Yamaha 2600 and PC-13 Ultra - having some trouble

[mikey d]

I purchased a PC-13 ultra and it arrived on Monday. I am quite underwhelmed and think its something to do with my system. The first thing I did after plugging it in is do auto-config, I went through and set the speakers back to small, crossover at 80, LFE should only be going to sub. I got the SPL out also and made sure everything was matched correctly.

the Ultra in 20hz tune played the test tones just fine and hit 75db, I actually set it to 80 just to run a little hot.
When watching movies, listening or listening to music I have nearly non existent bass. If I set my Mains to Large and push the bass out both of them I can barely tell if the sub is on.

Ive placed the sub in several different locations including the one the old sub occupied and worked well in.
The old 200w sub actually seems to be working better than the Ultra but its old, there's some solder fail and it cuts out or gets quiet until you tweak the buttons and nobs a bit.

At this point Im thinking my receiver is the problem. I tried using the front pre out to get a different sound source and it worked until I applied filters on the ultra, its like the Yamaha isn't outputting any low frequencies. I reset it to defaults and returned but no improvement. I also purchased a new cable to connect the sub up with just for the sake of testing.

Im going to hook up an extra dvd player tomorrow and hope the ps3 is the problem
I emailed SVS for ideas also.

I'm not sure what else to do or look at. Im bummed out....


audio/video source is ps3 optical to the rx-v2600. Ive tested with hdmi audio form the ps3, same result.
axiom m80 vp150 qs8 speakers.

 

[ReUpRo]

You seem to have settings configured right. If the sub can play the test tone at 80dB, your connections are good too. Have you disabled the crossover in the sub? There is no high pass filter in play?

it worked until I applied filters on the ultra

Can you elaborate on this?

The only way to remove your setup as a variable is to try the sub on a different system. Is that an option?

I'm curious to see what SVS says.

 

[mikey d]

I ran a cable from the front channel pre out on the receiver to to the sub. Plenty of sound came out but it was all mid range frequencies. When I put the Ultra's lowpass filter on at 80hz there was literally no low end, I moved the AVR's crossover while doing this.

I think I will try this directly from the dvd player also unless its not advisable.

 

[ReUpRo]

When I put the Ultra's lowpass filter on at 80hz there was literally no low end, I moved the AVR's crossover while doing this.

Use the subwoofer out on the receiver and disable the low pass filter (crossover) on the subwoofer.

 

[mikey d]

yah that show I would normally have a sub setup. I was just trying anything and everything I could think of.

 

[mikey d]

Thought I would put out an update.

Location Location Location. The previous ideal location for a sub doesn't work currently. My wife saves things, we have kids clothes in boxes. They recently moved from the attic and spare room to an area adjacent to where the sub lives. Were talking a 3x5 rectangle nearly to the ceiling. The other idea sub position that worked before was also adjacent to these same boxes. The only other corner available is home of the tv and front left speaker. I ended up moving over everything so the sub could fit in that location and BAM!! I had bass. I tossed in Transformers, it has a nice choppers, jets and a battle scene right in the opening that had my smiling.

I wouldn't have though these boxes would be a problem but I have no other explanation.
The wife just read over my shoulder and is upset that everyone will think we are dirty hoarders. where boxs are location is pretty stealth due to the house layout, you dont even see them unless you are heading for the master bedroom.

 

[ReUpRo]

Thanks for the update. Glad it got resolved and you're happy. Don't forget to rerun auto setup so that the receiver can learn the new distance from subwoofer to listening position. It may make the sub even better sounding.

Were talking a 3x5 rectangle nearly to the ceiling.

Wait what? Your sub is dancing on the ceiling?

 

[mikey d]

What db level are you all listening at when you describe your subwoofers causing slam and impact, drywall to flexing, shaking foundations and so on.? After reading peoples reviews here I feel like I am missing out on something. I think the PC13ultra sounds fantastic, but I don't often get the level tactile feedback people talk about here.

 

[3db]

Thought I would put out an update.

Location Location Location. The previous ideal location for a sub doesn't work currently. My wife saves things, we have kids clothes in boxes. They recently moved from the attic and spare room to an area adjacent to where the sub lives. Were talking a 3x5 rectangle nearly to the ceiling. The other idea sub position that worked before was also adjacent to these same boxes. The only other corner available is home of the tv and front left speaker. I ended up moving over everything so the sub could fit in that location and BAM!! I had bass. I tossed in Transformers, it has a nice choppers, jets and a battle scene right in the opening that had my smiling.

I wouldn't have though these boxes would be a problem but I have no other explanation.
The wife just read over my shoulder and is upset that everyone will think we are dirty hoarders. where boxs are location is pretty stealth due to the house layout, you dont even see them unless you are heading for the master bedroom.

Tell your wife that nobody thinks hoarding is involved. I'm about to embark on a massive house decluttering exercise myself. I have done this several times before and it's a normal process as the family grows.

 

[mikey d]

Maybe I should have started a new post, this is outside the original issues.

As a side note the boxes are mostly gone, we give the baby clothes to people we know who are expecting.