Help! 85L Adire Shiva problems (1 Viewer)

[Mike Likens]

I just completed this sub this past weekend. Here is my problem and concern. The sub sounds good on music it provides a solid low end with decent definition. It is quite a bit different than my previous sub an Energy EPS 150 12" 150watt design. Movies is my concern. The sub seems to go a little lower but with a lot less punch and dynamics. It just does not provide that oomph needed in home theater. Am I missing something or is this the characteristics of this allignment?

My room is 12'x24'x8' with a 3' doorway halfway down one long wall. The sub is currently placed in the front corner. The sub is connected using the line output of my receiver with a crossover of 80 hz. The crossover on the sub is turned all the way up. My only calibration tool is a RShack SP meter. I used U-571 as test material. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Chris Carswell]

Why is the crossover turned all the way up? Why not 80hz as well? What amp are you using? Boost/no boost? What does the Shiva put out compared to the Energy EPS in terms of listening position SPL?

 

[Dustin B]

Because the receiver is looking after the crossover and turning the crossover on the plate amp all the way up is the best way to disable it when there isn't a bypass switch or input.

Also, is this the vented Adire Allignment? If not, is your sub sealed or vented. If vented what is it tuned to and with what size of port?

 

[Mike Likens]

This alignment uses the 3' flared port kit in a downward firing position. I am using the PE 250 plate amp. I was unable to do any spl checks due to time constraints. I set the crossover to max to try and avoid cascading filter effects. Maybe I am hearing a flatter response than what my old sub put out. Is there a good test CD for sub response that goes down to 20 hz? This sub is tuned to 20hz.

 

[Brian Bunge]

Mike,
Many of us here (including myself) use the Stryke BassZone CD to run response tests. I think for $10.95 + $1 shipping it's a steal!
Brian

 

[Joe Meissner]

you might want to check your reciever settings. My reciever has different levels for each device and surround setting.
I was having the same problem except i had too much bass in music. but music played thru the dvd player was o.k. it was thru the cd player and radio that it was over powering. then i finally saw that each device could be adjusted sepperatly from each other.( I'm talking the speaker level adjustments + - db's) now all is good

 

[Isaac C]

Mike,
For a quick sub test, you could hook up your computer to your sub amp and play tones with NCH Tone Generator
hth

 

[Anthony_Gomez]

that is how I did my sub calibrations=) luckily, my computer and HT are in the same room.

 

[Scott Simonian]

I agree.
I SPL plot my HT with NCH tone generator too!

 

[Mike Likens]

Thanks Brian, I ordered the Stryke Bass CD today. I hope it will give an indication as to what is going on with my new sub. I am really disappointed in its performance and hope that I can solve the problems.

Just another note. I took the plate amp and driver off to verify my hookup and that nothing had come loose. I have the driver wired in parallel using 14g speaker wire from one voice coil to the other. All connections looked solid.

I did notice that the Shiva is working hard (large excursion) but with little output. Could there be something wrong with the Shiva? What is the best indication that a driver is not working properly?

 

[Anthony_Gomez]

"I did notice that the Shiva is working hard (large excursion) but with little output. Could there be something wrong with the Shiva?"

This indicates two things for me!....
1) if we are talking about really low notes, then you could be below the tunning frequency. flapping around is usually indicitive of no subsonic filter...so I don't think this is the case.
2) if it looks like it is playing really loud, but doesn't sound like it, there is a chance that you are in a null. one trick some people do is to put the sub in the location where you sit, and walk around the room to find the place that the sub sounds the best...then put the sub there.

 

[Mike Likens]

For those interested, I may have solved my problem. This may be of interest for anyone in the DIY sub arena.

My receiver (Elite 24TX) has an adjustable "bass peak" adjustment in the setup menu. It ranges from a -70 to 0.
The owners manual states to find the setting where your sub begins to distort then turn it back a notch. With my previous sub that setting was -22. So I decided to turn this setting way down to see the effect on my new sub. To my surprise it sounded much better higher output and cleaner. The new setting was a -40.

Apparently the preamp gain was overdriving my plate amp
on my new sub. It seems that a lower input gain is very important in DIY sub projects. This was my first project and I learned a lot. It is a very rewarding experience to hear the fruits of your labor.