Subwoofer Issues (1 Viewer)

[Timothy Richard]

I am by all means a novice when it comes to home theater.

I moved from one apartment to another and finally decided to upgrade to a digital receiver and replace my speakers.

My current system includes a Pioneer VSX-D850S receiver with Cerwin-Vega AVS-632 home theater speakers. DVD, Hi-Fi VCR, and 25” TV complete the system. I was also considering a set of JBL speakers (NSP1II), but since the set didn’t include a subwoofer and I didn’t want to spend another $300, I had to pass.

So here’s the deal. This is my 1st time owning a subwoofer. My previous speakers were towers and provided the necessary bass.

While watching TV (through the VCR), the sub tends to turn on and off at different times. I’ll be watching one channel and it will shut off, change the channel and it will turn back on. I can watch a DVD and it never turns off. This leads me to believe that there may be an issue with how audio is being received from my VCR.

The crossover frequency is set to IN on the sub to allow the receiver to control the frequency. The frequency is set at 200Hz on the receiver since all the speakers are classified as small.

I read through the forums FAQ, and hooked up a Y-adapter to plug-in to the sub’s L and R input. I’ll have to see if this helps or not. I also plan on purchasing a SPL meter and properly setting up my system. I could not believe the amount of information that was in this forum.

So anyway, I was wondering if anyone has seen this before. Is this normal or do I need to purchase a new VCR?

Any input would be welcome.

 

[Steve_Ma]

Hi Timothy and welcome to the forum,
Don't assume you need a new VCR just yet . Your complaint is a common one and is not necesarilly indicative of a problem. If the sub has an ON/OFF/AUTO switch, try leaving it "ON" all the time. See if this helps. This should not harm the sub and many people who have experienced their subs turning off during quiet scenes or changes of material have found this worked well.
Also, double check the receiver's documentation. A 200hz crossover is very high. Most AV Receivers use an 80 or 100hz cross. On some it's variable, but I don't think I've seen one as high as 200hz. Make sure you keep all speakers set to small and the sub = yes in the receiver.
The SPL meter will be a big help and will ensure you're getting the most from your speakers. It's the best $35 most of us here have spent.
Here's some links that should help.
http://www.smr-home-theatre.org/Sub-woofer-Set-Up/
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Hope this helped.
--Steve

 

[Timothy Richard]

Thanks for the info.

The receiver has 3 options for crossover frequency:

100Hz, 150Hz, 200Hz

Which of course the manual recommends using 200Hz if you set the speakers to small.

Unfortunatly, the sub just has on on/off switch with auto-shutoff so I can't force it to stay on.

 

[Steve_Ma]

In that case, I'd reccomend the 100hz cutoff.

One other trick to try and then I'm outta suggestions. Try calibrating the sub by turning the channel level for the sub UP in your receiver and turn the sub's volume down alittle bit. Some people have found this helped as well. I guess the idea is to keep alittle more juice going to the sub at all times, to prevent it from tripping off.

--Steve

 

[Timothy Richard]

Thanks for the advise.

I'll try that out and see how it works.

--Tim