. Same goes for setting speakers to large. Sorry, but REL should either stick to hi-fi only, or take a few lessons from SVS..

[@AudioClownHT]

And denon/marantz have to set subwoofer to lfe+main

[@edwinmasselink1556]

I wonder with settings to use in my Arcam Avr 390 playing with a set of older Epos book shelf speakers M12.2 In the speaker configuration menu I put them already on Large en my center en surrounds on small. But I have also these options: < Left/Right: Full frequency stereo information. All audio is sent to the front left and right speakers only without any bass redirection. You can use this setting if you consider your front left/right speakers to be able to handle the full frequency range of music. < Left/Right+Sub: Full frequency range stereo is fed to the front left and right speakers and extracted bass is sent to the subwoofer. In this case the low frequency information is effectively duplicated. < Sat+Sub: Use this setting if you really do have Small satellite front left and right speakers, or if you prefer the overall sound of bass being handled by the subwoofer. Full bass management is used so that analogue and digital stereo sources are fed to the DSP where the bass is filtered off front left and right and redirected to the subwoofer.

[@RELAcoustics]

Thank you for reaching out. From my understanding of these settings, it will depend on which REL subwoofer you will be using in this system and how it will be connected. If you are connecting a REL in this system using the High Level input then simply setting the front speaker channels to large or full-range will be sufficient, since the subwoofer will be receiving signal through the amplifier's speaker output terminals. If you instead will be connecting a REL via RCA cable to a subwoofer output jack on the amplifier, then it will likely be best to set it to "Left/Right+Sub".

[@edwinmasselink1556]

@@RELAcoustics , I'm using a Rel T9i for a few years now which runs with the High level cable for stereo and also the .1LFE cable is connected for surround

[@mrmazlan]

I’ve monitor audio gold 300 5G and Center Gold C250 5G. Center 40Hz and L/R 30Hz If I set to large, what about those sound below 40/30Hz while playing movie, since my speaker cannot handle that frequency, will it damage the speakers in long run? I know the set to large, the crossover point at Marantz will be no use as large = full band I Just worried about speakers damage

[@RELAcoustics]

Thank you for reaching out. Even though your main loudspeakers roll-off around 30-40 Hz, sending them signal below this point will not damage the speakers in any way. They will just stop producing signal at audible output levels at a certain point in this range, depending on the design of the cabinet and the drivers. The only way to damage the speakers is to play them at higher output levels than they are capable of reproducing, though in most cases you will hear clipping and distortion from the speakers before any permanent damage is done.

[@adsfghyy69]

Question I have I own the predators 1508’s no high level input, to set my speakers to large I lose the lfe channel and sub bass, I own a marantz preamp that has the capability to do lfe + main. Would you recommend that considering the subs I use?

[@RELAcoustics]

When setting your main loudspeakers to large there will still be an LFE channel present when listening to home theater material, though it will not be present throughout the movie/tv show, and will not be present during 2-channel music material. With the HT/1508 Predator, we do recommend setting your subwoofer output to "LFE + Main", which duplicates low-frequency information from the main speaker channels and sends it to the sub-out even when there is no LFE channel content present.

[@adsfghyy69]

@@RELAcoustics ok thanks just wanted to make sure

[@adsfghyy69]

@@RELAcoustics going to stack two predators 1508’s on top of each other I saw your video doing this with high level inputs being the predators they don’t have high level inputs where should the volume levels be on each sub and crossovers? I’m using the xlr inputs I’m adding 6 db’s of volume to the subs as well?

[@vvidover]

Everyone who uses a sub needs to watch this video.

[@JohnDeLeon28]

My speakers says full range.. driver, so should i set my crossover to Large?

[@RELAcoustics]

Thank you for reaching out, and yes from your description it sounds like your main loudspeakers can be set to "large" within your receiver and receive a full-range signal.

[@gingerninja7187]

Hi are bk electronics part of rel as their subwoofers have a lot of similarities even using the high level cable 🤷‍♂️

[@RELAcoustics]

BK Electronics is not affiliated with REL Acoustics, and we do not have any involvement with the design of their subwoofer models.

[@Mrsonsan]

This is what BK says....:" BK Electronics have been in the forefront of Home Cinema Subwoofer manufacturing since 1992 when we were approached by REL Acoustics to Design and Manufacture subwoofers here at our factory in Southend On Sea. Manufacturing very soon reached 1000 units a month which were shipped to REL Acoustics in Wales for onward distribution."

[@tinkywinky2044]

I have a Stadium 2, been happy with it for 20 years but never connected to High Line, always used LFE with RCA cable. I have now connected the High Line, set my Keff Q500's to Large and was wondering if I can connect the LFE as well? Just need to check as the Stadium 2 is An old model. I just want to say, This Subwoofer has never skipped a beat in 20 years of fairly heavy use, its always left on and has never been repaired. It is very heavy, it oozes quality. £1000 for 20 years of service! absolute bargain.

[@RELAcoustics]

Thank you for reaching out, and for supporting REL Acoustics. Unfortunately the Stadium II was designed so that it can be connected using one of only the High Level input or the Low Level input, though both inputs should not be used together at the same time. The ST-III subwoofers, which succeeded the Stadium II in our lineup, were the first REL models that could be connected using both the High Level input and the Low Level input simultaneously.

[@sutraleticsssutraleticss5001]

Do you recommend setting all speakers to LARGE or only the front?

[@RELAcoustics]

It is more crucial to set the main speaker channels to large that have a REL subwoofer connected High Level to them, though the majority of speakers will perform better when receiving a full-range signal even if there is no subwoofer connected to that speaker channel.

[@thedynamicd85]

@@RELAcoustics you'd recommend this for 4 inch satellite height channel speakers on a yamaha adventage receiver with an svs subwoofer as well? running a 4 inch sony dolby atmos speaker at large seems like asking for trouble.

[@RELAcoustics]

@@thedynamicd85 It would be worth contacting the manufacturer of the speakers to see if they are capable of receiving a full-range signal, or if they should be bandwidth-limited in any way, though in our experience even some speaker models with 4" drivers are capable of safely receiving a full-range signal. Additionally, it would be worth contacting SVS to see if they have any specific recommendations for setting up their subwoofers in a home theater system.

[@FaroukAbouRafeh]

I have all my speakers set to large ! and love it, if we want to take the load and let the sub take it, then what is AVR used for, that's its job !! 4y using them as small and after trying them as large never going back to small ! they sound amazing ! and finally someone recommending this, cos 99% say leave them small set to 80Hz and that's it. Why ? unless you have satellite speaker or bad quality tower/book shelf than ok but if you have a good quality ones try it, its amazing ! uh by the way center surround can be sit to Large Fullrange, and reason is those channel hardly have deep base sent to them, Did anyone ever heard explosion from center channel ? and if there was an explosion in surround channel its never gonna be deep and punchy so there is no worries about keep them LARGE !

[@shs747]

Sorry, but this some broken logic here. I understand that RELs have high level and LFE which work together and for Front L&R it makes sense to set to large. That being said unless I am mistaken you can only feed the signal from one set of speakers via the high level of the REL, so setting all speakers to large is nonsense as frequencies from small speakers (incapable of producing below 80hz) will be lost. The way to do it is leave the front L&R to large and set the others to small so frequencies are redirected to front and/or SW. We are not even talking about power strain on the avr here, not to mention low frequency peaks coming out of all speakers which can handle them... Blowing out the speakers is the least of ones worries.

[@grahamprescott9426]

As John said, customers should have some common sense. I use large ish bookshelf speakers for rears (Tannoy DC8s) and those are very capable on full range (40hz is no ptoblem). I dont even support them with a sub. If you however have speakers that can't get below 80hz then yes you should set them as small. Amp drain is a good point if you receiver doesn't have the power. But if the speakers can handle it get a more powerful amp to take the strain. Don't forgot sending all the bass from all channels is also a big strain on the sub too.

[@RELAcoustics]

It is most crucial to set speaker channels to large which have a REL subwoofer connected High Level to them, though the majority of main loudspeakers will have improved performance when sent a full-range signal even if they do not have a subwoofer connected High Level to them. The exception would be select small satellite speakers where the manufacturer explicitly states that they should not be sent a full-range signal.

[@shs747]

@@RELAcoustics please clarify what are the benefits exactly? I have front speakers which are capable of going down to 30hz without issues and was still recommended to set them to small to increase headroom of the avr and performance in the midrange and high frequencies. Again I would like to clarify that I am not connecting via high level, so using the avr to set the low pass filter. Please also do note that I have another system for music where I have connected a SW via high level so I am aware of the benefits of this type of connection and blending the sound.

[@grahamprescott9426]

@@shs747 if your mains go that low then definitely set to large regardless of having a sub wired with high level. Alternatively you could set to small and send as little as possible to sub. I.e. 40hz. Your speakers will then still be doing 40hz+

[@shs747]

@@grahamprescott9426 you are mixing the two systems. The AVR with these speakers is connected via LFE and does not have the possibility to set separate crossover for back and front, which would mean that if I set the fronts to 40hz and small I will be losing frequencies from the backs, which go as low as 80hz. I can just set the front to large and crossover to 80hz, but don't see the benefit from the added strain on the avr or the fronts. I wanted to hear what is the gain from taking this approach, is it better blending, because it certainly is not reducing peaks from reflections of my front speakers.

[@bigjay1970]

What am I missing? It's not about worrying about blowing up your speakers it's about taking the load off the avr and letting the subs take care of the heavy load regarding low hz. You're literally the first person with credentials I've seen ever to tell people to do this. I'd have to totally disagree and I'm sure many people will as well. You are much more keen on these things then I could ever be even with my thousands of hours worth of KZbin video watching. I don't know who's taking their 50 or 60 HZ two-way bookshelf speakers and setting them to large and says they sound better? Funny how all the manufacturers also agree with me considering they all set them to small initially because most people don't have 200 lb Behemoths for speakers.😳 Especially the center and rear channels.🙄 The only thing I could think of is there's something special about the Rel subwoofer that makes the smaller speaker not distort but it's sure not in my case. I don't have a rel subwoofer either and that might be the problem!😉🤪😇

[@C--A]

A decent subwoofer will play 20hz to 80hz much better than speakers. Even big floorstanders 🔊🔊

[@grahamprescott9426]

Depends what you run. Any decent speaker will cope just fine. The roll off prevents overload and the Rel supports them at the point. Always run large even before getting a sub which in itself meant LFE redirect to my mains. No issues

[@grahamprescott9426]

@@C--A but bass coming directly from the speaker makes a hugh difference. You can always set small but adjust crossovers too but you should let the surrounds and main speakers run as they capable. As John said people don't worry about full range for music? It's no different?

[@Strawbs1962]

@@grahamprescott9426 Sub bass will distort the cone sooner when set to Large than when set to Small - which will distort the audio. The idea is setting speakers to Small is to relieve them of SPL and give more headroom for mid and high reproduction. As a way to test - add a Subwoofer to a car stereo and witness the improved clarity of the other speakers without any manual equalising. This guy is wrong, and as a result of this advice I will NOT be considering REL subwoofers next month when I’m due to replace my current passive pair. If that’s what they’re advising, they may not support a small speaker setup if I run into any setup issues.

[@MT-eb2dx]

For stereo my Marantz receiver plays the full spectrum to R & L and the high level input of my REL t5x takes over for frequency below 80hz(with no chinch signal). But for cinema, the subwoofer takes the signal from the chinch signal but the amp also gives out all channel signals below 80hz. Perfection, since my speakers can deliver upwards of 80hz.