Pioneer SX-316-S Receiver / Amp - No Bass - Help!

Hi guys

Hope you can help me out here ...

I recently bought the Pioneer SX-316-S Receiver / Amplifier. This was a seperate unit purchase, ie not packaged with speakers etc. I am using Wharefedale Diamond (cant remember model) for the front, Gale centre speaker, and Mordaunt Short rear speakers. I do not have a sub-woofer.

My problem is, there is very very little bass response on my system. This is very surprising as even the most basic of Receiver / Amps that I have used in the past have decent bass response with my speaker set (FYI, I have previously used Sherwood and AIWA Receiver / Amps of comparative power output). With this system, the sound I get is only the mid and high ranges.

Was browsing the net, and found a few comments referring to 'setting the type of speakers', ie to set the front speakers to 'large' instead of the current 'small' setting (small setting due to the regular package the Receiver / Amp was marketed in). However, I could not find any reference to changing this setting in the user manual nor anywhere else on the net.

Also came accross some references on the net to accidental reversal of the speaker cable polarities (ie +ve / -ve mix-ups) which apparently cancels out the bass. This doesnt seem to be the problem though.

Also couldnt find any reference to an equaliser function (surprising for a receiver / amp of any price range or make).

Hope somebody can shed some light here ... have contacted Pioneer but so far, they havent responded ... ... ... or should I just give up and introduce the unit to Mr Hammer?

Thanks.

Re: Pioneer SX-316-S Receiver / Amp - No Bass - Help!

Howdy....I was unable to find that model number. Are you sure it is correct? can you provide a link to a manual? I imagine that there is something set wrong in bass management, and I can probably figure it out quickly with the manual.

Re: Pioneer SX-316-S Receiver / Amp - No Bass - Help!

There's your problem. Set the front speakers to "Large" and the Sub to "off" or "no". As far as where to do that, well, you'll have to figure it out. It is usually using a "Setup" or "Speaker Setup" on the remote.

If the receiver was originally an all-in-one system, you may not be able to change these settings.

Re: Pioneer SX-316-S Receiver / Amp - No Bass - Help!

Hi Guys ...

Chuck ... have pm'd you a link that I found .. should take you to the manuals. Dont know if you can paste links here in the main. Anyways, for anyone else looking for it, searched with Google for Pioneer SX-316-S user manual ...

John ... I was afraid of an answer like yours ... coz the only setting adjustments for the speakers (as per the user manual and by pressing each and every button on the remote and unit) are the individual speaker volume levels and speaker distance levels.

Was hoping that somebody would know how to access the settings that set the speaker to 'small' rather than 'large'. Doubt this would have been hardcoded into the system as I have seen reviews on the net with people using it with other speaker systems.

But I dont know ... really hope to be able to sort this out. Would probably rather spend my cash to get a new receiver / amp and get some satisfaction from stomping on this unit then get a sub woofer .. haha

BTW, all wiring was double checked and nothing wrong with polarity, etc.

Of course, really appreciate your replies ... and still hopeful of finding a solution

Re: Pioneer SX-316-S Receiver / Amp - No Bass - Help!

Well, um, gosh. I looked through the manual, and there does seem to be no bass management at all. There is an attenuation setting for Low Frequency Effects, but no settings for speaker size or presence of a subwoofer.

I wonder if this amp was originally sold as part of a package, and was made inexpensive by leaving out frills.


If it were me, I'd want to get a sub first, then shop around for a new receiver. I can easily understand your wanting to "improve" this one with a hammer, after reading the specs. 100 Watts at 1.0% THD is horrible. However, even with a big, fancy, capable receiver, you will eventually want that subwoofer.

Well, have fun with the hammer!! and do post some pics, please

This receiver did indeed ship with a cheap 5.1 speaker setup, which may explain your total lack of bass. It shipped with tiny satellite speakers and a pretty low end subwoofer. I got ahold of one and had the same issue, hooked it up to some decent Polk Audio speakers and there was a total lack of bass. Plugged the same speakers into another receiver I had laying around and they sounded great. I too was unable to locate any sort of small or large speaker setting or any additional settings for the bass. Best steer clear of this receiver unless using with the crappy included speaker set.