Subwoofer set-up (1 Viewer)

[Matt Amato]

So after many years of lusting after a decent surround set-up, I finally purchased a 5.1 package from SVS (STS-02 5.0, SSS-02 surrounds and SB12-NSD) and paired with with a Denon AVR-791 and a PS3 for BD. Obviously, after reading about SVS all of this time, I had some high-expectations.

After everything was physically set-up, I ran through the Audyssey auto-setup (using info from this thread) and demoed a few movies. On both the THX intro in The Phantom Menace and the "Ring drop" scene in Lord of the Rings, the sub red limiter light blinked on during the bassiest moments. I assume this is telling me that my gain is set to high on the sub and it was cutting out to prevent damage. I turned the base down until the scene could complete without the light coming on (which results in it being only a 1/4 of the way turned, which seems really low (this trim for the sub on the receiver is only -0.5db after the Audyssey setup)


So now the sub itself sounds way less impressive than I expected. I don't know if I'm used to cheaper, boomier subs, or if I'm doing something wrong. Maybe I simply misunderstand what the red light means. I know I still need to experiment with room set-up, but I'm worried that I'm either doing something wrong, or my room is too big for the sub so I thought I'd asked you guys for any help. I also have an email out to SVS, but I wanted to see what other people had to say.


Matt

 

[David Willow]

I'm not familiar with the SB12, but from reading the manual it appears this lights up when the sub is overdriven. They say if it stays on, then its a problem. If it only blinks sometimes, don't worry about it.


When you setup the sub with Audyssey, it correctly adjusted the volume for your room. Since the trim was only -.0.5 it was setup very nicely.

How loud did you have the movie? With Audyssey, 0 would be reference, which means your sub will be trying to hit up to 115db (unlikely it will do this, but it will try).

 

[Robert_J]

I agree with David and you may have also had a partial explanation. You may not be used to good bass. You shouldn't notice that it is coming from the sub. A properly calibrated sub won't draw attention to itself. Do you have an SPL meter to make sure that your sub is in the optimum location? If you calibrated it and your listening position is in a null, then you will never get enough output from your sub.

 

[Matt Amato]

Thanks guys. I was attempting to play at reference and in a room that's probably a little too big for the sub. Anything below reference and it was fine. I guess I'm just a little paranoid with my new purchase and wanted to make sure I was getting the most out of it. I totally agree with the "not being used to good bass" assertion. Since it's not boomy, it took a few days of normal use to really appreciate the subtle bass in a lot of normal material. I'll probably experiment a little with room placement to find the best performance for my primary seating location.


Quick related question:

Am I supposed to manually balance the speakers after running Audyssey, or should they be balanced already? I have a Radio Shank digital SPL meter that I've used in the past. After running Audyssey, I went into the receiver's test tones which are supposed to read 75, but they were all low (but did for the most part match). If I should manually balance them, is it better to use a disc such as Avia, or are the receiver tones fine? (I'm assuming the player (in this case a PS3 doing the decoding and sending LPCM) may color the sound some and be better than using the receiver tones.


Thanks again.

 

[Robert_J]

I don't know anything about Audyssey but the MCACC system in my Pioneer will set the levels for the speakers so that they are at the same level where I place my mic. I don't touch the "balance" when done. It is a known fact that receiver test tones aren't 100% accurate. And I am making a distinction between regular tones and the clicks and hisses that are used by auto calibration systems. With my Pioneer, it happens so fast, my analog meter doesn't measure accurately.

 

[David Willow]

Assuming you followed the directions (linked in my sig), then your speakers are already setup correctly. Both the mic and your meter have +/- tolerances, so seeing them a few db's off is not surprising...


I suggest leaving them as they were setup.

 

[Malcolm R]

Originally Posted by Matt Amato

I also have an email out to SVS, but I wanted to see what other people had to say.

Did you ever get a reply from SVS?

 

[RIIDL]

Originally Posted by Malcolm R


Did you ever get a reply from SVS?

That is a good question.

Since I also bought an SVS subwoofer I would like to know if they ever reply to their customer. I tried once but didn't get any...


Matt - did you solve your problem?

 

[David Willow]

SVS is known for their customer service. Many folks have received replies on holidays and weekends. A couple of their reps post here and other forums (including the founders who met on this forum).

If you did not get a response, I assume something happened in transit. Maybe it got sent to your spam folder?

I would try again. Perhaps call them if the e-mails are not getting through.

 

[RIIDL]

Originally Posted by Matt Amato thread) and demoed a few movies. On both the THX intro in The Phantom Menace and the "Ring drop" scene in Lord of the Rings, the sub red limiter light blinked on during the bassiest moments. I assume this is telling me that my gain is set to high on the sub and it was cutting out to prevent damage. I turned the base down until the scene could complete without the light coming on (which results in it being only a 1/4 of the way turned, which seems really low (this trim for the sub on the receiver is only -0.5db after the Audyssey setup)

Reading this story giving me some hint that there might be some problem with my Denon AVR 891 receiver.. I placed my SVS PC12 Plus in many location in my room and the problem is still there. Before I ran my Audyssey auto setup today, I set my sub volume to -50db (50% volume output). And the audyssey mic sometimes can't pick the sound and its doing measurement twice on the sub. And it set up my sub channel at +12db, which is the maximum output level...


Before I bought this subwoofer, I told this story on the other thread, I bought Polk Audio PSW125 and I had the same issue.. And I thought the problem was the sub... I am going to contact Denon again and tell them about this issue again...