T

tygger

Audiophyte
Purchased some budget small speakers and sub for a small room. The speakers are a pair of Edifier 1850DB with a sub-out and the sub is a Monoprice SSW-10. (sorry can't post links yet)

I'm using a 3.5mm to RCA cable connected to the Edifier's sub-out and the sub's RCA line-in. Tried using both the L and R channels and also just the L for LFE signal. I'm not getting any sound out of the sub, even with the crossover adjusted to 150mhz and gain all the way up.

I tried connecting the sub to my Pioneer avr and the volume is very low without adjusting any settings. The current sub on this setup sounds fine.

Any ideas on what's going on? Thanks

Thanks
 
WaynePflughaupt

WaynePflughaupt

Audioholic Samurai
Sadly, the Edifier’s manual does not specify what kind of 3.5 mm jack is used with its subwoofer output. There are mono and stereo versions. You can‘t use a stereo plug with a mono jack, and vice-versa.

That said, if the Monoprice sub isn’t working with the Pioneer either, that strongly suggests it’s broken.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
 
T

tygger

Audiophyte
Sadly, the Edifier’s manual does not specify what kind of 3.5 mm jack is used with its subwoofer output. There are mono and stereo versions. You can‘t use a stereo plug with a mono jack, and vice-versa.

That said, if the Monoprice sub isn’t working with the Pioneer either, that strongly suggests it’s broken.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
Thanks. I tested the Edifier pre-out with a known good working sub and found no issue. Seems to be isolated to the sub.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Thanks. I tested the Edifier pre-out with a known good working sub and found no issue. Seems to be isolated to the sub.
So the Edifer name has now come up twice with three reports of a serious design error in the last 24 hours. I have never heard this name, but its now on my radar, certainly looks like and enemy siting.

I can be certain you issue is a gain structure issue in the sub amp and I'm pretty sure the issue in the other thread is a gain structure issue.
So Edifer at the very least have engineers who need educating on gain structure in the design of audio equipment. I would bet there are other issues lurking. Sounds as if this outfit is a junk audio purveyor and to be avoided.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
So the Edifer name has now come up twice with three reports of a serious design error in the last 24 hours. I have never heard this name, but its now on my radar, certainly looks like and enemy siting.

I can be certain you issue is a gain structure issue in the sub amp and I'm pretty sure the issue in the other thread is a gain structure issue.
So Edifer at the very least have engineers who need educating on gain structure in the design of audio equipment. I would bet there are other issues lurking. Sounds as if this outfit is a junk audio purveyor and to be avoided.
Edifier has gotten some good reviews on their active speakers. As the OP noted, seems it's the Monoprice sub with issues.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Edifier has gotten some good reviews on their active speakers. As the OP noted, seems it's the Monoprice sub with issues.
I have looked at this closer.

That Monoprice is a miserable piece of you know what. It quotes and FR down to 25 Hz, but 25 Hz is the 10 db down point. So that actually means the sub has a falling response around 50 Hz. So it is NOT a sub at all. I suspect there is a lot of ripple and the miserable thing is just designed to give out some sort of ponk or honk at around 80 Hz.

Now the Edifer active speaker does not have a variable crossover. They quote a response down to 60 Hz, which for a ported 4" speaker could well be the 3 db point.

Since there is not high pass on the Edifer I suspect the cross out to the sub is around 60 Hz, so that would make that Monoprice sub virtually silent and useless.

Yes, people do need to be far more circumspect purchasing this sort of gear.

Edifer by the way do quote a not very spectacular S/N of 85 db, so that tells me they are really shopping at the bottom end of the market for there OP amps and IC power amps. From the specs, I can guarantee the power amps are the cheapest of the cheapest of IC horrors. Not likely to be known for longevity of you turn them up much.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I have looked at this closer.

That Monoprice is a miserable piece of you know what. It quotes and FR down to 25 Hz, but 25 Hz is the 10 db down point. So that actually means the sub has a falling response around 50 Hz. So it is NOT a sub at all. I suspect there is a lot of ripple and the miserable thing is just designed to give out some sort of ponk or honk at around 80 Hz.

Now the Edifer active speaker does not have a variable crossover. They quote a response down to 60 Hz, which for a ported 4" speaker could well be the 3 db point.

Since there is not high pass on the Edifer I suspect the cross out to the sub is around 60 Hz, so that would make that Monoprice sub virtually silent and useless.

Yes, people do need to be far more circumspect purchasing this sort of gear.

Edifer by the way do quote a not very spectacular S/N of 85 db, so that tells me they are really shopping at the bottom end of the market for there OP amps and IC power amps. From the specs, I can guarantee the power amps are the cheapest of the cheapest of IC horrors. Not likely to be known for longevity of you turn them up much.
It's not only an inexpensive sub, it's a low profile design that's meant for use in tight spaces like under a couch, so it's got challenges as a sub in a couple ways. Same for the Edifier speakers, they're inexpensive active speakers. Can only expect so much in such....
 
WaynePflughaupt

WaynePflughaupt

Audioholic Samurai
Edifer by the way do quote a not very spectacular S/N of 85 db...
And adding insult to injury, it’s a dBA spec! A more honest unweighted spec could 10 dB or more worse.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
It's not only an inexpensive sub, it's a low profile design that's meant for use in tight spaces like under a couch, so it's got challenges as a sub in a couple ways. Same for the Edifier speakers, they're inexpensive active speakers. Can only expect so much in such....
The problem is that the product is useless. Most bookshelf speakers have a better bass performance than that sub. So it comes to a point were producing a unit like that is a total waste of the precious resources of the Earth, and it becomes a morality issue. So straight up I will say the production of that unit is immoral and not only because it is deceptive.

Producing a sub that small is actually an expensive proposition. You would need a very expensive driver with a big motor system a very powerful amp and bags of Eq.
Bob Carver did it, and in a conversation I had with him when he visited my Grand Forks studio he told me something very surprising. There is a finite limit to a small sub. He told me in his lab working on it he got totally surprised by a massive boom. He investigated and found that the rate of change of pressure had produced a sonic boom the same as produced by fighter planes breaking the sound barrier.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
The problem is that the product is useless. Most bookshelf speakers have a better bass performance than that sub. So it comes to a point were producing a unit like that is a total waste of the precious resources of the Earth, and it becomes a morality issue. So straight up I will say the production of that unit is immoral and not only because it is deceptive.

Producing a sub that small is actually an expensive proposition. You would need a very expensive driver with a big motor system a very powerful amp and bags of Eq.
Bob Carver did it, and in a conversation I had with him when he visited my Grand Forks studio he told me something very surprising. There is a finite limit to a small sub. He told me in his lab working on it he got totally surprised by a massive boom. He investigated and found that the rate of change of pressure had produced a sonic boom the same as produced by fighter planes breaking the sound barrier.
LOL can't think of consumer electronics as being particularly moral or not compared to those who might be manufacturing, distributing and selling and buying such, and excessive consumption of gear by many here I suppose makes us all a bit immoral. Like having two homes and multiple vehicles etc...excessive use of resources, there, too, isn't it....do you consider yourself immoral? I really can't see the gear itself as immoral, tho. Like no such thing as audiophile gear as is often bandied about, but rather gear owned and or lusted for by audiophiles.

Hoffman's Iron Law applies to subs particularly....and even Bob's tiny subs won't fit under most couches. Might be WAF demanded for that form factor, have only seen a couple offerings of such in any case. Far more "immorality" in bullshit high end audio IMO.
 
T

tygger

Audiophyte
Well I had the unit RMA'd so we'll see if the new unit is any better. I'm using this budget setup for a small kitchen area so I can't have the equipment visible. Planning to hide everything above the kitchen cabinets. I'm not going for audiophile quality here, but hopefully the sub can help with the lows.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Well I had the unit RMA'd so we'll see if the new unit is any better. I'm using this budget setup for a small kitchen area so I can't have the equipment visible. Planning to hide everything above the kitchen cabinets. I'm not going for audiophile quality here, but hopefully the sub can help with the lows.
As I pointed out. That sub is NOT a sub, not even close. From the spec. you can tell it will not play significantly lower than your speakers.
 
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