Using Just the Sub and the TV speakers (1 Viewer)

[Pete_Jr]

I finally sold my crappy Bose and will be without speakers for awhile.
In the meantime I thought I would still use just the Sub I kept(HSU) to give the TV speakers a little pep.

Not sure how to adjust for the volume. I calibrated it with a sound meter to 80db but it seems to loud and distorted at times. Is my receiver sending more bass than it should with no other speakers attached? I still leave it on 5.1, but not sure if I should put it at stereo.

Any help would be great.

 

[JeremyErwin]

Are the TV speakers even capable of 80 db?

 

[Pete_Jr]

LOL Probably not!

Just did the test tone for the sub and put that at 80db. But when everything was hooked up before I didn't get the distortion I am now.

The Big explosion in Terminator 3 in the beginning was all distorted. I jumped up to turn the sub down cause sometimes the baby goes behind it and turns it up but it was where I left it.

 

[Robb Roy]

Pete,

I can't think of any reason why your sub would produce more distortion without speakers than with them. Personally, though, I wouldn't enjoy watching a movie with just the sub and two other crummy speakers that aren't calibrated to the same level as the subwoofer. Odds are it's that difference you're noticing. If you want to see if it's really the subwoofer, try tuning off the TV speakers and seeing if that distortion is still there. Also, I'd recommend not running the sub until you have speakers that can be calibrated to the same level.

-Robb

 

[John Garcia]

You can dial it in by ear to get the right blend. I tried it once when I had a spare sub laying around just for kicks. I actually hooked it directly to the TV's analog outs so that it was playing only with the TV. It more or less worked, but it didn't last very long.

 

[Brian_cyberbri]

Is the main sound going through the TV, and ONLY the sub is going through the receiver? Or is the receiver actually powering/driving (or at least sending the pre-outs to) the TV speakers?

How do you have the sub and TV speakers configured?


Calibrating the sub to 80dB is pointless unless the other speakers are calibrated to the same level, especially if you control the TV speaker volume with the TV remote, and the sub volume with the receiver remote.