Subwoofer help, basic stuff only.

[admin_exported]

Hey, I got the R370HD hooked up and it has a 10"c-cam driver.

1st question, does the sub NEED to be worked in?

I have the sub box turned up to max and +2 on my amp below and its still quite low.

As it stand at the moment I feel that my Old Gale 5 sub showed more punch and noticable bass.

I am probably being paranoid, as I never had a Sub of this caliber before, just want to make sure this is normal and things will get louder and tighter.

Have tried R & B music and you do get the nice bass, but again everything needs to be turned up to max, to notice it.

Thanks

If this is normal, then whats the best movie to work the sub out, dark night, star trek ,ind day, matrix?

 

[Anonymous]

This is probably going to be a stupid question Canada, but have you re run the auto setup routine ? (MCACC)

 

[Anonymous]

canada16:

Hey, I got the R370HD hooked up and it has a 10"c-cam driver.

1st question, does the sub NEED to be worked in?

I have the sub box turned up to max and +2 on my amp below and its still quite low.

As it stand at the moment I feel that my Old Gale 5 sub showed more punch and noticable bass.

I am probably being paranoid, as I never had a Sub of this caliber before, just want to make sure this is normal and things will get louder and tighter.

Have tried R & B music and you do get the nice bass, but again everything needs to be turned up to max, to notice it.

Thanks

If this is normal, then whats the best movie to work the sub out, dark night, star trek ,ind day, matrix?

Hi Canada

As with any speaker the cones will need worked in as you put it but

No way should you need the Sub at Max volume , rule of thumb is to set Volume / Gain on the Sub at the 11 o;clock position then

Not sure of you amp but normally would run any EQ system on the amp , or if it doesnt have any ,set up your system up with a sound meter then reduce master volume on the amp as required

Go back to David at your dealer for more expert advice , thats what he is there for

Regards

Andy

 

[Anonymous]

THE_FORCE:This is probably going to be a stupid question Canada, but have you re run the auto setup routine ? (MCACC)

Just done it, and it seems to be 10x better.

The bass is so melow, almost like background ambience, Seems almost natural, like a bus going by and shaking the house.

I assume its working.

Thanks guys, I remember I had to re-run it when I bought a new speaker last time.

 

[Anonymous]

Nice one ! Enjoy.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Hi canada

Sorry I haven't been able to reply earlier - took me over 2 hours to get into work!

I know it's sorted, but yes, all speakers and subs need to be run in. This could be anything from 20 hours to over 100 for some subs and higher end speakers.

Once your sub has run in, give 50 hours or so, do the autio set up again as your subs character may well have changed a little by then.

Regards

David

 

[Anonymous]

Ok, I have no idea what I am doing.

The sound is so low on the sub its going to my ear and buzzing, and its annoying.

My room is as such, that I cant put the sub by the TV, so it has to go near the sofa.

I put it beside the sofa about 1 meter from were I sit, Not in a corner, and the sound it like a super low bass (everytime)

Should I pull out the L shape sofa and stick it in the corner there?

Any rule of thumb, besides by the TV.

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

What do you mean it's going to your ear and buzzing lol ? Sorry to laugh mate but that did make me giggle.

When you say it's low, do you mean in volume ? Or it's playing very low frequencies ? Does it sound too boomy ?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi.

Dont worry mate, It sounds very boomy, no tight bass at all, maybe becuse its out in the open, or just not in its sweet spot.

Did not want to move the sofa as it will stick out, becuase of the sub, but if its got to be done....

I just wanted it out, as it looks so sweet.

 

[matengawhat]

first thing would say is if its making your head hurt its to loud - also you will find that it sounds louder in certain places so have a good walk round your room

 

[Anonymous]

matengawhat:first thing would say is if its making your head hurt its to loud - also you will find that it sounds louder in certain places so have a good walk round your room

Indeedy.

First rule of thumb is if you're doing any volume adjustment with a sub, then do it via your AV Receiver, and not your sub. The reason being that, especially with the MA subs volume control being on the top of it, it can get easily knocked, or little fingers might fancy playing with it at some point. If that happens, the last thing you want to be doing is trying to get that ideal volume again via the subs knob.

So put the subs volume knob to the 12 O'clock position which is an ideal reference point, then if it gets moved you can easily switch it back there. Then do your volume adjustment on the Pioneer.

 

[matengawhat]

12 o'clock is a good starting point but depends if you are also using it for music connected to a stereo amp as well - some have dual controls for hc and stereo some don't, you may also have to alter it if your sub has an auto on setting but doesn't always wake up but can advise on that if an issue!

could also be down to your cross over setting if to big a gap between the stand mounts and sub you can also find it a very tiring listen

 

[Anonymous]

matengawhat:
you may also have to alter it if your sub has an auto on setting but doesn't always wake up but can advise on that if an issue!

The sub's auto-on feature gets triggered by the input signal being fed to it - not by what it's own volume control is set to. Alot of subs don't 'wake up' at very low volumes understandably - you just need to crank the AVR/Amp's volume a bit to initialize it.

 

[Anonymous]

Well I moved it across the room and still no change, very low bass, and seems like you need a big explosion for it to register.

Not sure if its becuase its new.

Put the amp to crossover at 80 and the sub is turned up to max for the crossover with the volume at 12oclock.

The phase is set to 180.

Seems like its all there, and when it gets going it gets going, but seems like it takes a lot for it to go, and I cant hear the little bass notes from either postion.

 

[matengawhat]

have you tried altering the phase on it? also is should crossover at about 15% above the speakers lowest point so would suggest trying it at about 60htz

 

[Anonymous]

Make sure that the Low Pass Filter switch at the back of the unit is set to the 'OUT' position aswell, which allows the Pioneer AVR to take care of the Xover settings. This will render the Xover control on the subwoofer inactive - which is what you want.

Like matengawhat said, experiment with different Xover settings on your AVR. I have mine set to 80hz all round - not because that's the THX recommendation, but because to me it just sounds 'right' .

 

[Anonymous]

I will try that thanks.

I assume the cable can only go into the LFE marked socket and none of the other ones?

So LFE out, and what about phase? 0 degrees or 180?

 

[Anonymous]

Yep. The only input to be used if you're using a single RCA connector cable from your AVR is the one marked LFE/R on the sub.

Generally, Phase should be set to 0 - this means that the subwoofer and your speaker cones are moving backwards and forwards in sync with each other, which should in theory yield the optimum bass output. However, due to both listening position and subwoofer placement, it might be neccessary to switch it to 180 to achieve a tighter sound.

Play some nice R&B or Funk for a couple of minutes with both of the phase settings whilst in your listening position, and see which one sounds best to you.

 

[Anonymous]

I might be being dumb but here it goes....

As I said before I have never owned a sub this good, and not sure how it is supposed to sound, so let me try explain and you can say if its right.

Its not supposed to react to everything like my old gale 5, it should be natural, with a low tone, and then when the tight bass kicks in, then and only then the subwoofer starts going.

Like I said, the sound seems natural and mellow, but when a gun shot is fired then you do hear a pop.

My gale that I have, went off with everthing, I think it was 10 years old, and the bass on that was tight, but this one seems mellow.

Thanks for that.

Oh and PS...... I have run MCACC, Is it me or does it not know how to do subwoofers, the speakers are ok, but the sub was set to -15db out of -15db, so thats prettty much off, I had to then put to -7, and still could not really hear much, then went to 0db and now its ok.

It did this with the old sub as well?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi again mate. First of all it's really dependent on what type of material you're playing or watching. From what you're describing, it sounds about right for a subwoofer of that size. Do you really want all your items in the room rattling and falling off the shelves ?!

Have you got a CD of frequency sweep test tones at all ? If not google for it, and play it through your AVR, either via MP3 or burn it to a CD etc. You will most certainly know if your sub is working correctly when you do - both by hearing and seeing !

Oh and don't worry about the Pioneer's Auto setup routine not getting the volume settings correct. My Audyssey didn't either !

EDIT: Just seen your AVR has a Phase Control option on the receiver itself. Have you tried switching between it's default 'on' postition and 'off' ?

 

[Big Chris]

I think you're getting used to the new sub's approach. It's about subtlety and timing, not about boom and bluster. If you turn it off even in dialogue heavy sections, you'll undoubtedly notice its absence.

 

[Anonymous]

Well if thats the case its working I guess, just not use to my base being so subtle and timed.

Maybe the stuff I am listning too just has deep base.

I have turned the phase off and on as well, really appreciate your help, will try that test tome thing.

 

[cwalduck]

canada16:

I might be being dumb but here it goes....

As I said before I have never owned a sub this good, and not sure how it is supposed to sound, so let me try explain and you can say if its right.

Its not supposed to react to everything like my old gale 5, it should be natural, with a low tone, and then when the tight bass kicks in, then and only then the subwoofer starts going.

Like I said, the sound seems natural and mellow, but when a gun shot is fired then you do hear a pop.

My gale that I have, went off with everthing, I think it was 10 years old, and the bass on that was tight, but this one seems mellow.

Thanks for that.

Oh and PS...... I have run MCACC, Is it me or does it not know how to do subwoofers, the speakers are ok, but the sub was set to -15db out of -15db, so thats prettty much off, I had to then put to -7, and still could not really hear much, then went to 0db and now its ok.

It did this with the old sub as well?

You really have to turn down your sub's volume and recalibrate if you still get -15db turn it down some more and recalibrate again. You will be over driving the sub and the pop you mention hearing is the cone hitting the end stop (this is bad).

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry, didnt mean a pop like the speaker is about to break, like pop gun shot, short tight bass.

Just watched the dark night, and that was quite bassy.

When he shot the bricks with that gun in his workshop, sounded like someone shot my house, so i guess its working.

The MCACC was run at 11 oclock on the sub, so that is turned down, Should I turn it down more?

 

[Anonymous]

canada16:
When he shot the bricks with that gun in his workshop, sounded like someone shot my house,

Pretty safe to say that it might be working !!

Have you got The Hulk on BD at all ? If so, try sticking that on for a bit of fun.