Onkyo TX-RZ50 Review (Home Theater AVR)

[Abstracted]

My RZ50 doesn't trigger my SVS sub until volume 29. What can I do to fix that?

 

[vivid]

My RZ50 doesn't trigger my SVS sub until volume 29. What can I do to fix that?

Set SVS SUB to ON (from "Auto").

 

[vivid]

Can anyone using DL on their RZ50 confirm that they don't have "Bass Management" as shown in the yellow rectangle in the pic below?

No, it's not available on RZ50. But on RZ70 is. Even if you do not buy DL license. Additional DL license enables last checkbox "get full Bass Control".

 

[MbphotoX]

My RZ50 doesn't trigger my SVS sub until volume 29. What can I do to fix that?

re-run the calibration with the GAIN on the subwoofer set to a lower value.

It's totally fine if the AV-Receiver has the subwoofer at +6 dB
(unless you watch movies at 0 dB reference level)

 

[Abstracted]

re-run the calibration with the GAIN on the subwoofer set to a lower value.

It's totally fine if the AV-Receiver has the subwoofer at +6 dB
(unless you watch movies at 0 dB reference level)

Thanks!
But I can think of 3 gains that can be adjusted, and I'm not sure which one you're referring to:

• Volume knob on the sub (currently 2/3 full)
• RZ50 speaker level calibration setting (currently -15db)
• or the volume level in the Dirac software?

 

[MbphotoX]

Thanks!
But I can think of 3 gains that can be adjusted, and I'm not sure which one you're referring to:

• Volume knob on the sub (currently 2/3 full)
• RZ50 speaker level calibration setting (currently -15db)
• or the volume level in the Dirac software?

that's why I specifically said to adjust the GAIN on the subwoofer. (Apparently, they changed that to "Volume" because people are clueless..)

2/3 full means the subwoofer adds a LOT of gain to the incoming signal. Therefore, the Receiver will send a low-current signal to not produce too loud of a bass tone.
Low current = subwoofer will not activate.

GAIN on the subwoofer should be at around 9 o'clock.
That will require the receiver to send higher current to the sub to reach the same volume. Therefore, the auto-on feature will activate at much lower volume settings.

 

[Abstracted]

that's why I specifically said to adjust the GAIN on the subwoofer. (Apparently, they changed that to "Volume" because people are clueless..)

2/3 full means the subwoofer adds a LOT of gain to the incoming signal. Therefore, the Receiver will send a low-current signal to not produce too loud of a bass tone.
Low current = subwoofer will not activate.

GAIN on the subwoofer should be at around 9 o'clock.
That will require the receiver to send higher current to the sub to reach the same volume. Therefore, the auto-on feature will activate at much lower volume settings.

Great! Thanks a lot for your clarification!

Maybe I can lower the gain down to 9 o'clock on the sub, but increase the sub speaker level in the RZ50, to offset the decreased Gain, and eliminate rerunning Dirac?

 

[MbphotoX]

Great! Thanks a lot for your clarification!

Maybe I can lower the gain down to 9 o'clock on the sub, but increase the sub speaker level in the RZ50, to offset the decreased Gain, and eliminate rerunning Dirac?

your receiver has set the sub to -15dB, that's as low as it can go.
It's possible that the sub is still too loud for all we know.

if you have a proper SPL meter, you could try adjusting the volume accordingly, I suppose.
(measure with the spl setting of the receiver, then turn gain down and see how many dB quieter it is (measured), then turn subwoofer in receiver up by the same number to get it back to the original level. You want it around +/-0 in the receiver)

 

[Agapetos]

Shout out for still rocking LSi15's ... I have a pair for my dedicated music listening setup (with an Anthem D1 I bought used for $300, and an OG Adcom GFA-555 I've had forever, and a Paradigm Defiance 15, w/crossover on the D1 at 80Hz) and I've loved them for music listening for many years now. Absolutely fantastic speakers for what they cost, esp. what you can find them priced for on the used market. They are SO smooth and balanced sounding, I never get listening fatigue, and they cast an amazing soundstage with a well-recorded stuff. I'll never sell these things.

That said, for my music listening, I'd not try to power them on an AVR unless it was on a very beefy flagship unit from the distant past ... I've tried in the past and other than AVR's with VERY beefy power amp sections it's always been ... eh. Need a dedicated amp that pumps out a ton of power and is stable down to 2Ohm. Even with an 80Hz crossover, IMHO. Something along the lines of a GFA-555.

Surely would not be expecting a $1300 AVR from 2022 to be up to the task, esp. not with the LCi/LSi9 needing juice as well.

Edit: I tried to use the same setup as you have for HT for a bit, but I just found the LCi to be lacking ... maybe I failed to set up properly but I just found it too 'small' sounding for my taste vs. the LSi15 and sold the LCi and LSi9's and went with something else. Wish I'd kept the LSi9's though, they're also great.

A friend of mine lend me the adcoms 555 mkii when I was first getting interested in separates. Considering it's age, never rebiased or recapped it sounded awesome... Just returned an xpa 3 gen 3 which sounded good but not any better than the adcoms, which led me to go for some budget monoblocks from outlaw, which I finally settled on, to drive some JBL 4 ohms that I'll be ordering soon....after so much research and conflicting opinions on power amps, wattage and sound signature experience....the adcoms kinda put most of that to sleep for me, especially compared to the xpa and even my rz50.... anyways, sry about the rant, just had an adcom memory come back to me, they are great!

 

[dlaloum]

A friend of mine lend me the adcoms 555 mkii when I was first getting interested in separates. Considering it's age, never rebiased or recapped it sounded awesome... Just returned an xpa 3 gen 3 which sounded good but not any better than the adcoms, which led me to go for some budget monoblocks from outlaw, which I finally settled on, to drive some JBL 4 ohms that I'll be ordering soon....after so much research and conflicting opinions on power amps, wattage and sound signature experience....the adcoms kinda put most of that to sleep for me, especially compared to the xpa and even my rz50.... anyways, sry about the rant, just had an adcom memory come back to me, they are great!

Strange - due to 555 rave reviews, I got one (555mkII) to try years ago... it was paired with a set of Klipsch Forte's (I was not game to put it in with my Quad 57's due to the risk of arcing!) - I compared it to a Quad 405... I found it disappointing, there was a hint of harshness from the 555/Klipsch pairing, where the 405/Klipsch combo was smoother...

In the end I moved both the 555 and the Klipsch speakers on... my experiment with Horns at home showed I preferred stats to horns.

My Quad 405 later was replaced with Quad 606 amp(s) - which I still own, and which is still a fantastic amp.