Looking for a good subwoofer

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Blacksabbath25

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Vladimir said:
Try and experiment by setting it lower than 80Hz. Try some music too.
I think I would have to buy second sub cable to try music from my A-S2100 I am not sure but pretty sure the A-S2100 actually has a sub input as well but a bit worried that it will turn my Opticon 8s into a mobile disco *smile*
 
Blacksabbath25 said:
The other question is on the Yamaha about the EQ I've got mine set to though as I did not want to use the EQ as the other option was manual

what does the EQ do anyway?
Most AV receivers don't EQ sub frequencies anyway, so you're not missing out on anything - as you were in that respect. I never used EQ on mine.

As I mentioned on the phone, start at 80Hz, let the sub settle in, get used to things, watch a few films. I think with the size of your speakers, somewhere between 60-80Hz will be the most ideal. It's personal preference of course, as you might like the sub doing more, you might like it doing less, but it'll boil down to the balance you prefer.
 

Blacksabbath25

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davidf said:
Blacksabbath25 said:
The other question is on the Yamaha about the EQ I've got mine set to though as I did not want to use the EQ as the other option was manual

what does the EQ do anyway?
Most AV receivers don't EQ sub frequencies anyway, so you're not missing out on anything - as you were in that respect. I never used EQ on mine.

As I mentioned on the phone, start at 80Hz, let the sub settle in, get used to things, watch a few films. I think with the size of your speakers, somewhere between 60-80Hz will be the most ideal. It's personal preference of course, as you might like the sub doing more, you might like it doing less, but it'll boil down to the balance you prefer.
hi David

not really had a lot of time as I am looking after my little one as it's the school holidays and the sub arrived around 1.15pm today I have set it up roughly but what I have set sounds pretty good and you could easily just have a 3.1 setup as the sub adds a different dimension to the setup .

but well happy with it I reckon the Rel wouldn't of sounded so good as the SVS
 

ellisdj

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Do yourself a favour and email SVS asking this question for the SB2000

Is it better to have the volume lower and level trim on the AVR higher - or is it better to have the volume on the sub set high and the trim on the AVR set lower?

For the SB13's its advised to have the sub amp volume set high - the range is digital -100 to 0 I have both mine set on around -5db so very nearly maximum.

If you dont then they dont perform as well with the lowest frequencies.

Your not changing the volume your just changing the sensitivity on the Subs so dont panic on that.

Obviously if they say turn the sub up then turn the trim level for the sub down.

The sub should should work for all sources - its should be plugged into the subwoofer output rca on the back of the reciever.

Dont do manual eq without measuring your bass freq response - bass is very likely essential to turn rumbling bass into tight tactile and tuneful bass unless your lottery winning lucky with your room dimensions and mlp
 

Vladimir

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1) I find a song with a lot of dynamic range that goes very loud.

2) Then I set the preamp to maxium level, the power amp to minimum.

3) I play the song, gently turning up the power amp channels to maximum loudness that I am comfortable with ever playing.

4) I turn the preamp down to minimum and in the future only use that volume control, never the power amp knobs.

Same setup with subs.
 

Blacksabbath25

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ellisdj said:
Do yourself a favour and email SVS asking this question for the SB2000

Is it better to have the volume lower and level trim on the AVR higher - or is it better to have the volume on the sub set high and the trim on the AVR set lower?

For the SB13's its advised to have the sub amp volume set high - the range is digital -100 to 0 I have both mine set on around -5db so very nearly maximum.

If you dont then they dont perform as well with the lowest frequencies.

Your not changing the volume your just changing the sensitivity on the Subs so dont panic on that.

Obviously if they say turn the sub up then turn the trim level for the sub down.

The sub should should work for all sources - its should be plugged into the subwoofer output rca on the back of the reciever.

Dont do manual eq without measuring your bass freq response - bass is very likely essential to turn rumbling bass into tight tactile and tuneful bass unless your lottery winning lucky with your room dimensions and mlp
I am still fiddling with the sub with music but using the iTunes airplay on the Av to stream music from iPad and currently using 80hz I have had to 40hz using the Av settings not the subs I think it's one or the other you set the sub or you set the Av end .

i think if I used the sub end and not the AVs settings I would probably be able to set the sub lower I am not sure on that as I am still fiddling but my issue with using the AVs settings for some reason you get some TV programs that will not activate the sub when it's in standby but if I set the sub to 100hz the sub keeps on. .

and obviously I want to set the sub up lower for music , films but TV is acting different to trigger the sub into action .
 

Blacksabbath25

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Vladimir said:
1) I find a song with a lot of dynamic range that goes very loud.

2) Then I set the preamp to maxium level, the power amp to minimum.

3) I play the song, gently turning up the power amp channels to maximum loudness that I am comfortable with ever playing.

4) I turn the preamp down to minimum and in the future only use that volume control, never the power amp knobs.

Same setup with subs.
I've played a load of dance music the bestie boys , Lindsey starling , organ music which goes very deep

what I noticed when going to 40hz was cleaner bass but the sub does not seem to be doing much like it would at 80hz anyway early days
 

ellisdj

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I think you want to do the opposite subs especially with digial style amplifiers,

They need to work the driver hard to get the extension - email SVS and see what they say.

Their customer service is excellent they always reply quickly 24 hours or so
 

ellisdj

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Just so you know I am not mad

Hi Terry -

I'm glad you are loving the SB13-Ultra! It really is a remarkable combination of performance, sound quality, and compact overall size. Yes - it's best to run a higher sub gain and a lower AVR sub channel level (while still hitting your target calibration level). This avoids clipping the AVR sub-out signal, and also avoids over-saturating the sub inputs with excessive voltage.

Ed Mullen, PE

Director - Technology and Customer Service
 

Vladimir

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Blacksabbath25 said:
I've played a load of dance music the bestie boys , Lindsey starling , organ music which goes very deep

what I noticed when going to 40hz was cleaner bass but the sub does not seem to be doing much like it would at 80hz anyway early days

Yup. You'll have it how you like it best eventually.
 

Blacksabbath25

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ellisdj said:
Just so you know I am not mad

Hi Terry -

I'm glad you are loving the SB13-Ultra! It really is a remarkable combination of performance, sound quality, and compact overall size. Yes - it's best to run a higher sub gain and a lower AVR sub channel level (while still hitting your target calibration level). This avoids clipping the AVR sub-out signal, and also avoids over-saturating the sub inputs with excessive voltage.

Ed Mullen, PE

Director - Technology and Customer Service
to be honest it's been years since I have owned a sub and this is my second sub I've ever owned in my life I basically need a basis understanding of subwoofers in how they work and what's the best settings to get the very best out of the SVS and what the effect is and what the cause is when adjusting the sub as I really do not no as the SVS manual is basic and doesn't explain what effect each of the adjustments do .

ive still getting to grips with the Yamaha 1070 and it's settings as well which I pretty sure I have most settings sorted now
 
Blacksabbath25 said:
right i found this..... http://www.audioholics.com/subwoofer-setup/basic-subwoofer-setup

I read that on the SVS subs if watching say Tv at a lower volume the auto standby will not kick in so SVS says turn off the auto standby to fix this .

is there a setting on the AV that is wrong as it would be nice to use the auto standby but still have the sub kick in at a lower volume
I guess the problem will be that general TV viewing doesn't have the sort of low end content that music and movies do. Adding to this, low level TV is probably as 'worst case scenario' as it gets. The only way round this is to have the output from the processor set high, so that the outgoing signal to the sub is more likely to trigger it - you don't want it too high though as if you listen near Reference levels, that high output signal to the sub might clip on dynamic scenes, producing either distortion and/or compression.

It is one reason why I never use 'auto' settings on subs - they're never 100% reliable. It's easily noticeable on a quiet film, where the sub may have gone to sleep and you get a sudden dynamic bass hit, which won't kick in immediately because these types of circuits can't react instantly - the only way they can do that is to stay on all the time.

I hope that makes sense.
 
Blacksabbath25 said:
I can take it to 40hz with music but there is less input from the sub
There won't be a vast amount in a lot of music below 40Hz. It's best to find out some music that does have decent bass content below 40Hz and use that as a guideline. You don't want to be boosting the sub up and up because you can't hear it, then some sub 40Hz content kicks in and blows the roof off your house!

For films, the downward bass sweep on Oblivion is good to gauge whether everything is nicely balanced or not - the bit where Tom Cruise is escaping the attack in the underground hole, and his line snaps and he falls back in. Music may or may not need a slightly different setting, depending in your preferences.
 

Blacksabbath25

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davidf said:
Blacksabbath25 said:
I can take it to 40hz with music but there is less input from the sub
There won't be a vast amount in a lot of music below 40Hz. It's best to find out some music that does have decent bass content below 40Hz and use that as a guideline. You don't want to be boosting the sub up and up because you can't hear it, then some sub 40Hz content kicks in and blows the roof off your house!

For films, the downward bass sweep on Oblivion is good to gauge whether everything is nicely balanced or not - the bit where Tom Cruise is escaping the attack in the underground hole, and his line snaps and he falls back in. Music may or may not need a slightly different setting, depending in your preferences.
I am pretty sure I have it fairly setup now I just did not understand why the sub used to go into auto when I had the Av volume set around -20 when watching the TV but never did it to films or music now I no so now I've turned the auto off but obviously TV broadcast sound signal output must be lower on my humax sat box I reckon .

ive kept the Av crossovers to 80hz because to me it sounds fine like this but in regards of music I did have a fiddle with lowering the crossover on the main L+Rs to see what happens but decided to leave for now at 80hz because that's the same setting for films too so if I adjust it and lower it for music it's wrong for films as there are not 2 different settings 1. Music 2. Films they both share the same settings .in regards of crossover settings .

the subs volume is still set to 12 o'clock anymore then that then it's to much boom and sub is well blended in with the 3 front speakers
 

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