Help with new 5.1 Speaker Setup

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dan

459 posts

Ultimate Geek

Topic # 70542 26-Oct-2010 13:41
Hi Total Audio Newb, my first try into receivers/5.1 I purchased a Pioneer VSX 520 Receiver and a Sherwood 5.1 speaker setup from JBHI that was on special The problem i have, is the Subwoofer only switches on when the volume is turned up quite high, 60-70% output seems to trigger it. There is a LED on the front of the Sub, RED means its off, Green means on ( an auto switching sub) ? I would like the subwoofer to be always on if their is audio playing, even if the volume is low, and no matter what source the audio, whether it HTPC or the inbuilt Tuner There are alot of settings on the AMP and some on the back of the sub which i dont totally understand On the AMP i can do the following: Change the Crossover, Default is 100db? is this correct? I can change the distance of the sub from the listening position? Change the channel level on the speakers and the subs On the Sub, it has the following dials Level Frequency Phase I have the sub connected via the SUB Pre Out from the Receiver, into the L(mono) Input on the sub via a standard RCA Cable (10metres). Can someone point me in the right direction on what all these settings should be set at so the sub is always on when there is audio?

Nety

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Reply # 395835 26-Oct-2010 15:18
None of those settings affect whether the sub is on or off. Level think of as volume Frequency is the cutoff level, as you receiver is doing this via the crossover you should have this set as high as it goes. Phase is used to make sure your speaker cones and your sub cone are working together ie they are both moving in and out at the same time (in phase) If your sub has auto switched check the manual to see if there is a way to disable it if there is not something in the manual then I think you are stuck with it. Media centre PC - Case Silverstone LC16M with 2 X 80mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF, MOBO Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H, CPU AMD X2 240 under volted, RAM 4 Gig DDR3 1033, HDD 120Gig System/512Gig data, Tuners 2 X Hauppauge HVR-3000, 1 X HVR-2200, Video Palit GT 220, Sound Realtek 886A HD (onboard), Optical LiteOn DH-401S Blue-ray using TotalMedia Theatre Power Corsair VX Series, 450W ATX PSU OS Windows 7 x64

Jaxson

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Reply # 396174 27-Oct-2010 11:18
How are you connecting the receiver to the subwoofer? Your subwoofer is not switching on because there is not a large enough signal heading to it from the receiver. This can be a pain as often in movies with large passages with no bass the sub will turn off. Then when there is an explosion etc, you won't have any bass for the first second of it whilst the sub turns back on. Perhaps there is a sub output level option in the receivers options. If you could turn this up the signal to the subwoofer would be larger and you could then just turn down the volume on the sub itself. Just an idea, not sure if you have any option like that. Actually, you could try turning up the bass on the receiver settings, and then turning down the volume/gain on the subwoofer. Might wake it up a bit earlier.

elldizzle

91 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 396235 27-Oct-2010 12:51
It is weird cause it doesn't seem to have an Auto-on control on it. My sub has a 3-way switch with On, Auto-on and off. but would seem weird that the control may be built into the Receiver.

Jaxson

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Reply # 396245 27-Oct-2010 13:06
Also try getting a Y rca cable to split the mono 1 rca signal into both inputs on the back of the sub. This might explain why it's not leaping into life straight away. The Y cable takes the mono RCA signal and splits it into two RCA plugs, one for L and one for R inputs.

dan

459 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 396261 27-Oct-2010 13:31
thanks for the advise the cable connection is a 2x 5m Single RCA cable w/ a joiner I tried it with another shorter 1m RCA cable to rule that out So on the receiver, if i turn up the DB to maximun for the sub woofer channel, that wont be a problem / damage the receiver? Splitting the RCA might be a good idea i will locate one

dan

459 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 396262 27-Oct-2010 13:32
elldizzle: It is weird cause it doesn't seem to have an Auto-on control on it. My sub has a 3-way switch with On, Auto-on and off. but would seem weird that the control may be built into the Receiver. dammit i want that :/

Jaxson

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Reply # 396291 27-Oct-2010 14:11
Does that receiver have an auto calibration microphone setup? Just sounds like a) the sub electronics are not getting a strong enough signal to make it turn on. (Are you playing content that actually needs a subwoofer?) b) the subwoofer signal is too weak, possibly due to cable losses. The 1m cable check should have rulled this out though. It's not ideal to mess with the subwoofer output level from the receiver, but you need to do something to make this puppy turn on.

dan

459 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 396307 27-Oct-2010 14:29
yep it has the auto calibrate with microphone, i have tried that half a dozen times, the sub will turn on, but only if the volume is high enough the amp goes to about 1-70, anything under 45-55 wont seem to trigger it, my usual listening volume is around 25-35 There is no actual proper subwoofer cable rca cable right? it just uses standard rca cable?

andrew027

131 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 396323 27-Oct-2010 14:59
Yeah. May be a shortcoming in the subwoofer design, because I would expect this functionality to be implemented in the sub, not the receiver. elldizzle: It is weird cause it doesn't seem to have an Auto-on control on it. My sub has a 3-way switch with On, Auto-on and off. but would seem weird that the control may be built into the Receiver. My sub has a straight Power [On\|Off] button, and a second switch for Power Save [Auto\|Off]. When Power Save is set to Auto it goes into a standby mode if it doesn't receive a signal for a few minutes, so you get a slight delay when it comes back on. Which is why I always have Power Save set to Off...

Nety

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Reply # 396453 27-Oct-2010 19:05
I have a Velodyne sub and the Auto on that does not work well either. So I don't think your sub is alone in having issues with Auto however like others at least on mine I could turn it off (which I did). Media centre PC - Case Silverstone LC16M with 2 X 80mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF, MOBO Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H, CPU AMD X2 240 under volted, RAM 4 Gig DDR3 1033, HDD 120Gig System/512Gig data, Tuners 2 X Hauppauge HVR-3000, 1 X HVR-2200, Video Palit GT 220, Sound Realtek 886A HD (onboard), Optical LiteOn DH-401S Blue-ray using TotalMedia Theatre Power Corsair VX Series, 450W ATX PSU OS Windows 7 x64

elldizzle

91 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 396740 28-Oct-2010 11:15
Yeah I have mine set to ON all the time. But I always turn my HT gear off at the wall after use.

dan

459 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 396804 28-Oct-2010 13:07
well i went into the Channel Level on the Receiver, i found there was 2 settings for each speaker/sub one which changes the DB and one which changes the volume i guess, this is not in the manual, but it has the same scale as the volume controls I maxed out the volume and db settings for the amp to their highest possible setting The Sub seems to come on more often and stay on longer now at lower volume levels, but its definaitly not ideal, something with some BASS in it needs to be playing to trigger it,

Jaxson

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Reply # 397155 29-Oct-2010 08:30
dan: something with some BASS in it needs to be playing to trigger it Without being rude, that's kinda the point. The sub won't come on unless it receives a signal. As you have connected it to the dedicated .1 output, it will only get a signal if the receiver decides it's has some subwoofer sounds and sends them out via that .1 output. You've done all you can on this one I think. The fact of the matter is there is only an auto setting on your particular purchase, so you will always have to leave it up to the subwoofer to decide when it comes on. If you don't like this, then it might be best to return the product quickly and exchange it for a different speaker pack that does include an always On setting on the subwoofer.

elldizzle

91 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 397208 29-Oct-2010 10:32
It would be an inconvenience but would work out better suited to you in the long run to see if you can exchange it. It's a shame cause there is always something that gets overlooked with purchases. I have little niggles with my system aswell.

dan

459 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 397327 29-Oct-2010 13:36
All true, thanks guys, i think i will live with it for now next time i will have a better idea of what to look for, the 5.1 was reduced from 700 to 300 so its not really worth the hassle trying to return it, it does seem to work a bit better with the DB maxed out. I made a mistake tho there is only db settings for each channel, the volume was just adjusting the volume to test that db setting i guess cheers