Having some problems calibrating sub

peuga

peuga

Full Audioholic
So, i got a JBL ht sp300 sub, it's a monster alright, out of every audio gear i've touched till now, it's the most confident and the one that feels the msot solid of all, i can shake my whole house with a bit of leeway left,

that said... i tried doing the crawl, found two spots were it accerted its presence, but one had it boost certain frequencies, but having a more full range sound, and the other was consistent, but that's it, bass is that, and only that, it wouldn't got lower, or higher. given my cable wasn't that long, i had to go with the first one, but that's far from the biggest problem, which is the output level, i assumed i'd be able to calibrate it using the Levels menu, just like all the other speakers, but, eh.., i can match every speaker within a 2 - 3 db range, as for the sub, it goes all the way to +8 db, and, let's say i set the volume to something confortable for the speakers, the sub will be on shake my house territory, that is, using a SPL meter app on a iphone, so i guess itsn't up to snuff
so i tried to do it by ear, got it to a point where it was confortable for music, so i tried a movie,
there's this scene where a girl punches a glass panel, and it shatters a bit, i used to use it to make fun of the tv speakers compared to the front stage "ha, ha, ha, tv no bass, ha, ha, ha" so i tried it with the sub, rewinded it a bit and..., i was taken a back, she was the fucking hulk, and that glass... that ain't no glass that's see through titanium

so you get the point
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I don't find that sub, altho a search brings up this thread. Maybe HT PS300 ?
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
That doesn't look like a terrible sub. I'm a little confused about the THX input that bypasses internal filtering and volume control? Sounds like LFE but I never heard of bypassing the volume control. Must be a THX thing. Looks like they recommend a Y adapter if you're not using the THX input.
 
peuga

peuga

Full Audioholic
That doesn't look like a terrible sub. I'm a little confused about the THX input that bypasses internal filtering and volume control? Sounds like LFE but I never heard of bypassing the volume control. Must be a THX thing. Looks like they recommend a Y adapter if you're not using the THX input.
i just assumed the thx thingy was LFE, tho, i did found strange the volume nob wasn't working, guess i got my answer, either way, that's not a problem
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
i just assumed the thx thingy was LFE, tho, i did found strange the volume nob wasn't working, guess i got my answer, either way, that's not a problem
Maybe try the other inputs. You should have some form of volume control to blend it in with your speakers. From what I read that THX input might be made to work specifically with receivers that have THX controls or something. I'm not sure, but not having a way to adjust the volume or gain isn't a good thing. Do you have a Y adapter?

PS, one of these.

10701_copy_600x600.jpg
 
peuga

peuga

Full Audioholic
Maybe try the other inputs. You should have some form of volume control to blend it in with your speakers. From what I read that THX input might be made to work specifically with receivers that have THX controls or something. I'm not sure, but not having a way to adjust the volume or gain isn't a good thing. Do you have a Y adapter?

PS, one of these.

View attachment 51025
I can't adjust the volume via levels tho
 
peuga

peuga

Full Audioholic
Just tried to spl match it again, and i noticed something,

I used 2 phones now, an iphone 6, and a s20 Fe, for all the regular speaker both were 1:1, besides the 5 db extra that were constant on the iphone, so 75 on Samsung, 80 on iphone, that behavior was consistent for all speakers, until i got to the subwoofer, and the s20 spiked at 83, and the iphone dropped to 60, so yeah, one of those is really really wrong
 
peuga

peuga

Full Audioholic
So i left it on 80 for the s20, tried a couple of songs, and yeah, it didn't feel like it was intruding anymore, i missed it in some parts of songs, but it was pretty okay when it was supposed to be there, like, really low, but then i tried a movie, and it definetly felt a bit anemic, but i don't really have a good point of reference
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Yes the THX mode per the manual bypasses the volume/gain adjustment, saying it expects the processor to provide such. Interesting they thought all sources would have sufficient level output/control alone. You could just not use the THX mode and then max out the low pass filter yourself....

ps Don't see too many dual opposed ported subs....
 
peuga

peuga

Full Audioholic
Yes the THX mode per the manual bypasses the volume/gain adjustment, saying it expects the processor to provide such. Interesting they thought all sources would have sufficient level output/control alone. You could just not use the THX mode and then max out the low pass filter yourself....

ps Don't see too many dual opposed ported subs....
I'm not saying i can't go low enough on the processor to satisfy the need, but, that i don't know how I should calibrate it
 
peuga

peuga

Full Audioholic
I'm not saying i can't go low enough on the processor to satisfy the need, but, that i don't know how I should calibrate it
Like, idk how I should match the spl, if both phones with a working mic in this house seem to freak out whenever there's bass
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Don't know, don't trust phones for setup myself. Just positioning the phone consistently would be a pain I'd think. I do have a measurement mic, tho.....
 
peuga

peuga

Full Audioholic
I tried recording the bass with the koss kph30is mic, so i could show a friend of mine that couldn't come the day i invited him, and it just couldn't, i could record glass door vibrating and such, but the bass it self was not there in the recording, not that i expected it to be,

But how should I calibrate it, when mics don't quite capture it's frequency all that well.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I'd go with the phone that gave you the most pleasing response for content generally. I take it your Sony didn't come with a setup mic/routine to use?
 
peuga

peuga

Full Audioholic
I'd go with the phone that gave you the most pleasing response for content generally. I take it your Sony didn't come with a setup mic/routine to use?
I remember seeing one of those puc mics lying around on my grandpa's theater, but idk if that's was for the Sony, or the THX onkyo
 
newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top