Do you set the subwoofer volume knob to max?

[Deleted member 69358]

Being a bit older, I am from the era where you were never supposed to turn your volume up much more than halfway otherwise you will end up with distortion and possibly damaged speakers. Basically if it wasn't loud enough at half volume, but a more powerful amp or better speakers. This was the rule for even quality amps like Kenwood and Pioneer. Maybe an old wives tale, but I always followed that rule. IIRC correctly it was also something about headroom. Plus the fact I could never be in the same room even at half volume with my preference for large high efficiency speakers.

So now I am always a little stressed bringing the volume up to -20 for movies, but am slowly accepting the concept.

What I am not sure about is the volume knob on the subwoofer. With my old HTIB 12" infinity, I never had to turn it up more than halfway because half seemed abotu as loud as it could go. With my new JBL 120p and 550p subs, I seem to have to turn up to almost max.

Are subs designed for the volume to be at max?

Also, do the volume knobs different on newer stuff. The older receivers seems to have a longer curve on the volume control. My ew Pioneers and Onkyo amps all are barely audible until -4 than huge jumps in volume for each increase.

Interesting also that volume ramp the cheap Fosi amp I bought is more like the older amps I have had in the past.

 

[pablolie]

My sub is at 20% tops. Boominess is not my thing.

 

[mSpot]

You shouldn't care about the actual position of the subwoofer volume knob. You should set it to whatever level so that the subwoofer output matches and blends well with the output of the main speakers (either from measurement, or by ear to your listening preference).

It does seem unusual that you feel a need to set it to max, unless you really, really like emphasized bass. Perhaps your subs are receiving a low input signal for some reason. Describe your setup and connections in more detail.

 

[ryanosaur]

If you have to turn the Sub gain that high, you need a better Sub!

 

[Chrispy]

Depends on the sub's amp as to how to set the gain, it would be unusual to need it at full IME, but many have no particular issue with doing so. How are you setting levels with speakers? What gear do you have to manage the sub? I have a variety of subs, for those with plate amps I only need 25-30% of the range for level matching. Some of my rack amps aren't quite as sensitive so have those turned up more, closer to full.

 

[Deleted member 69358]

My sub is at 20% tops. Boominess is not my thing.

 

[Deleted member 69358]

Sub is a JBL 550p receiver is a VSX-LX505 and source is an older Roku.. I am beginning to think maybe it is the Roku and it doesn't have the passthrough feature that the newer one does.

 

[sam_adams]

You should run the MCACC calibration again and note the subwoofer trim level setting. If it is positive (+xdB), adjust the subwoofer level up a bit on the subwoofer amp. Run the MCACC calibration again and note the trim level. What you should be aiming for is an AVR internal subwoofer trim level of about -8db to -10dB (The internal trim level is from +12db to -15db.). This will allow adequate headroom in the AVR to prevent clipping of the preamp output and the subwoofer input.

 

[Deleted member 69358]

You should run the MCACC calibration again and note the subwoofer trim level setting. If it is positive (+xdB), adjust the subwoofer level up a bit on the subwoofer amp. Run the MCACC calibration again and note the trim level. What you should be aiming for is an AVR internal subwoofer trim level of about -8db to -10dB (The internal trim level is from +12db to -15db.). This will allow adequate headroom in the AVR to prevent clipping of the preamp output and the subwoofer input.

At what volume do I set the sub at when I run MCACC?

 

[ryanosaur]

At what volume do I set the sub at when I run MCACC?

I haven’t used mcacc but general rule of thumb is to start with Sub Gain set to 50%. Adjust as described above to get the AVR trim level to read around -8 to -10.

 

[OldHvyMec]

I can't make out what you are doing so maybe explaining what I USE and how I use will help.

I match my subs, bass and monitors very closely. Mains are at 92%, Bass Columns are 92% and my subs are 91% all at 8 ohms and 1 meter.

I use normal low level inputs and a HIGH quality well built RCA cable for both L/R on subs and only left or right on bass columns. I've had a LOT
of problems with friends and customers using a bad cable or worse aluminum with copper clad RCA that cannot carry a diecent signal to make the
sub (in particular) perform consistently.

When they would start and the volume was down the sub plates sometimes wouldn't even auto activate with an input signal, THAT was the clue!

Supposing there is not a signal problem, BUT the XO point was REAL low like 30-50hz you might have to turn a smaller sub up IF the efficiency
was considerably lower than the mains. Ex; 86% subs vs 92% mains. People think that isn't a problem. By match the efficiency of the speakers it
eliminates a lot of issues especially with horns. I alway match them it's just a pain unless your running dual remotes and that still SUCKS!

I've been able to tune rooms at a given volume but turn it up or down and a separate problem arises. That is the main reason, in the long run for me.

At 20% or 100% volume ALL the speakers stay at the same level so the same peaks and dips exist. The problem, MOST subs add distortion to the
mix as you turn them up via GAIN on the plate. The higher the gain the higher the distortion to the drivers, it's a death spiral for fidelity because of
a poor initial choice.

Raise the XO point and or reverse the polarity. Move the sub. Check your ears. I don't use a modified signal to my plates, nor do I use the LTE (?)
or a modified baffle step unless it's made for my subs, like Rythmiks. If you turn it UP it's inherently unnatural to music and I don't watch TV or
HT it. If I concert I use a 2.2/4 system. 2 mains, two bass towers, 4-6 12" servo drivers per 300sf or so (close).

Try 100db with a TT and keep the needle in the groove at 25hz. LOL You ever watch bull riding or barrel racing? Close.

Oh. Oh, Oh. I haven't had boom in a room for 40 years either. That is an easy fix with passive radiators, removing boost, or XO points to high
for subs. VERY common. Subs are subs, use them for just that, unless you have subs made for panels 250hz <

Happy hunting.

 

[Deleted member 69358]

I can't make out what you are doing so maybe explaining what I USE and how I use will help.

I match my subs, bass and monitors very closely. Mains are at 92%, Bass Columns are 92% and my subs are 91% all at 8 ohms and 1 meter.

I use normal low level inputs and a HIGH quality well built RCA cable for both L/R on subs and only left or right on bass columns. I've had a LOT
of problems with friends and customers using a bad cable or worse aluminum with copper clad RCA that cannot carry a diecent signal to make the
sub (in particular) perform consistently.

When they would start and the volume was down the sub plates sometimes wouldn't even auto activate with an input signal, THAT was the clue!

Supposing there is not a signal problem, BUT the XO point was REAL low like 30-50hz you might have to turn a smaller sub up IF the efficiency
was considerably lower than the mains. Ex; 86% subs vs 92% mains. People think that isn't a problem. By match the efficiency of the speakers it
eliminates a lot of issues especially with horns. I alway match them it's just a pain unless your running dual remotes and that still SUCKS!

I've been able to tune rooms at a given volume but turn it up or down and a separate problem arises. That is the main reason, in the long run for me.

At 20% or 100% volume ALL the speakers stay at the same level so the same peaks and dips exist. The problem, MOST subs add distortion to the
mix as you turn them up via GAIN on the plate. The higher the gain the higher the distortion to the drivers, it's a death spiral for fidelity because of
a poor initial choice.

Raise the XO point and or reverse the polarity. Move the sub. Check your ears. I don't use a modified signal to my plates, nor do I use the LTE (?)
or a modified baffle step unless it's made for my subs, like Rythmiks. If you turn it UP it's inherently unnatural to music and I don't watch TV or
HT it. If I concert I use a 2.2/4 system. 2 mains, two bass towers, 4-6 12" servo drivers per 300sf or so (close).

Try 100db with a TT and keep the needle in the groove at 25hz. LOL You ever watch bull riding or barrel racing? Close.

Oh. Oh, Oh. I haven't had boom in a room for 40 years either. That is an easy fix with passive radiators, removing boost, or XO points to high
for subs. VERY common. Subs are subs, use them for just that, unless you have subs made for panels 250hz <

Happy hunting.

The big issue I had is that with the sub set to crossover at 80 and watching movies literally nothing was coming from the sub, putting my hand on it and it was like it was turned off. Have to turn the volume up all the way to even get a slight rumble. Setting the crossover to 150 got me a lot of rumble

I had forgotten I set the Roku to "leveling" for HBO/MAX and it appears that the dynamic compression most likely chopped off a lot of bass under 80hz.

I had similar problems with the newer Roku in the downstairs system always sending ATMOS but then discovered the passthrough setting and let the receiver handle the decoding. The older Roku does not have the passthrough setting.

I think the overall issue is that the Roku negotiates the capability but not the current setting of the AVR. for example, the ATMOS signal is sent because the Onkyo downstairs supports it but it is only set for 5.1.

 

[Palmspar]

When i run audyssey multeq xt32 with the app there is a test to set the gain on the subwoofer at its best.
The loudspeaker symbol must be in the green zone and its between -20 and -15 gain on the hypex FA501 amp.
With gain level at -20 the trim level is -1.5db and gain -15 is trim level -5.5 db, on a denon x3400h