Soundbar and Subwoofer: What Crossover Settings?

Some soundbars come with extra speakers. Many of those speakers are wireless (some are not) and are labeled as surrounds or even subwoofers. Other soundbars simply have an RCA connection labeled “Sub Out.” When you have the later, how do you control the crossover settings between the soundbar and subwoofer? Let’s discuss!

Start with the Manual

Before we begin, it’s important that you check your soundbar manual for the subwoofer crossover settings. Some (not all and arguably not most) soundbars will allow you to adjust your subwoofer settings manually. Others will at least tell you what the crossover is set at so that you know. Unfortunately, all to often you’ll find that the crossover is never mentioned in the manual. They’ll tell you that you can add a subwoofer to your soundbar and will explain (or show) how, but won’t tell you anything about the crossover settings.

Where to Start

Most of the time, your soundbar will not give you access to the crossover settings for a subwoofer. Fortunately, the starting point for your subwoofer is always the same. You’ll defeat the subwoofer crossover. Each subwoofer is slightly different. You may have a switch or a dial with crossover frequencies. If you have a dial, turn it up as high as it will go. Don’t worry about the phase control. It’s unlikely to matter when running a single subwoofer.

We will remind you that properly placing your subwoofer is very important for the best sound. With a single subwoofer, you’ll want to follow our guide. Almost every image you’ll see of your soundbar and subwoofer combination will show the subwoofer at the front of the room near the TV. Don’t assume that is the best position.

Time to Listen

Since you have no idea how your soundbar is handling the subwoofer crossover, you’ll need to do some listening tests. No, don’t grab your favorite bass-heavy music. That’s not what is needed here. Instead, you’ll want to listen to some sweeps. Normally, we’d suggest bass sweeps, but since we don’t know how your soundbar is handling the crossover settings for your subwoofer, you’ll want something a little more full-range. Head over to Audiocheck.net and download something that sweeps from at least 200Hz and down.

You are listening for two things. First, you want to ensure that the volume of the soundbar and the subwoofer are relatively the same. Since you don’t have a way of sending a test tone through the soundbar to be played by only the subwoofer, you’ll have to do this by ear. Expect that you’ll be adjusting this more over time. Right now you are simply trying to get it close.

Secondly, you’ll want to listen for overlap. Does it sound like there are frequencies (usually near 200Hz) where both the subwoofer and the soundbar are playing at the same time? That would be normal if a crossover was properly engaged. Unfortunately, we can’t assume that there is any crossover at all! If you find that the top of the sweep is overly loud, lower the setting on your subwoofer’s crossover until it sounds more even.

What about the Numbers?

Can you look at the specifications for the soundbar and somehow figure out the proper crossover settings for your subwoofer? Yes! But also no! If you find that your soundbar and subwoofer are playing at the same time, you can look at the frequency response of your soundbar to get a hint as to how you should set your subwoofer’s crossover. For example, if your soundbar is specified to play down to 100Hz, then you could start with your subwoofer’s crossover knob set to 100Hz.

This is assuming that the manufacturer of the soundbar was honest.

Most soundbar manufacturers aren’t using any sort of standardization for their performance metrics. They are skewing the tests so that they can list the best-looking numbers on their specifications sheets. Don’t be surprised if you follow the above advice and find that there is a hole in your sweep between the subwoofer and the soundbar. Simply increase the subwoofer crossover setting until the hole fills with sound.

No matter what method you use, you’ll need to listen to some sweeps to verify your settings. Good luck!