3803 Center Channel Output (1 Viewer)

[Andrew Pezzo]

I have a powered center (Def Tech CLR3000) and it seems the sub may not be working however I dont think its the speaker. To test the speaker I hooked it up to the left channel of my amp (Earthquake Cinenova Grande) and it definitely had some output (one way I could tell was feeling the air movement with my hand directly over it). When connected to the center channel, wether on the 3803 or seperate amp, I feel nothing. Its set to large so it should be getting the full range signal.

All of this leads me to two questions. First, is it possible that the center channel of the 3803 is somehow defective? I havent tried hooking up any other speakers to this channel yet so that will be next step. Second, is the 3803 only capable of sending out a frequecy range that is not really full range?

 

[RolandM]

Could be that the pre-out on the receiver is defective (or perhaps inactive somehow), but it could also be speaker-related somehow...

When you say you hooked it up to the Amp's left channel output using a speaker wire connection? (I.e. Was this a "high-level" output/input connection or was it a line-level (RCA) one?) I'm assuming it is a high-level connection however, since that would make sense. Also using a speaker wire connection on that centre channel, that doesn't bypass the amp (in the speaker) by any chance does it? (Sorry about all the add'l questions--I'm not familiar with that specific speaker.)

Also do you hear anything coming from the speaker when it is conneted to the receier's pre-out? Is it just that the sub isn't working? (I guess that is the case since you commented above about the full-range of the centre output).

When you say the "sub may not be working" I'm assuming that DefTech centre channel has a built in sub? Is the amp for the whole speaker or just the sub?

Is there a gain control on the speaker's amp anywhere--does it make any difference if you change that? Also what about the level the centre channel is set to on the receiver. Is it possible to turn off the pre-outs on that receiver. I.e. Could it be that the pre-out is just disabled somehow?

I dunno, just my suggestions. I'm unfortunately not very familiar with either peice of equipment (either the speaker or the receiver).

 

[Andrew Pezzo]

Here is some info that might help understand how my system is connected. My front three channels are powered by a seperate 3 channel amp. The surround speakers are connected directly to the 3803.



Other than no output from the sub the speaker works fine. And when connected to another channel (like the left channel I used for a test) even the sub was working.

I just need to try one of main speakers (BP7001sc) on the center channel amp and that should help narrow it down.

 

[Chuck Kent]

If your 3803 is functioning normally, then yes, it can send a fullrange signal to every output except the subwoofer.

Have you tried doing fullrange frequency sweeps to the center channel from a test disc, using an SPL meter? And then running the same sweeps with the center on a different channel output? IMO, while swapping speakers can help to diagnose some troubles. But in this case, I don't think this will necessarily tell the tale. Just playing movies or music won't give accurate results in situations like this. The amount of bass in the center vs. other channels is nearly always different on regular programming. And unless the center is identical to the other speakers you're trying in it's place, it would be fairly subjective to judge whether the center channel alone has issues.

BTW, something else to try is the microprocessor reset in the 3803. It's noted toward the back of the manual and it has been known to fix bass management issues. The reset puts everything back to the out-of-the-box condition, so write down ALL of your settings if you do it.

 

[Andrew Pezzo]

I did some low freq sweeps with DVE and starting hearing output around 40 hz. That seems about right for the CLR3000 so I guess everything is good.

Also, someone pointed out to me something in the manual about 5 channel stereo. If I am reading it correctly the center gets mostly vocals. Again, that answers that question.

Thanks for the help.