Big Chris Fixed PV1 sub

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Hello,

This is a quick message to big chris and any one else who owns a PV1 sub and has experienced occasional cutting out issues.

My PV1 has also stopped working after particularly loud or heavy bass scenes. The only remedy seemed to be switching it off then on again, then it would work again. However three days ago i thought i would try and turn the power supply figure 8 cable around. As i am an electrician i have been trying to logically solve the cutting out issue on the sub, without really knowing anything about its internal construction. I thought as there is a coil inside the sub to transform the voltage down, if the polarity of the mains supply feeding it was reversed( live and neutral round the wrong way), then although it would still work, any heavy load like very loud or deep bass might overload the coil and have a negative effect on the circuitry. I have also read on various websites that other kit such as blu-ray players and sky boxes, which also only have live and neutral feeds in a fig 8 connector will work slightly better if you connect them the correct way round. But unlike a subwoofer these devises do not work any where near as hard as a subwoofer so there is less strain on them. So after reversing the figure 8 connector on the PV1 i have been giving it a severe test over the last 3 days, culminating with the blu-ray of "apocalypse now" (i imported it from Amazon.com, which by the way is amazing, one of the best sounding blu-rays), the sound track was extremely demanding on the sub and i had the volume very loud. The PV1 did everything effortlessly and with no problems.

I am very relieved, as this is an expensive sub and i thought it was damaged. I hope this can help anyone else who experiences this issue. I know the PV1's supplied power cable has already been bent into a right angle making it unlikely that most people would reverse the figure 8 connector, however i purchased a new power cable.
 
Wow, great job Neil, I doubt many people would have come up with that solution (I know it would never have occurred to me).

With regards to other devices there isn't actually any way of figuring out which pin in the figure 8 connector is live and which is neutral is there? So I guess it'll be a matter of trial and error?

WRT to the PV1, although, as you mention, the power connector is right angled, is it likely that the live and neutral lines are always going to be connected to the same side of the figure 8 connector for every one made?
 
AH! That sort of makes sense. Back in the day when I first started reading WHF, they promoted the idea of trying the figure 8 mains lead 'both ways' to see if one way sounded better than the other. My Marantz CD52 sounded better one way so I made a small Tippex mark on the connector to designate the top. That way I always put it back the same way after any moves etc.
 
Impossible. Hifi is AC and so cant possibly be affected by turning the lead around

(Waits for the naysayers........)
 
the_lhc:How do you explain Neil's experience with his Sub then?

Sarcasm (Thought youd have known me by now lhc)
 
aliEnRIK:
the_lhc:How do you explain Neil's experience with his Sub then?

Sarcasm

His sub's sarcastic? Brilliant! Where can I get one?

(Thought youd have known me by now lhc)

Sorry, getting my deniers and my evangelists mixed up.
 
brendonw:Wouldn't it be even better with a £100 mains cable ???

Whats money got to do with it?

My personal opinion due to 'my own experience', I would say replacing it with a decent braided type would almost certainly bring benefits if its so sensitive to such a simple change. (My old denon av amp sounded FAR better in the bass department after changing the hardwired lead)
 
brendonw:Wouldn't it be even better with a £100 mains cable ???

Got one.... Well £75, but it's close enough.
emotion-4.gif


Glad you sussed it Neil, hope that's the end of your woes.

Gonna swap mine around now, I was wondering why it would only manifest now, but It's only been a few months since I replaced the mains cable, so perhaps I swapped the polarity then.
emotion-10.gif
 
brendonw:Everything really. Didn't you know the more you spend, the better it sounds ?

Certainly not in my tests it doesnt
 
Neil - im sure some of the naysayers would come on saying that it probably didnt have clean contacts, or wasnt inserted properly or whatever

Id like to ask you to clean the contacts up as best you can and reinsert back to how it was. If it starts to cut out again, then I cant see what excuse the naysayers could possibly come up with.
 
aliEnRIK:
brendonw:Everything really. Didn't you know the more you spend, the better it sounds ?

Certainly not in my testis it doesnt

I'm sorry ?
 
brendonw:aliEnRIK:

brendonw:Everything really. Didn't you know the more you spend, the better it sounds ?

Certainly not in my testis it doesnt

I'm sorry ?

I said you epitomise a sceptic
emotion-21.gif
 
aliEnRIK:brendonw:aliEnRIK:

brendonw:Everything really. Didn't you know the more you spend, the better it sounds ?

Certainly not in my testis it doesnt

I'm sorry ?

I said you epitomise a sceptic
emotion-21.gif

But what has that to do with your testis?
 
hello mate,

i dont want to be patronising but i'm not sure what you mean when you say AC current has no effect when reversing polarity, AV equipment like a sub woffer is supplied with 240V and AC current which is protectively fused on the live side (not neutral) inside the device, this fact surely also indicates that there is a good possibility that there could be other certain electrical components on the live side of the circuit on or before the coil of the transformer (the transformer which then lowers the voltage). So reversing the polarity although allowing it to still work could make some of the internal electrical components work in a slightly different way, and anything that is working in a slightly different way can exaggerate this as it is put under more stress.
 
Neil Howells:

hello mate,

i dont want to be patronising but i'm not sure what you mean when you say AC current has no effect when reversing polarity, AV equipment like a sub woffer is supplied with 240V and AC current which is protectively fused on the live side (not neutral) inside the device, this fact surely also indicates that there is a good possibility that there could be other certain electrical components on the live side of the circuit on or before the coil of the transformer (the transformer which then lowers the voltage). So reversing the polarity although allowing it to still work could make some of the internal electrical components work in a slightly different way, and anything that is working in a slightly different way can exaggerate this as it is put under more stress.

Sorry Neil. Its well known im a believer in cables etc so I was just taking the mirth a little. I completely agree with your theory. But I am asking to change back so that the people who DONT believe you wont have anything to say
 
Hello,

yeah thats ok mate, like any scientific experiment i have swapped the cable back round a few times and re-created the fault. I am just relieved to have solved the problem. However it still pokes at me that i cant get inside the subwoofer to see exactly how this problem occurred because i like to know everything in detail, unfortunately for me.
 
Neil you have just become the Messiah for us pro cable believers well done.
emotion-1.gif
 
I just need some kind soul to lend me a BD copy of 'How To Train Your Dragon' to see if I can replicate the problem.
 
Another good test is the A-Team and actually quite a decent portrayal of the original storyline. Much better than Robin Hood and Iron Man 2.
 
shado:Another good test is the A-Team and actually quite a decent portrayal of the original storyline. Much better than Robin Hood and Iron Man 2.

Well, quite, I wouldn't expect either of those to be a good portrayal of the A-Team story...
 
Which is why for once I put a full stop to indicate the A Team is a splendid rendition...............

However the latter 2 were extremely poor; in storytelling, expectations, sub woofer action........ you catch my drift.

I would like in the new year to meet your acquaintance ihc as I believe some on here take your comments far to literally and if you can take the trouble to meet up with a Hyundai i30 that contains the same head restraints safety feature of a Saab but only costs 30 pound road tax then that is an achievement. Unfortunately my Puma is now pulverised so I cannot race your other project!

In all honesty I could bore you with my Cyrus/Sonos/Kef setup and the ball is in your court, if you are interested.
 

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