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Not very pleased with my SVS sub.....Yet (2 Viewers)

Dan_J_H.

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Oct 18, 2002
Messages
131
I have a new SVS PB12-Plus/2 subwoofer and am not very happy with it so far. Hopefully, after some calibrations and making sure my settings are correct in my DVD player, Receiver and Subwoofer, everything will be fine. With DVD's, I'm not really hearing or feeling that much bass. I have not yet used my SPL meter with my Avia DVD. I would like to first see if my settings are correct on my receiver and DVD player.

I will show the choices for the settings and put [brackets] around the setting I have chosen. Please let me know if I have the wrong setting.

Pioneer Elite DV-37 DVD player

Audio 1

Dolby digital out: [Dolby digital] Dolby digital > PCM
DTS out: [DTS] OFF
96khz PCM out: 96khz [96khz > 48khz]
MPEG out: MPEG [MPEG > PCM]
Digital out: [ON] OFF

Audio 2

Virtual Surround: [OFF] Dolby V/Truesurround
Audio DRC: High Medium Low [OFF]

General

Amp Connection [Dolby digital]
Dolby digital/DTS
Digital Jack Dolby digital/MPEG
Dolby digital/DTS/MPEG
PCM
Not Connected

Amp Connection: [NO]
YES
96khz PCM audio Don't know

Pioneer Elite VSX-36TX Receiver

Speaker setting: [FREE] THX
Front, center and surround: [Small] Large
Subwoofer: [YES]

Channel delay: All speakers: 8FT

Channel level: All speakers: 0.0db (for now)

Crossover Network: Frequency [80Hz]

Bass Peak Level Manager:
Bass Peak Level [_ _ _] (nothing entered)

Dynamic Range Control: [OFF]


On my subwoofer I have the gain set ¼ the way up, the Crossover enable switch disabled and the Phase set at zero. The cable going to my sub is a Monster cable with this written on the side of the cable: M500V Ultra High Velocity Composite Video Cable with N2 Injected Dielectric.

I really want to get this sub working correctly soon. Any help would be great.

Dan
 

ScottCarr

Second Unit
Joined
Jan 28, 2003
Messages
459
Do you hear the test tone from the receiver?

Try a differnt cable.

Verify that all PCM settings are selected then try with PCM selections deselected

Bass peak manager is set to off

turn up the gain a little, look for a DTS or THX like the one in the Incerdibles (very strong bass)
 

DonnyD

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 12, 1999
Messages
1,145
Change your output on the dvd player to "bitstream".

When I first got my PB2+ (earlier mod of what you have), I too was expecting more..... began investigating and found I had a placement issue. VERY happy now....those are some monster subs......
 

Jeff Gatie

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2002
Messages
6,531

You do not say what speakers you have, but with that SVS sub I would run my speakers at "Small" instead of large in order to route all bass to the sub. You may be cutting off some bass by running your speakers "Large" when they cannot handle low frequencies.
 

Rogelio D

Agent
Joined
Jun 4, 2003
Messages
30
Also, what are your room dimensions and where is the sub placed in the room relative to your listening position?

Is it a concrete floor in a basement or is it a normal floor that will give you more tactile feeling?



Where's ED with his checklist?

:)

The guys on here are great and will help you get your sub pounding.



:emoji_thumbsup:
 

CraigVH

Auditioning
Joined
Jan 16, 2004
Messages
13
Jeff G,

I think he said he put brackets around what was selected, so he has Dolby Digital selected, not DD > PCM.
 

darrylCHER

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Oct 28, 2004
Messages
62
I too believe that Dan has his system set up properly in regards to DD and DTS. He put brackets around them both to show which setting he selected.

However, I think that his speaker delays are off (very unusual to have all 6 speakers at 8ft!). And more important he has not yet calibrated the speakers and the subwoofer's SPL.......VERY CRITICAL!!

Dan, I would fix those 2 set up problems first before you do any "real" critical listening. Other than that, your set up/bass management looks good.


Darryl
 

Chris A H

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
May 10, 2002
Messages
172
As already mentioned, I would look at the gain setting, the position in the room and then correctly adjust the variable phase.

My SVS is positioned next to my couch in a corner at the opposite end of the room from my front speakers, and it went from OK to WOW as the phase went from 0 to it's final spot at 100 degrees.

For me, phase made a huge difference.
 

MikeLi

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 6, 2003
Messages
945
I had mine (a PB2+) which replaced dual NHT 12" subs. Absolutly no compairison... so you must have something off. I tried different placement options but really wanted it in a specific corner.. The test showed only a minor difference so thats where it went. A bit of tweeking with the dials and I so much love this sub. There are times when you can feel you chest hairs move under your shirt... You will figure it out! Also on your receiver were you using prior a y connector for dual sub outputs or just one? you may want to check that. Some like to run the Y adapter. Just gives a little boost but you can do the same thing by turning up the gain a bit. Also make sure you don't have night time use on, on the receiver... you would be surprised how many folks didn't even know they had such a thing and found it on when checked...
 

Parker Clack

Schizophrenic Man
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Dan:

You can always email Ron or Tom and they will make sure that all is working as it should.

Parker
 

terence

Supporting Actor
Joined
Nov 8, 2002
Messages
985
Dan i was looking at your HT photos.

Do you have (walls) sheetrock up yet?

If not that is a lot of cubic ft with the basement wide open and no boundries like a corner.
 

Dan_J_H.

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Oct 18, 2002
Messages
131
Terence,

The drywall is not even near being ready to be put up yet. For now, my sub is in my upstairs livingroom HT. I have the sub positioned with the ports 6" or so away from a wall (not in a corner). My other (new) speakers are: KEF Q11 mains, Q10c center and Q2ds surrounds. The new surrounds are not hooked up because they won't fit on my wall speaker brackets. I'm using Polk RT35i surrounds.

Today, I set the correct speaker distances in feet. I used my SPL meter with my receiver's test tones to set the channel levels. I'm not sure I have the sub's channel level exactly right. I need to take the time to read up better on using the SPL and Avia.

I have noticed an improvement in bass while watching scenes from the DTS version of Saving Private Ryan. I like the low bass when Hanks and the others are in the church at night with bombs going off in the distance outside. I also love the VERY impressive surround and bass during the last battle in the bombed-out town.

I am feeling a bit better now about my sub. I'm sure with some better tweaking and placement in a corner, this thing will be totally awesome.

Dan
 

Lee_L

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jul 18, 2000
Messages
55

I don't know if anyone caught this yet, but you're using a video cable to go to your sub, you should be using an audio cable.
 

SVS-Ron

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 2, 2001
Messages
1,074
Dan,

Have you fixed this??

Dolby digital out: [Dolby digital] Dolby digital > PCM

(NOTE: This must be "BITSTREAM" not "PCM"

DTS out: [DTS] OFF

(Note: must be "ON")


Speaker setting: [FREE] THX

(Note: what are your other choices for this? "THX" anything with regards to speakers can induce some odd things in terms of bass rolloff, though it might just be refering to the slope of the bass management crossover)

PS Have you got access to "Avia"? This will take a lot of the guesswork out of the situation regarding your receiver test tones. I don't trust a system setup to these unless there is literally no other choice.

Ron
 

Kevin C Brown

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2000
Messages
5,723
It is certainly OK to use component video quality cable to a sub. Just not a "composite" video cable. :) Component video cable (shielded 75 ohm coax cable) is actually better all-around cable than most cheap generic audio cable.
 

Ilkka R

Second Unit
Joined
May 19, 2004
Messages
270
Real Name
Ilkka
Dolby digital out: [Dolby digital] Dolby digital > PCM

(NOTE: This must be "BITSTREAM" not "PCM"

DTS out: [DTS] OFF

(Note: must be "ON")


Speaker setting: [FREE] THX


Ron,

those settings mean that he has used the [ ] one! So Dolby Digital (=bitstream) is in use. So is DTS and speaker setting is set to FREE.
 

Ilkka R

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May 19, 2004
Messages
270
Real Name
Ilkka
When you say "Channel level: All speakers: 0.0db", you mean also subwoofer (sub-out)? Your settings seems to be OK. Just turn up the gain, 1/4 can be too little.

If nothing helps, there might be problem either in your receiver (sub-out is not outputting enough) or SVS's amp is broken.
 

Scott Kriefall

Second Unit
Joined
Mar 9, 1999
Messages
332
Location
SLC, Utah
Real Name
Scott
Good composite video cable should work fine as a sub cable. In fact, using a length of RG-59 or RG-6 video coax cable with F-to-RCA converters is often a cheap way of obtaining a good sub cable. I do realize that's not what Dan is using, but the Monster cable looks to be of comparable quality.
 

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