I can hear the direction of the bass. (1 Viewer)

[David Benus]

I have my sub set up to the right of the unit that holds the TV, about half way between the unit and the front side wall of the room. Here's the problem:

I can hear where the bass frequencies are coming from. Where I am sitting, I can hear and feel that the bass is coming from the place where I have the sub. If I turn the port/front of the sub towards the sitting area instead of facing it directly at the back wall, I hear a better, tighter bass response, but I can still hear the direction from which the bass in coming.

I always thought that bass frequencies are not directional, yet my experience is being ruined by the lopsided bass frequencies, all coming at me from the right.

What can I try to defeat this directional bass problem?

Thanks,

David Benus

 

[JohnnyHK]

Need some details... What's the bass management setup on your receiver? How do you have the sub connected? What's the crossover on the sub itself set to (if present)?

 

[Scott-C]

Hi David,

What crossover frequency are you using? It may be the case that your crossover is set too high, as higher frequencies tend to be more localizable.

 

[David Benus]

I have:

Energy Encore Speakers

Onkyo TX-DS595 Receiver

I've hooked up the subwoofer using the hot speaker leads as opposed to the RCA input as per recommendations I read about on the Net for smoother reponse - front speaker left and right out of the amp to the sub, and then the out of the sub to the ins of the front speakers.

I have the the crossover LFE dial on the sub to about 80hZ (the range they give is from 50-100hZ. I found that if I set it much lower than this, I don't have enough depth and "oouumph" in the movies and music.

Hope this is enough info. Let me know if you need more.

Thanks,

David Benus

 

[JohnnyHK]

That should work, although I think most folks here would recommend using the line level sub-out connection instead.

On the 595, what are the following set to:

Sub=yes or no?

Mains=small or large?

For your type of connection, I believe they should be set to:

Sub=no

Mains=large

 

[David Benus]

That's the way they're set in the receiver.

The reason I hooked the sub to the spekaer leads is because it was written in a few places that in the particular case of the Encores, the sound and the crossover from fronts to sub would be smoother if hooked up this way.

DB

 

[Dustin B]

Well I have a DIY sonosub and Klipsch KSB1.1 monitors for mains and surrounds and a SC1 for a center. I'm running them off an Onkyo575. I have all my speakers set to small, and the sub to yes. I'm running the sub off the line level sub preout on the receiver. I can't localize my sub at all (front left corner).

I'd suggest getting an RCA cable and trying the 80hz crossover off the receiver with all speakers set to small. If it fixes the problem great, if not I don't know what you could to try and resolve it.

 

[Henry W]

You don't have a problem. Any sound you hear can be localized. Sone are easier to localize than others. Room dynamics can make it very easy to identify sound sources. A lot of people use two subs or more for the very reason you have mentioned.

Best regards-Henry

 

[Ariel]

the calibration of the sub's volume might be too high or there might be a peak or peaks induced by your room that can easily boost a certain frequency that can call your attention. also try to use the receiver's lfe output. you can compare the result. i have my sub beside the couch and i can't localize it. i use the lfe out of my onkyo575 receiver with all speakers set to small.

 

[JohnnyHK]

David,

If you do end up trying the sub-out connection, be sure to turn the cross-over on your sub all the way up to get it out of the way.

John

 

[Greg_R]

Commercial subs in this price range frequently have distortion problems. This distortion is high frequency energy which can easily be localized. One of the reasons to upgrade to a better subwoofer is to eliminate this audible distortion. I'll have to disagree with Henry and say that a quality subwoofer (properly setup) cannot be localized. Assuming that you've calibrated & set everything up correctly, you might try placing the sub very close to the listening position.

 

[Ryan Schnacke]

The reason I hooked the sub to the spekaer leads is because it was written in a few places that in the particular case of the Encores, the sound and the crossover from fronts to sub would be smoother if hooked up this way.

Well maybe. But usually when someone is using the subwoofer crossover instead of the receiver crossover its because they want a different (usually lower) crossover point than the receiver allows. Sometimes this is done to keep a mediocre subwoofer from messing up the mid-bass frequencies. But I don't see what you're gaining by using the sub crossover at 80Hz. The receiver crossover is 80Hz. And if you use the receiver crossover then it takes a load off the receiver's amplifiers since they won't even have to TRY to produce those low bass signals.

 

[David Benus]

Ryan,

This is an interesting point you make. I don't have the specs for the crossover point on the Onkyo (neither in the manual nor at the website), but I have heard and read that 80hZ is the norm, so until I can get though to Onkyo, I will assume that this is the case.

I did, however, speak to Energy today about the Encores, and they told me to try to hook it up via the RCA cable for very much the same reaons you stated; but more importantly, they recommended that I do not do ANY critical listening or adjusting until the speakers are broken in (about 100 hours). But you guys know how it is - we just keep our tweakin' hands off the system.

I just bought a subwoofer Monster cable, so I think I will try to hook it up this way to see if, even before the break-in period is over, I may notice a difference. This cable will also give me an opportunity to move the sub around - something I can't do with the speaker cable hookup, since the cable is measured to be just enough to get from the sub to the receiver. I know that placing the sub in a different location in the room will change the bass response. Maybe it will also minimize or solve the directional low end that I am bothered by now.

Keep the info and ideas coming.

Thanks,

David Benus

 

[Steve_Ma]

David,

I apologize if you mentioned this but....Is it fair to assume you calibrated all speakers with at least an SPL meter?

--Steve