HK125 and 25-31pci FM radio listening ->no bass (1 Viewer)

[bruin]

I have the sub connected from the sub-out of my HK125 receiver to the low level input of the svs, x-over switch off, auto on.

The sub plays fine when playing a DVD source. However when I listen to FM radio, the sub doesn't recognize a signal from my HK125 receiver. I have my main speakers all set to small and this forces frequencies

 

[Jose G]

This is right from HK's web sight:

You may have neglected to configure the subwoofer output to be ”on“. Using the remote, press the OSD button to bring the main menu up to the on-screen display. Make sure the Input Setup menu displays the input source you are having the trouble with. Go back to the main menu and select the Speaker Setup menu. Make sure that your main, center and surround speakers are correctly configured as LARGE for full-range speakers that reproduce frequencies below 100Hz, or SMALL for speakers that do not reproduce frequencies below 100Hz. Make sure that the subwoofer is turned on. If you are using a subwoofer, set the subwoofer to SUB (LFE) to send the subwoofer only bass information encoded in the .1 low-frequency-effects channel of digital program material. If you also wish the subwoofer to reproduce bass information from the main left and right channels, then set the subwoofer configuration to SUB LFE+L/R. Also, check that you did not lower the output level using the Channel menu.
Note that the receiver is designed so that the subwoofer output will always output the low frequencies from the main left and right channels, as long as it is turned on. However, the subwoofer output will NOT output a signal for the center or surround channels whenever those speakers are configured as LARGE. With this in mind, adjust your center and surround speakers for the best bass reproduction for your room acoustics and taste.

 

[Jose G]

Just in case: Did you set up the sub and speakers for each setting already. You need to do it once for each setting and the receiver will memorize all the settings after that. You may have just neglected to do this. Hooe this helps.

 

[Scott Kriefall]

I had the same problem with my HK AVR520 receiver -- it wouldn't send anything to the subwoofer (an NHT SW2Pi) when listening to an FM station in stereo mode, although the sub output was active when listening to CDs in stereo mode. The sub was set to "SUB(L+R)" for stereo mode, so it seems that the sub should have been active for both the FM tuner and CDs.
After much experimentation, I finally discovered that I had to set the speakers to "Small" when in 5-channel Stereo mode. If this isn't done, the subwoofer is not active in 2-channel Stereo mode when the FM tuner is selected. This doesn't make sense to me, since the speaker settings for 5-channel stereo mode don't seem to carry over to 2-channel mode according to the on-screen menus, yet it nevertheless does change the behavior of 2-channel stereo mode.
Must be a bug in the unit's firmware... I can't imagine that they'd have actually intended it to function like this!

 

[bruin]

Scott,

Your suggestion helped! Somehow there 2 stereo modes for my avr125. There is a stereo mode that allows me to set the fronts to small so that bass freqs go the sub, then there's another stereo mode where fronts are large and SUB is L+R. Once I enabled the latter setting, 5 channel stereo also included the sub.

I realize that for each surround mode I have to specify a setting and I did! But the adjustment in the 2 channel stereo setting affected (and fixed) the output to include the sub. How weird indeed!

 

[Scott Kriefall]

Yes, the two stereo modes (2-channel and 5-channel) appear to support independent speaker settings as displayed by the on-screen menus. Yet they must be linked in some weird, invisible, and highly non-intuitive manner.
And I still can't explain why the affect is visible only when using the FM tuner...

 

[Jose G]

I need to check this out on my HK225. I know of the two surrounf off modes (A/D mode and Stereo mode) and have used them both while getting base to the sub, but I don't listen to the radio much, so I need to check this out and see if when in FM I also have this problem. Could it be I missed this? The truth is I haven't had a sub for that long a time and it's possible. I let you know what I find- might be tomorrow though when I check back in.

 

[bruin]

Scott,

I actually meant there the AVR125 has (2) 2 channel stereo modes as well as (1) 5 channel stereo mode.

I know where you're coming from with the on-screen menus because I use an AVR320 in my living room and that has (1) 2channel stereo mode and (1)5 or 7 channel stereo.

Im looking forward to what you find out Jose, because I think the 125 and 225 might share similarities.

 

[Jose G]

This is what I found on my HK225. When using the Stereo Direct mode (should be the first option when using Surround Off and bypasses all digital processing and does not allow digital bass management), I can choose only mains as large and sub options are only SW None or SW (L+R). When using the Stereo Digital mode (which uses bass management-optimizing the low frequenceis between the mains and the sub), I found both mains Large and Small can be chosen, but when small is chosen- the only sub option is SUB with no other options available. If using Mains as Large, then three sub options are available- L/R+LFE, SW (LFE), and SW None. What I did find that might be relevent is that when I chose SW (LFE), the bass is much lower (reduced) on my sub than when choosing L/R+LFE when mains are set as Large. I still do get sub sound, just not as much- which I think makes sense. By the way, the only having SUB as an option when Mains are set to small in Stereo mode is true for all Stereo modes 2, 3, or 5 channel stereo and works the same in FM or when using a CD in my HK225. And yes, some settings are connected to eachother in some way, demonstrated by the fact that if you choose to turn off your center such as in 5 ch stereo mode- the HK will shut it down for you in the other modes, such as 3 ch mode. This is not true for the digital modes, however.

Anyway, enjoy this great machine!
Take good care,
José