Sony WM40 setup help!!! (1 Viewer)

[Kevinkall]

I have a question concerning the Kenwood 6070 receiver and the Sony WM40 sub. I've been trying to properly setup the WM40 for a couple of weeks now. I've used a SPL meter along with the Sound & Vision setup disc/receiver test tones and I'm still not getting very good bass. I know that this isn't an SVS sub, but it doesn't sound as good as it did in the store. I've even added pollyfill, braces, and mod podge and it still doesn't sound that much better. I've read ALOT of posts reguarding setting up subs and there seems to be different ways to go about this. I currently have the sub in the front left corner of my room. I can't really put it anywhere else in the room except between my frnot left speaker and the entertainment center, if that would help. Can anyone please help me. Thanks.

 

[Dave Milne]

I assume you've tried fiddling with the crossover frequencies between mains and sub. Also the phase setting on the sub (if you have one). If so, then the room is the likely culprit.

it doesn't sound as good as it did in the store

I'm not surprised. The room has a HUGE influence on bass quality. 15-20 dB peaks and dips in the response are not at all uncommon.

Since you have an SPL meter and test tones... make a plot of frequency response from the listening position. For extra accuracy (expecially at the lowest frequencies) download the correction values for the RS meter and include them in your plot. Measure the sub alone and then in combination with the mains to see if there are any funny interactions (big dip at the crossover point).

Then start playing with placement (sub and/or listening position). Deep bass tends to "chase" the room boundaries, so you might try moving your listening position nearer the back wall. I "recovered" 9dB at 30Hz by moving the seats back two feet!

If you have limited placement options, then you might be forced to use active parametric EQ (like the Behringer Feedback Destroyer, BFD). You can't really boost the nulls much, but if you tame the peaks and bring up the overall level you can often achieve relatively flat response at the main listening position. Other locations will likely be boomy. And my experience with this approach is that it is most effective if you have lots of sub headroom to play with. The WM40 may not be up to the challenge. I'm running two large and efficient custom JBL subs with 1000 watts of input power and they're stressed to the limit at full reference level (I don't usually listen this loud, however).

For the really adventurous, passive bass management devices such as cylindrical traps, corner wedges, and diaphragmatic absprbers can sometimes be used to good effect.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Kevinkall]

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Deep bass tends to "chase" the room boundaries, so you might try moving your listening position nearer the back wall.

My listening postion is against the back wall. I'm VERY limited on space, and that's where the listening postion has to be. I'm also limited on where I can place my sub. It's in the front left corner of the room.

When setting up my sub should I have it set to 0db on the receiver and then make the changes on the sub. I heard that it should be set in the negative db on the receiver to prevent less distortion...is this correct? Also should I change the BASS PEAK on my receiver? It's still set to default. I'm not really sure what it does, since it's not explained in the manual. Thanks.

 

[Rory Buszka]

Max out the Bass Peak. That's only if you have a really wimpy sub that bottoms out on every hit.

 

[Kevinkall]

Max out the Bass Peak. That's only if you have a really wimpy sub that bottoms out on every hit.

What if it doesn't bottom out on every hit? I don't think that the WM40 is a real wimpy sub(not an SVS), but I've heard it sound ALOT better and I'm just tryin to get mine setup where it sounds that good.

 

[Dave Milne]

When setting up my sub should I have it set to 0db on the receiver and then make the changes on the sub. I heard that it should be set in the negative db on the receiver to prevent less distortion...is this correct?

I just downloaded a manual for the Kenwood 6070 and it doesn't appear to have any sub outs. So I'm assuming you're running your main speaker leads to the sub and then off to your speakers.

I would use a moderate volume on the receiver (say -30dB which is what my pre-pro defaults to for calibrations) and set the volume on the sub to have identical output as the mains.

Perhaps someone more familiar with this receiver and sub can chime in...

Oh, and you can disregard my dissertation on active EQ. If the receiver doesn't have line-level sub-outs then that approach won't work.

 

[Kevinkall]

I just downloaded a manual for the Kenwood 6070 and it doesn't appear to have any sub outs.

It does have a sub out and thats how my sub is hooked up. The manual for the 6070 is JUNK! It's one of the worst manuals that I've ever read. It doesn't explain anything! That's one of the reasons I having such a hard time, since I'm very new to HT.

 

[Kevinkall]

ANYONE???

I'm just looking for the proper way to setup this sub. Any help would be GREAT!