BK Gemini - Photoshop :P

mofei1

mofei1

mofei1

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Finally received my bk gemini today, very happy with the finish but just need some pointers on setting it up. i know its probably best to invest in a spl meter which i'll probably do soon.

@ photoshop, what levels etc do you have set on ur gemini. i know your settings probably wont be suitable for my setup, but just want to get started on setting it all up :D. also do you ever switch your sub off using the built in switch when not using?
 
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I don't know much about the BK Gemini itself, but you should always first fire up your sub at the lowest levels, then increase to adjust to your own taste. Different audio is going to require different levels, such as a transistion from a modern pop-music CD to a '60s musical or something. You're going to be constantly tweaking it to suit you.

If the sub has an EQ on it, adjust for 0db on all channels. Again, tune until you personally like how it sounds.
 
mofei1 said:
@ photoshop, what levels etc do you have set on ur gemini. i know your settings probably wont be suitable for my setup, but just want to get started on setting it all up :D. also do you ever switch your sub off using the built in switch when not using?
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Glad you like it. Its a great sub for the price it is :)

I use 120hz on my "low level" (because when i use "LFE" i get a buzzing noise). My vol ("low level gain") is set at 12'o'clock.

A lot of people, especially beginners in the home cinema theme, turn they sub up high which can make it out of spectrum with the rest of the speakers. The idea is to get it as close as you can to your speakers so it all seams integrated rather than "boomy". Try to blend it in nicely with your speakers.

Good movies to test it out on are The Hulk and The Dark Knight. Choose a film which has action scenes and explosions like Kong Fu Panda, Matric etc

- 0dB on the amp for sub.
- My crossover is set to 80Hz on the amp for all my speakers and all are set to small.

I would get an SPL meter as you have pointed out. I had my volume on my sub way to high before i got my SPL meter - i use to have it on around 2'o'clock which was high.

Have a play with it and see how it sounds mate.

I always switch mine off at the mains but you could do it by using the switch on the sub. Either way, its the same thing :)
 
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photoshop said:
Glad you like it. Its a great sub for the price it is :)

I use 120hz on my "low level" (because when i use "LFE" i get a buzzing noise). My vol ("low level gain") is set at 12'o'clock.

A lot of people, especially beginners in the home cinema theme, turn they sub up high which can make it out of spectrum with the rest of the speakers. The idea is to get it as close as you can to your speakers so it all seams integrated rather than "boomy". Try to blend it in nicely with your speakers.

Good movies to test it out on are The Hulk and The Dark Knight. Choose a film which has action scenes and explosions like Kong Fu Panda, Matric etc

- 0dB on the amp for sub.
- My crossover is set to 80Hz on the amp for all my speakers and all are set to small.

I would get an SPL meter as you have pointed out. I had my volume on my sub way to high before i got my SPL meter - i use to have it on around 2'o'clock which was high.

Have a play with it and see how it sounds mate.

I always switch mine off at the mains but you could do it by using the switch on the sub. Either way, its the same thing :)
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Thanks photoshop, will have a play around. I'm also experiencing humming when using lfe so i guess i may as well set it to 120hz. havent really had much time to set it all up, will hopefully have some time to tweak tommorow after work. thanks again for your help :cool:
 
mofei1 said:
I'm also experiencing humming when using lfe so i guess i may as well set it to 120hz. havent really had much time to set it all up, will hopefully have some time to tweak tommorow after work. thanks again for your help :cool:
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Another hummer :(
I think every Gemini owner i have come across has said it hums when using LFE. Its nowt to worry about though as most just set it to 110/120hz. Your not missing out on anything.

I wouldn't go past 12'o'clock on the gain. If your in a average medium sized room then it will be fine. If you feel you need to turn it up to past 2'o'clock then that would suggest that the sub is too small for your liking or too small for the room.

Remember, you don't want your sub to be over-powering. It must be felt but not heard :)

What amp/setup do you have?
 
photoshop said:
Another hummer :(
I think every Gemini owner i have come across has said it hums when using LFE. Its nowt to worry about though as most just set it to 110/120hz. Your not missing out on anything.

I wouldn't go past 12'o'clock on the gain. If your in a average medium sized room then it will be fine. If you feel you need to turn it up to past 2'o'clock then that would suggest that the sub is too small for your liking or too small for the room.

Remember, you don't want your sub to be over-powering. It must be felt but not heard :)

What amp/setup do you have?
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i'm using a sony strdg 820 (same as you :cool:) with 4x tannoy f4's and tanny fc center. PC, TV and ps3 are connected to the receiver. my room is probably slightly smaller than yours (judging by the pics you've uploaded) but as earlier, i'll need more time to tweak.

anyways what settings do you have set on your receiver? i've already set all my speakers to small as this passes all the low frequencies to the sub??

EDIT: just tweaked my crossover settings on my receiver. are there any other settings i need to tweak?? thanks
 
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mofei1 said:
i'm using a sony strdg 820 (same as you :cool:) with 4x tannoy f4's and tanny fc center. PC, TV and ps3 are connected to the receiver. my room is probably slightly smaller than yours (judging by the pics you've uploaded) but as earlier, i'll need more time to tweak.

anyways what settings do you have set on your receiver? i've already set all my speakers to small as this passes all the low frequencies to the sub??

EDIT: just tweaked my crossover settings on my receiver. are there any other settings i need to tweak?? thanks
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You have a very similar setup to mine then ;)

Settings on the amp are:

- All speakers set to small (lets the sub handle the low freq's)
- All speakers set to 80Hz crossover (Generally recommended and used by many but have a play to see what suits you)
- Sub left at 0dB on amp

Make sure you set the correct distances on the amp for your speakers. Dont guess it. Measure them!

Get a Radioshack SPL Meter to set up your speaker levels. This helps a lot and is a MUST in my eyes now. This will give you the correct pressure from all speakers for a true surround experience.

As you have said, your room is smaller than mine, then i cant imagine you need to go past 12'o'clock on the sub. But have a play and see what level it sounds good with the tannoy's. You will need to setup your speaker levels correctly before you can setup the sub level properly.

Also, where are you positioning the sub? I have mine in a corner and it sounds great. It fills the whole room :)

As bass is non-directional, you shouldn't be able to tell where the bass is coming from. By this i mean when there is a bass moment, your ears should not be able to sense that its coming from the direction of the sub. It should fill the whole room and make your ears think its coming from all directions and is everywhere.
If you can sense where the bass is coming from then i would move the sub to another location until your ears think its coming from all directions.
 
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photoshop said:
You have a very similar setup to mine then ;)

Settings on the amp are:

- All speakers set to small (lets the sub handle the low freq's)
- All speakers set to 80Hz crossover (Generally recommended and used by many but have a play to see what suits you)
- Sub left at 0dB on amp

Make sure you set the correct distances on the amp for your speakers. Dont guess it. Measure them!

Get a Radioshack SPL Meter to set up your speaker levels. This helps a lot and is a MUST in my eyes now. This will give you the correct pressure from all speakers for a true surround experience.

As you have said, your room is smaller than mine, then i cant imagine you need to go past 12'o'clock on the sub. But have a play and see what level it sounds good with the tannoy's. You will need to setup your speaker levels correctly before you can setup the sub level properly.

Also, where are you positioning the sub? I have mine in a corner and it sounds great. It fills the whole room :)

As bass is non-directional, you shouldn't be able to tell where the bass is coming from. By this i mean when there is a bass moment, your ears should not be able to sense that its coming from the direction of the sub. It should fill the whole room and make your ears think its coming from all directions and is everywhere.
If you can sense where the bass is coming from then i would move the sub to another location until your ears think its coming from all directions.
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thanks! will try and get hold of a spl meter this weekend. my sub is placed in the corner next to my front right speaker, havent had much time to test, but will do once i get home from work

appreciate all the help :cool:
 
Thanks for the tips guys, wll be useful as I just ordered a nice new Mk2. Gemini in Cherry :D:D:D

Was speaking to Tom at BK and he told me that the larger 10 inch driver in the new Mk2 brings it closer to the 200xls, although it lacks the power and greater excursion. But for £100 less he agreed with me that it would be better to save that and put it towards a Monolith in a few years time (when I buy my first house) :D

How long did it take from ordering for the sub to appear, he told me about 10 working days, so I might try order sky HD in the next few days so i can attempt to get them delivered on the same day :)
 
-Ad- said:
Thanks for the tips guys, wll be useful as I just ordered a nice new Mk2. Gemini in Cherry :D:D:D

Was speaking to Tom at BK and he told me that the larger 10 inch driver in the new Mk2 brings it closer to the 200xls, although it lacks the power and greater excursion. But for £100 less he agreed with me that it would be better to save that and put it towards a Monolith in a few years time (when I buy my first house) :D

How long did it take from ordering for the sub to appear, he told me about 10 working days, so I might try order sky HD in the next few days so i can attempt to get them delivered on the same day :)
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mine took exactly 3 weeks :D definately worth the wait
 
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