Question about the low going to my sub-woofer (1 Viewer)

[Matt Lane]

I have a JVC home theater in a box SRX 5020J and I am using the cables that come with it. This is a starter set for me and I eventually plan to upgrade piece by piece but for now this is what I have to work with. Anyway, the sub-woofer has auto standby and it cuts off way more then I am thinking it should be. I have messed with the cross-over and there is no setting that seems to change this. I was thinking that maybe I needed a better cable going from the amp to the sub but I am not sure and that is why I wanted to ask here. There is no setting to make the sub stay on all the time, at least none that I am aware of.

Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Matt

 

[Matt Lane]

This mainly seems to happen with my DVD player plkaying movies but not with audio CDs. Mainly I guess because there are times in the movie where low end is not produced. Maybe there is a setting on the dvd player that I am missing?

 

[Bill Kane]

Two tricks to keeping the sub AUTO ON active and not going to sleep during quiet passages:

(1) Boost the sub signal output from the rcvr by using the speaker set-up menu for the sub level. Avoid setting the dB max all the way within the scale provided to avoid distortion.

Then reduce the sub amp gain to compensate. Ideally, use calibration test tones and a sound meter to rebalance the spkr mains and sub.

(2) Get a RS Y-splitter (one female to two males) for the line-level L and R inputs on the sub amp. This adds ~3dB signal boost and also requires recalibrating the sub.

 

[Matt Lane]

Bill,

Two problems with that. For this inpout (the dvd) I already have the setting the for the sub on the rcvr all the way up. Secondly, and maybe I am not following you here, but my sub woofer only has one input and the rcvr only one out. There is no L and R.

 

[Brian Fellmeth]

This is a longshot that might help you. If your receiver has speaker "large/small" settings, put all speakers to small. If your receiver has a variable crossover setting, choose something high like 100 or 120 Hz. Both of these will increase the level of the signal going out the sub line and maybe keep it on.

 

[Bill Kane]

Matt,

Yes, rcvrs just have the one SUB OUT, but it seems that your sub amp doesnt support L & R inputs. OK.

Since you have max'd the rcvr's subwoofer level scale :frowning: after trying Brian's suggestion that spkrs be SMALL, aside from a beefier new sub, you might switch the sub amp away from Auto to just On for DVDs (and later shut down the sub amp when not in use or back to auto for sleep).

 

[Matt Lane]

Brian,

I am pretty sure that is the case but I will double-check to see for sure. Thanks for the suggestion

Bill,

I don't think the amp has the ability to switch between always on and auto :frowning: If it does I certainly would not mind having it that way.

The more I think about it though the more I think it is related to my DVD player for some reason. Since I started this topic I have been thinking long and hard about it and can not remember a time when this happened unless it was during a DVD movie. I wonder if the DVD (Toshiba SD4700) has any settings that may effect this????

Thanks for your help.

 

[Matt Lane]

If I get a Y spliter and go from the one Output on my amp to the spliter and then still only use ofne of the two males to go into the sub will I get the +db gain even without using both L and R? In other words can I use it just to gain some power?

Also does anyone feel that another cable would solve the problem?

 

[Matt Lane]

I think this Y spliter may solve my problem. Can anyone tell me for sure. I will only be using one of the two male connections to go into my mono connection on my sub. Will I still get the boosted output gain that this device is supposed to provide?

I have also been looking into some features on the DVD (Toshiba SD4700) to see if anything there will help.

 

[Bill Kane]

Matt,

you are "grasping at wires" as a solution, but it wont work just by changing cable, or using half of a Y-splitter, sorry.

I've not heard of DVD player adjustments that boost low bass/LFE output.

Can you confirm here that your mains and surrounds are set to SMALL?

Have you been able to calibrate the subwoofer with a sound pressure meter and test tones?

 

[Jeremy Stockwell]

Hey Matt,

Does your HTiB (SRX 5020J) contain the receiver, JVC RX-5020?

If so, it appears that the receiver is just Pro-Logic and not digital. That complicates matters.

What kind (brand) of speakers came with the HTiB? Are the subwoofer and speakers from JVC as well?

JKS

 

[Matt Lane]

Bill,

Yes the mains and surrounds are set to small. I do not have a meter to calibrate with but even if I did I doubt I could make the needed adjustments with the rcvr. If I can then I guess I just don't have enough of an understanding of how to do it and do not expect it to be explained in this thread unless someone has a link to share.

Jeremy,

Here is a link (pdf file) to the manual for my HTiB

http://books.jvcservice.com/download...8165/26070.pdf

The speakers and speaker cables including the sub and RCA for sub all came included.

 

[Jeremy Stockwell]

Matt,

Try not to get frustrated. There are plenty of people around here that are willing to help out. With audio/video equipment, there are dozens of variables that can all make a big difference. It's just a matter of finding the one that's affecting you.

Just clarify for me what brand name the speakers are. I'm assuming that they are JVC, but I've seen some JVC/Bose HTiB combos before.

Does your subwoofer have a power cord? Does it have some kind of level adjustment on the sub itself? If so where is that level indicator set? Some HTiB's come with a passive sub instead of powered.

JKS

 

[Matt Lane]

Jeremy,

Hi. Sorry if I came off as sounding frustrated. Although I do want this problem resolved I am not frustrated and certainly not with any of the members in this forum. Thanks for your replies and thanks for trying to help. Sometimes when people type it is hard to tell what state of mind (mood) they are in but I am assure you I am not frustrated especially with any of the members in this forum

Now onto the answers to your very helpful questions.

The speakers are as you guessed, JVC

The Sub does have a power cord and it has a level adjustment which I normally have around 3/4 of the way up but could be lower or higher depending on the material I am playing.

 

[Jeremy Stockwell]

Matt,

Here is some good information about calibration using a SPL meter from the FAQ/Beginner's Primer here at HTF.

Reference level is a standard that insures (to some extent) that you are hearing a DVD soundtrack as it was intended to be heard. It also helps answer some important questions when situations like this come up. For example, I'm wondering what your normal listening level is like. This could be easily answered (if calibrated) with an answer like "20dB below Reference). Since you're not calibrated, give us some idea on this. Is your preferred listening level uncomfortably loud for others? On your JVC receiver, what is the number on the display at the lowest/softest volume setting? What is the number at the highest/loudest volume setting? (Your manual that you linked to says that "0" and "50" are the minimum and maximum volume levels, respectively.) Confirm that this is correct and then then tell us at what volume setting/number you usually listen to DVDs.

I think we'll get there, it's just a process of elimination.

JKS

 

[Matt Lane]

Jeremy,

Thanks for the link. I will certainly have a look at it. I also plan on buying the new calibration DVD that has been discussed in the software forum and a meter to test with as well.

Yes that is correct. The lowest number is 0 and the highest is 50. I generally listen to DVDs somewhere between 27 and 31. This also depends on time of day and type of material being watched. Sometimes I have to keep it lower due to the nature of some movies where the action can make my wife jump out of her shin if it is at the higher end of that average. However I think it is fair to say that 27-31 is the average for a movie we might watch. Does this help?

 

[Matt Lane]

Also something else to keep in mind is that the volume level for the front L and R speakers can not be adjusted. Only for the center and the rear L and R levels can be adjusted seperately. The front L and R speakers are adjusted by using balance control. That has to be the oddest thing I have heard of but might not be too uncommon for a HTiB setup at this low end of the spectrum I guess.

 

[Jeremy Stockwell]

Looks like your receiver has a couple of different "Attenuator" devices. There is one called "Low Frequency Effect Attenuator." Make sure that this is not activated. From the receiver's manual, it looks like this is a separate function from setting the Subwoofer level. Make sure that the LFE Attenuator is off and check your Sub level so that it is at least a positive number.

Looks like you also have an "Input Attenuator." Make sure that this is off (or "normal") for your DVD input

Also, make sure that your "Dynamic Range Compression" is off.

JKS

 

[Matt Lane]

Jeremy,

Thanks for your time and patience. I just verified all of the settings that you, suggested Input Att is for non digital sources so that one did not apply. I appreciate you taking the time out to look over the manual. I have done this several times before and some of the stuff simply did not make sense to me. I guess I still have a long way to go to be a HT expert. I was just playing a DVD that i was playing the other night and it was not giving me a negative result so maybe we solved it.

One (hopefully) last question you mentioned the LFE indicator. Right now I have it set to 0. The other choice is -10db. I assume 0 is what you meant when you suggested setting the LFE attenuator to "off"?

Thanks to Bill and Brian for your replies in this thread as well.

 

[Jeremy Stockwell]

Hope so.

JKS