Receiver/Speaker Setup Problems (1 Viewer)

[Joshua Clinard]

I have a Pioneer DSX-D411, and I'm not sure I have it set up correctly. I've read the manual several times, and it sheds no light on the problem. I have two Infinity front speakers, two Sony surrounds, and a Sony center. There is no sub. I have it set to 5.0 sound. The speakers are pretty old. When the volume is turned up, the speakers crackle. Even when the volume is low, it doesn't sound right. My brother says that the problem is that the bass is routed to the woofer, instead of the subwoofer. He says that the receiver is at fault, and that our 10-year old receiver that I replaced was better. If anyone has this receiver, and knows how to properly set it up, I'd be greatful for your assistance. The other thing is, there is a tear in the subwoofer on the left speaker. Would it be possible to fix that?

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Joshua,

You didn’t tell us anything about the speakers except the brand name, so a generic answer is the best I can offer here.

Plain and simple, extraneous noises from the speakers generally means they are being overdriven. Typically this happens with speakers with small woofers, which do not do a good job with movies if you are using them full-range.

Home theater is demanding of speakers. The listening levels are typically quite a bit higher than most people use with music, and action flicks have highly exaggerated bass levels. If you try to use small or economical speakers and run them full range, it won’t take much to overload them. This is why most people use a sub to handle the demanding low frequencies.

Even though you don’t have a sub, you may need to set your speakers to small anyway.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Joshua Clinard]

My brother says that the problems are more prominent when we are listening to music, rather than movies. I can still hear it during movies though. How do you set the speakers to small?

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

How do you set the speakers to small?

You’ll have to refer to the receiver’s manual for that.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Heath_E]

The other thing is, there is a tear in the subwoofer on the left speaker.

It may be time to consider a speaker upgrade.

 

[Joshua Clinard]

Don't have 600 dollars for new speakers. I really don't care if it sounds great, but I do want the lows to be coming from the right part of the speaker.

 

[perrin]

You should consider getting the Fluance series speakers. They have 5.0 set for $200 called AV-HTB, or you could spend $250 for SX-HTB. I own the AV-HTB set, and I am very impressed with them for the money. If you are interested, go to
http://www.fluance.com

perrin

 

[Cees Alons]

Joshua,

When I was a student, I once repaired a tear in a speaker. If it's a paper cone, you could try to glue new sheets of paper (ordinary printing paper, or preferably just a bit heavier, will do) on both sides. First do the backside (I used Bison Kit), making sure you close the tear as beautifully as can be done (the original material as close together as possible, without any fold) and then the upper one. Each should cover all of the tear, and preferably not be more than 0.5" wide (and about 0.8" longer than the tear).

You have to open the speaker box, because you need to get at both sides of the driver.

I even "painted" it black, using liquid ink from a marker pen.

Worked beautifully, perhaps the sound was a bit less, but really no-one could tell that (and it certainly was a lot better than when it was torn).

Good luck, you can't go wrong, because now you have a non-operative speaker, so you can only gain or lose nothing.


Cees

 

[Joshua Clinard]

What type of connectors do they Fluance speakers have? They look very nice. I like the price on the AV-HTB, but I don't like the color. I would rather go with the SX-HTB. Soon I'm going to own all the audio-video equipment in the house, even though it's my mom's place. Right now the Speakers and the Telivision are hers. I bought the DVD player, Audio Reciever, and Satellite Radio.

 

[perrin]

The mains on the AV-HTB set have the gold binding posts while the center and the surrounds have the old squeeze wire connectors. With the SX-HTB set, they have gold binding posts for all 5 speakers. Fluance finally released two subs for very low prices, so you could get a 5.1 set if you have enough money.

perrin