Denon AVR-590 Sub Issue (1 Viewer)

[KBoy420]

Hi All,
Hoping someone can help me with this. I have the Denon AVR-590 with Boston Acoustics 5.1 surround speakers and sub. Everything had worked fine. This past week we purchased a new TV (Samsung 46" Smart TV). Upon hooking up the new TV, the sub completely stopped working. There is no sound coming out of the sub.

After hours of troubleshooting and trying to work thru the receiver manual, I performed a hard reset (factory reset). I then went thru the Audyssey MultEQ auto set-up. During this set-up, each speaker emits a signal that is automatically calibrated. During testing, the sub made noise, although it was much softer than it should have been. So soft that the Audyssey set-up didn't even "hear" the sub and detected that there was no sub present.

I'm really at a loss on what to do. The only thing that changed was the TV. The new TV was correctly set-up to allow for external output (not TV speakers) and I manually turned the sub "on" in the Denon receiver manual set-up.

Can anyone point me in the right direction? What should I be checking/testing and is this a configuration issue within the receiver or TV? Or is my sub shot? It literally worked fine before switching TVs. How else can I test the sub?

Thanks for all the help!!

Edit - speaker size setting is set to "small" in the receiver on-board menu and subwoofer is set to "yes".

 

[Phil A]

What is the sub volume knob set at?

 

[KBoy420]

What is the sub volume knob set at?

The volume knob is set right in the middle. There is a white line in the middle which is where the sub is supposed to be set for configuration thru the Audyssey auto-calibration.

 

[Jason Charlton]

If you've connected all of your sources to the TV, then connect the TV audio output to an input on the receiver (using a Toslink/optical cable perhaps) then the TV is only outputting 2.0 stereo audio - don't worry, this happens on virtually every display out there.

Within the setup menus for the Denon, you will need to specify how the audio input from the TV should be handled/processed. If it's set to "direct" or some other non-processing mode (not sure of the specific Denon nomenclature - you'll need to consult your manual for detailed descriptions of all the audio mode options), then a stereo signal will only utilize the main L/R speakers. Try using a mode like ProLogic or something similar that will attempt to create a pseudo surround sound effect from the stereo signal. This should utilize all of your speakers, including the subwoofer.

Alternatively, since you have a "real" AVR, you should instead connect your various sources (cable box, DVD/Blu-ray player, game system, etc.) directly to the AVR and then run a single HDMI cable from the AVR HDMI out to an input on your TV. In this setup, the TV is simply a monitor and you can disable the speakers completely.

Connecting devices/sources capable of digital surround audio this way ensures the digital audio is preserved and not lost when passed through the display.

The only situation this doesn't cover are smart apps within the TV. To get that audio, you DO need to use a Toslink cable as described above.

 

[KBoy420]

Thanks for the replies so far. To clarify a bit more on my specific set-up and config:

There are 3 devices hooked up directly to my AVR - Samsung SmartTV, PlayStation 3, and a 5-disc CD player (yea, I'm not sure why this is hooked up either anymore). The TV and PS3 are both hooked directly into the AVR via HDMI cables. The CD player is hooked into the AVR via stereo cables. There is a single HDMI Out/Monitor from the AVR to the TV.

I have also ensured that the sources are correctly defined and that they are set to automatically use the best available audio coding for output. You can see scrolling thru channels on the TV that the sound output changes, from Stereo, to Dolby DTS and a few others that are available. I'm not getting any sub, even when ensuring that "direct" is not selected.

Additionally, utilizing the PS3, I tested a Blueray action movie with lots of gun fire and explosions, etc. that is encoded in 5.1 so the sub should be used frequently in many of the scenes. No sub at all coming through.

Finally, when running speaker config testing, there is a way to send a test signal to all speakers to ensure correct phasing. When doing this, and selecting the sub, I can hear rumbling, etc. coming out of it, but it is very faint.

Any other suggestions? Maybe a bad/blown sub? I doubt it though as we have never pushed the system anywhere near the max and it is less than 4 years old. Thanks!

 

[schan1269]

Small subs(no matter what brand they are) tend to have short lives.You haven't said which sub it is. Does it have high level on it?But turn its volume up all the way and see what happens.

 

[KBoy420]

I don't know the particular model # of the sub. It was the sub that was included in the Boston Acoustics MCS-90 5.1 kit. The sub specs are frequency 40-180Hz and the AmpOut is 100 watts RMS. It is self-powered, no on-off switch, etc. Turning it up all the way has no affect.

 

[David Willow]

What do you mean by "self powered"? Does it have a power cord?

 

[KBoy420]

What do you mean by "self powered"? Does it have a power cord?

Yes, it plugs directly into the wall, as in it does not need to first go through a pre. Also, steady green light on the back of the sub.

 

[Jason Charlton]

Is there a crossover dial on the back of the sub? If so, it should be set to maximum.

You mention setting the mains to "small" and subwoofer "on" - that's good, but do you know what the crossover value is currently set to in the AVR?

 

[schan1269]

40-180 is not a "spec". That is the crossover adjustment knob, which since the AVR has control over bass management, should be turned all the way up to 180.I'm betting on either the amp is dying or the driver has been over extended and is falling apart inside.Take the sub and connect it directly to one of your sources via analog(CD player, cable/sat box, TV headphone jack...your cell phone/iPod). Turn its volume down first(unless like your phone/iPod, the source has volume control) and see what happens.(And like JC mentioned, what is the crossover in the AVR? Should be in the 100s, like 120 or 150 since the sats are that small. But, even that won't really matter as you've said proper 5.1 sources still don't do much. His point is valid, cause material w/o .1 would depend on the crossover in the AVR)

 

[KBoy420]

Is there a crossover dial on the back of the sub? If so, it should be set to maximum.

You mention setting the mains to "small" and subwoofer "on" - that's good, but do you know what the crossover value is currently set to in the AVR?

No, there is no crossover on the sub. The sub has a volume know and that's it. No power switch, nothing but the volume knob. In the AVR itself, crossover freq is set to 150Hz by default. I have messed around with the crossover, changing it to all possible values, and nothing get the sub to make any noise.

In fact, I'm starting to think it's the sub. I performed another hard reset, and ran the Audyssey program first thing after doing the hard reset, and it is not detecting the sub, even though the sub is making noise during the calibration. It just isn't loud enough to be picked up by the mic.

 

[KBoy420]

40-180 is not a "spec". That is the crossover adjustment knob...

This particular sub does not have an actual crossover adjustment knob. That "spec" was taken directly from the owner's manual for the Boston Acoustics 5.1 MCS-90 brochure.

 

[schan1269]

This particular sub does not have an actual crossover adjustment knob. That "spec" was taken directly from the owner's manual for the Boston Acoustics 5.1 MCS-90 brochure.

Ok then. Typically when people say those exact numbers...they got them from the knob...You've done everything right. Connect your phone/iPod and pump some music in to rule out the 590(yes dead sub output can happen. Extremely rare though)

 

[KBoy420]

Ok then. Typically when people say those exact numbers...they got them from the knob...You've done everything right. Connect your phone/iPod and pump some music in to rule out the 590(yes dead sub output can happen. Extremely rare though)

Connect the phone directly to the AVR or directly to the sub? Someone earlier mentioned hooking something directly to the sub. I don't have any adapters to do that - sub is an RCA-type connector (mono).

 

[schan1269]

Connect the phone directly to the AVR or directly to the sub? Someone earlier mentioned hooking something directly to the sub. I don't have any adapters to do that - sub is an RCA-type connector (mono).

You don't have a 1/8th to RCA cable? Most phones/iPods come with one.That is the same cable you'd use to connect a small device to that AVR. Red/white means the same thing. When connecting your phone/ipod...pick a side.And yes. Directly to the sub.

 

[KBoy420]

Ok. Dug thru my "cable box" and found one. Hooked up a cellphone directly to the sub and played music. Had to turn the sub volume knob to max but was able to hear the song, albeit very bassy, playing thru the sub. Question #1 - should I have had to max the volume to hear the music? Question #2 - now what? Thanks!

 

[David Willow]

If it is connected correctly and the volume is turned up at least to half and Audyssey does not "see it", then my guess it you have a bad sub. All preset crossovers are ignored when you run Audyssey.

 

[schan1269]

If the sub "played normal"...the issue is the 590.Check to see if sub setting(inside the 590)is preset -10 or 0 for LFE. Set 0 if not there already.

 

[KBoy420]

Thanks for the info. It "played normal" in that you could hear the music. But it wasn't loud at all, even with the amp volume maxed. Two people talking would talk over it. Did check the settings, my unit doesn't use numerical values. LFE can be set to "LFE" or "LFE+Main". I've tried both selections with no results.