Help with Onkyo sub

[OnlyMe123]

Hi all,
I'm after a bit of advice with an Onkyo sub.
I have two subs connected to my Onkyo TX-NR626, one of which is an Onkyo SKW-501E. But this Onkyo sub's protection circuit keeps coming on (randomly it seems, but more and more frequently too). Now, if I reset the sub, it seems to work again for a while but sadly not indefinitely.
So I'm wondering if this is a common problem and if it's fixable.
I also wondered if the problem might be worked around by connecting both of my subs to just one of the amp's pre-out sockets using a splitter? Of course, I realise that this would only help if the problem is with the amp rather than the sub, so I guess it depends on whether anyone has any pointers on what might be going wrong.
Thanks in advance for any guidance.
Paul.

 

[OnlyMe123]

Thought of something just after writing my post - on the off-chance that one of the two pre-outs on the amp is to blame, I've swapped over the two subs so that they're now using the pre-out that they weren't previously using (!!) I'll let you know if the Onkyo sub's protection circuit still trips on.

 

[TLS Guy]

Thought of something just after writing my post - on the off-chance that one of the two pre-outs on the amp is to blame, I've swapped over the two subs so that they're now using the pre-out that they weren't previously using (!!) I'll let you know if the Onkyo sub's protection circuit still trips on.

It would be very unlikely the preout would cause the sub to go into protection. The switching power supplies of subs are renowned for these sort of issues.

Your options are a new sub, buy a different plate amp and modify your sub to take it, or to use an external amp and mount speaker terminals on your sub.

Since that is not a sub of repute, you might want to consider a much better sub.

 

[OnlyMe123]

Hmmmm.
If the fault is with the protection circuit, is it possible to turn this function off? There is no obvious way to turn it off, but I wondered if there might be a convoluted sequence of button pushes that might do it. Either that or is it possible to remove the protection circuit altogether if I was to open up the unit? Having to physically turn on the sub is far easier on the pocket than buying a new sub. (Of course, this depends entirely on whether the protection circuit is, in fact, to blame.)

 

[TLS Guy]

Hmmmm.
If the fault is with the protection circuit, is it possible to turn this function off? There is no obvious way to turn it off, but I wondered if there might be a convoluted sequence of button pushes that might do it. Either that or is it possible to remove the protection circuit altogether if I was to open up the unit? Having to physically turn on the sub is far easier on the pocket than buying a new sub. (Of course, this depends entirely on whether the protection circuit is, in fact, to blame.)

No, the problem is most likely in the power supply. You can NOT turn off protection. That is there to stop your house burning down under fault conditions. Protection circuits activate when there is excess current draw.

In fact you should not be using that sub at all. It is very unwise to use equipment going into protection.

 

[OnlyMe123]

Yikes. Well, I guess that's the decision made then.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[OnlyMe123]

A quick follow-up question: are protection circuits fixable? (By a professional, I mean, rather than me just 'having a go'!)

 

[Pogre]

A quick follow-up question: are protection circuits fixable? (By a professional, I mean, rather than me just 'having a go'!)

In my limited understanding, no. The protection circuit is there to protect the amp from shorts (and other issues I assume). Your problem likely has nothing to do with the actual circuit at all. Most likely a short in there somewhere.

 

[TLS Guy]

A quick follow-up question: are protection circuits fixable? (By a professional, I mean, rather than me just 'having a go'!)

The protection circuit is not the problem. There is another circuit that is not working correctly activating the protection circuit.

Most things are potentially fixable. However it is very hard to find techs, and even more to the point, the labor costs will exceed the cost of that sub by a big margin.

That sub needs a one way trip to the recycling center.

By the way this thread has gone, you need to stay well out of that sub.