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Advanced setup
For most users the basic four stage setup process (Page 14 onwards) should
be sufficient for normal use.
However the 551R also features many more advanced settings for users who
wish to further customise the settings and operation to personal preference.
Sub crossovers and bass management
As covered in the ‘551R Setup’ section the 551R performs bass
management for any speaker that is set to ‘Small’ in the OSD. This means
that bass for speakers that are unable to reproduce bass effectively is
instead routed to the subwoofer.
The crossover adjustments in the Speaker crossover menu are used to
determine the point as which this transition is made. In other words they set
the frequency below which bass is routed away from any ‘Small’ speakers
and into the Subwoofer channel. It should be understood that bass sent to
the subwoofer by bass management is different to bass encoded into the
surround-sound material as a dedicated Low Frequency Effects channel.
If the source material contains a separate LFE channel (ie DD or DTS
material) this is always routed to the subwoofer (if it is On) and is not affected
by the crossover setting. Some encoding types (Such as Dolby PLII/IIx and
Neo:6) do not actually have a LFE channel.
The default setting for all bass management crossovers is 80Hz and is a
good global starting point. If you do not wish to make any adjustments simply
leave all crossovers at this default setting.
Note: These settings are actually only used for speakers that have been set
to Small in the Speaker Configuration Menu.
For advanced users it is however possible to adjust the speaker crossovers
used for any speakers set as ‘Small’ independently to allow for the fact that
you may wish to direct bass away from front floorstanding speakers (and to
the Subwoofer) at perhaps 50Hz but away from Surround Left and Rights at
perhaps 100Hz. If you wish to make these adjustments it is best to consult
your loudspeaker manufacturers documentation or contact your dealer to
determine the frequency response of your system and where each speaker
types bass response starts to tail off (often called the 3dB or 6dB roll
off/cutoff point). This would be approximately the point the corresponding
crossover should be set to.
Bi-amping
If you a running a 5.1 (or less) speaker setup only the 551R allows for bi-
amping of the front left and right channels. It will be seen in the Speaker
Configuration menu that with the Decode mode set as 5.1 a Bi-amp On/Off
item appears.
When selected, the 551R sends the front left and right signals to the SBL and
SBR outputs as well.
In conjunction with bi-wireable/bi-ampable speakers this allows you to use
two runs of speaker cable to each speaker with a dedicated amplifier
channel for the bass and treble drivers of each speaker which can slightly
increase the sound quality.
See diagram below of a bi-amped system (only front left and right speakers
shown).
Note: Bi-wire links must be removed on the speaker’s terminals.
Tone/Sub/LFE configuration
Select the ‘Tone/Sub/LFE’ menu:
The Bass response can be adjusted +/- 10dB @ 100Hz (shelving). The Treble
response can be adjusted +/-10dB @ 10kHz (shelving). The “Tone” icon will
light up on the display if these controls are adjusted away from 0dB (flat). The
Subwoofer crossover point can also be adjusted from 40 to 150Hz in 10Hz
steps and also to 200Hz.
The 551R incorporates a couple of advanced Bass Management features.
The overall Sub Level for DD/DTS modes, PLII/x/Neo:6 modes and Stereo +
Sub mode can be set to different levels. This can be useful if you prefer to
have a high level of Sub operation whilst watching movies but a lower level
for music playback. The three levels are simply adjusted by up to +/-10dB in
the OSD. The second feature is that the way Bass Management is applied
can be changed.
In normal operation (Bass Augment Off) if the Front speakers are set to
‘Small’ (in the ‘Speaker Config’ menu) their bass is re-directed by high-pass
filtering the Fronts and sending that bass to the Sub channel (i.e. bass is
removed from the Fronts and sent to the Sub). If they are set to ‘Large’ no
filtering takes place and no bass is sent from them to the Sub channel.
However with the Bass Augment function On and the Front speakers set to
‘Large’, bass from the Front Left and Right is now sent to the Sub channel
without any filtering of the Front Left and Right taking place (i.e. these
channels remain full range). In other words, the bass in the Sub channel is
augmented by extra bass from the Front Left and Right channels. If the Front
Left and Right are set ‘Small’, Bass Augment has no effect and operation is
the same as for Bass Augment Off.
Bass Augment can be On or Off separately for DD/DTS or PLII/IIx/Neo:6
operation.
There is no Bass Augment function for Stereo + Sub mode because in this
mode if the Front speakers are set to ‘Large’ they will actually always be
unfiltered.
Bass Augment can be a useful function with PLII/IIx and Neo:6 material
because these encoding types do not include an LFE Channel. This would
normally mean that if all the speakers in your setup were set to ‘Large’, the
subwoofer would in fact be inactive (as no bass has been re-directed plus
there is no LFE channel). If it is desired to have the subwoofer running with
all Large Speakers and these encoding types, enable Bass Augment for
PLII/Neo6 and then set the Crossover points and levels by ear. A Sub channel
will now be created from the Front Left and Right channels without filtering
them. As with all adjustments it is a good idea to experiment to determine
what works best with your particular setup.
Note: These adjustments work in all digitally processed Stereo or Surround
modes but not in Analogue Stereo Direct or 7.1 Direct modes.
The LFE channel (for DD / DTS material) can also be trimmed by up to 10dB
in 1dB steps useful for late night listening or other situations where it might
be desired to reduce the low frequency effect level perhaps temporarily.
