A common question for many home theater enthusiasts, whether they’re new to the hobby or deep into system optimization, is whether to set their center channel speaker to “Large” or “Small” in the AV receiver’s bass management settings.

Center channel speakers are often considered the most important speaker in a multi-channel surround sound system, so at first glance, it might seem like labeling the speaker as “Large” is better. After all, bigger is better, right? Not so fast.

In almost every case, even for high-performance center speakers like the SVS Ultra Evolution Center, the correct setting is Small. And here’s why.

The Role of Bass Management

AV receivers and processors use bass management to route low-frequency content to the most capable speakers in your system, typically your subwoofer. When you set your center speaker to Small, you’re telling your AVR to redirect the deep bass (below the crossover point, often 80 Hz) away from the center speaker and to your subwoofer, where it can be reproduced with greater authority and lower distortion. Subwoofers specialize in bass so it makes sense to let them handle the majority of low frequency playback.

When you set the center speaker to Large, you’re telling the system to send a full-range audio signal, including deep bass, to that speaker, regardless of whether it was designed to handle it. Most center speakers, even those touted as “full-range”, are not built to reproduce sub-80 Hz frequencies at high volumes without sacrificing clarity or dynamic output.

Better Performance, Not Less

Setting your center speaker to Small isn’t a downgrade, it’s smart system tuning. Offloading low frequency playback to your subwoofer frees up your center channel to focus on what it does best: delivering pristine dialogue, crisp midrange detail, and pinpoint soundstage localization.

This is especially critical for cinematic content where the center speaker carries the bulk of the dialogue and on-screen action. You want every word to be articulated clearly, without being muddied by low-frequency rumble that a subwoofer is better equipped to handle.

When Would “Large” Ever Make Sense?

There are situations where setting a center channel speaker to Large might be justified, the most obvious being when a subwoofer isn’t part of the system. In that case, your full-range speakers are on their own for bass reproduction. But for any serious home theater setup that includes a capable subwoofer, or better yet, multiple subwoofers, the Small setting is the right call.