Denon receiver/Polk sub not communicating (1 Viewer)

[RhoadBlock]

Howdy. I've pieced together a budget home theater system after Black Friday. I picked up a Samsung 60" 1080p tv, a Denon AVR-S510BT receiver and a Polk Audio PSW108 powered sub. I've got everything running fluidly without a hitch. Bluray, DVD, older game consoles and the TV audio all play thru the receiver/speakers. I currently just have 2 front and a center speaker, no rears. But I cannot get the subwoofer to produce any sound.

I've got the sub turned on, low pass is set fully clockwise, volume at 50%. I've got an RCA cable (digital audio coaxial cable that I had laying around) running from the receiver (sub pre-out #1) to the L/white input on the sub. Receiver speaker settings are set to small, sub to yes. Sub frequency to 120Hz per Polk's instruction manual.

I unplugged the RCA from the receiver and can hear the thumping when I tap it, so it's got continuity and the sub works. Is there a setting or something I'm missing on the receiver? When I run the auto setup it detects all speakers but nothing from the sub. The receiver is brand new and working seamlessly for all other functions. I'm at a loss.

Pics of the factory panels for reference. I can attach pics of my connections if it'll help.

I'm relatively new to actual home theater systems, my previous was an "in the box" package. But I'm not completely inept when it comes to tech and inputs/outputs. Any help/advice is appreciated.

-Logan

 

[schan1269]

What crossover did you choose for the main/center?

Has your content had and .1 material?

 

[Al.Anderson]

You've done all the basics right, so it's definitely something unusual. Just for grins I'd try a manual calibration and see if you get a tone on the sub. Also, the manual for the PSW10 (which is what the picture shows) indicates a Y-connector for input; I can't believe that's really necessary, but it's worth the $5 to try one. And last, try another cable.

 

[RhoadBlock]

Yeah we put in Jurassic World and Star Wars Episode 2, both of which should definitely have .1 content.

The front/center speakers are currently at 80Hz which is where they were from the factor. I ran them on 120Hz as well. Speakers worked fine in both settings.

The PSW108 manual says the Y cable adds a slightly stronger signal but shouldn't be necessary. I'll try one and a new cable just for kicks and report back.

 

[JohnRice]

I agree with Al. Run the manual speaker calibration and make sure there is at least some output to the sub. In manual calibration, you will hear the sub when you are on the setting to adjust it. When you ran the auto calibration, did you hear the sub?

 

[RhoadBlock]

OK so I bought another cheap sub just to see if maybe something was wrong with the Pol but had the same issue. I changed the cable to a new "subwoofer cable" and this time got a constant hum from both subs the moment it was plugged in. But when I did the manual test, still no output sigbal. So I switched the receiver output from sub pre-out 1 to pre-out 2 (even tho the receiver program says to use pre-out 1). And now it's finally working.

This is good news, but I think I'm gonna exchange the receiver for a new one. I worry that if I ever decide to add another sub in the future it won't work cause pre-out 1 isnt working. Even if I never do add another sub, I just don't like the fact that a brand new 5.2 receiver has a dead sub output.