New STF-2 owner

[WarEagle01]

Greetings. New forum member and I ordered a STF-2 yesterday. Big thanks to Pete for answering several of my emails regarding the -2. I'm excited to get this thing going and to finally have something better than a HTIB sub. Unfortunately, I won't be able to set it up for at least a week as I'm having some minor foot surgery tomorrow. I'm new to audio and am slowly piecing together a basic system for a non-dedicated room. Anyway, here's what I was thinking for setup. Placement won't be ideal as I didn't know much about sound dispersion when I had the house built. So I'll do the best I can :rolleyes: .Please chime in b/c I really don't know much. :o

- My Onkyo 304 doesn't have independent crossovers, so I was going to leave the baseline crossover at 80hz
- Leave phase at 0 initially
- Set Crossover to "Out" to let receiver control crossover. Should I turn the nob to the max setting as well?
- I have a SPL meter for basic calibration. What initial level should I start the volume at? 9 o'clock? 10 o'clock?
- Currently, my HTIB sub is plugged into a single outlet surge surpressor. Should the HSU sub be plugged directly in the wall or leave it as is? I've heard arguments both ways, but would like opinions from HSU owners.

Well that's it for now. I'll post back when it's setup and I'm back on my feet. I hope to get a receiver next. The STF-2 will be partnered with:

Fronts - AV123 Rocket 450s
Center - AV123 RSC200
Rears - AV123 525Ms
Receiver - Currently anunderpowered Onkyo 304, but it's reliable.
** Also - have ordered an Auralex Subdude HD to help with sound resonance (hw floors)

Thanks!

[Pete_Hsu]

Hi WarEagle, welcome to the forum! :)

When the crossover on the subwoofer is set to 'Out', the internal crossover on the subwoofer is bypassed, so adjusting the crossover knob will have no effect. We do normally recommend setting up the subwoofer this way.

With the STF subwoofers, I generally recommend starting with the subwoofer volume knob at ~ 11 o'clock (the volume knob on the VTF subwoofers should be set to 9 or 10 o'clock to start), and the subwoofer channel level on the receiver at +0db. Then, you can adjust the subwoofer channel level upwards or downwards so that it is level matched with the main speakers.

Hope this helps, enjoy!

Sincerely,

[monkuboy]

Along those lines, I just got an STF-2 right after Christmas. It is hooked up to an Onkyo 706. The other speakers are Rocket/Onix ELT center channels across the front (L,C,R) and ELT 2-way speakers for the two rear channels. I let the Onkyo Audyssey program set up the sound levels and crossovers but it came up with what seem like odd settings. The sub has the crossover turned off and the volume around 10 o'clock. Using that, it has the left and right front speaker crossovers at something like 150 hz, the center at 90 hz and the sub set at 80 hz. The sound pressure levels have the sub at 0 db, the front speakers are backed off a few decibles below that and the rears are between the front and sub as far as decibel levels. Do those crossover settings sound right? It seems like there would be a sound gap between the 80hz sub setting and the 150hz left and right front and the 90 hz center channel. By the way, the sub sounds great! Very musical bass.
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[cacihome]

Overwrite the oxver settings...Put all speakers with 80hz xover.Verify with spl meter the dbs of each speaker.

[monkuboy]

Thanks.. that's what I would normally do but I wanted to try using Audyssey and see (hear?) the results. I thought the settings it came up with seemed kind of weird so I wanted to get people's input on it. I'm going to also do what you said and check out the difference in sound. Thanks!
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[cacihome]

RUn audyssey first and then adjust as I said above...

[WarEagle01]

Well I received the STF-2 yesterday. I did a quick calibration (set the volume to about 11 o'clock per Pete's suggestion). So far I am very pleased. Keep in mind I'm coming from a HTIB with 50w and bass extension around 35hz. It is not in a treated room, nor in the best spot, so I am not expecting a full theatre sound system. I never wanted a super loud sub in this room. I was looking more for lower bass extension and I got it. The Subdude HD I received as a gift definitely helps on my hw floors.

The sub blends well with my AV123 Rocket mains and ELT surrounds. I tested it with Iron Man, LOTR: FOTR and ROTK, Master and Commander and Band of Brothers. All I can say is wow! It's amazing how much LFE I missed in movies with my previous small sub. I noticed that one of the glass cups surrounding a bulb on my ceiling fan rattled a bit :D.

For music, the bass is tight and clean. I listened to anything from jazz to rock/alternative and was amazed. It just blended extremely well with all the music. It never felt as it were "out of place" or trying too hard as my previous HTIB sub did.

I'm sure I'll have a few questions down the road. I've learned a lot about audio these past few months. If I do build another house, I'll definitely do some things differently. For a living room setting, I am more than happy. Thanks Pete and Hsu for making this great sub! :)