HELP! No .1 bass on SACD/DVD-A (pioneer 578A/yamaha 5790)

[mr_bungalow]

I believe that I have everything hooked up and all the options set correctly. I am running the 6 cables to a yamaha htr-5790. I also have the dvd player set up using a optical cable for regular DVDs. When I don't use the "multi channel input" I get great bass out of the subwoofer, but when I try to play either a SACD or DVD-A I don't get anything.

Can someone help me? I've been through all the options on the dvd player and none of them seem to have anything to do with the bass on the 5.1 outputs. I've also monkeyed around with the menu on the receiver and can't seem to find a setting for the 5.1 inputs.

 

[dsa220]

On most systems, the 6 channel input is a 'pass-through', in other words, none of the bass management settings in your receiver will have any effect on these inputs, you will have to check the settings in your SACD/DVD-A player. If all the speakers are set to large, you may not get any bass output.

Also, just because the player has the provision for outputing info to a .1 (sub) speaker, does not mean that information is actually reccorded there. I have many recordings where there is no .1 output (unless all the speakers are set to small in the player). Some recordings will use the .1 output as a 'height' speaker, designed to be placed on the ceiling or other high location (Chesky is a big proponent of this configuration).

Some reccordings do not use the center channel and are 4.0 recordings, while others are 2.0 (Cowboy Junkies - OPEN is like this). So as you can see, there can be just as many choices for channels used as there are for channels available, and not every label or reccording follows the same rules.

Maybe someone here has the same player you do and can help make sure that you have it configured properly.

Good Luck!

 

[mr_bungalow]

I understand where you are coming from. But the bass is SEVERLY lacking on these discs. The Flaming Lips Yoshimi has also has a DVD-Video track so you can still listen to it if you don't have a DVD-Audio player. That video track has some gorgeous bass, when I change the player to DVD-Audio, nada.

thanks for the info though. I'm still learning about all this stuff.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I believe that I have everything hooked up and all the options set correctly. I am running the 6 cables to a yamaha htr-5790. I also have the dvd player set up using a optical cable for regular DVDs. When I don't use the "multi channel input" I get great bass out of the subwoofer, but when I try to play either a SACD or DVD-A I don't get anything.

Can someone help me? I've been through all the options on the dvd player and none of them seem to have anything to do with the bass on the 5.1 outputs. I've also monkeyed around with the menu on the receiver and can't seem to find a setting for the 5.1 inputs.

I am not aware of SACD or DVDA recording on the .1 channel. But, I have been known to be wrong, from time to time

 

[mr_bungalow]

So SACD/DVDA don't have a subwoofer track? Why do they have a 'subwoofer' output on the DVD player and a subwoofer input on the receiver?

 

[MDS]

It's been mentioned already but bears repeating: not all dvd/sacd/dvd-a have a LFE channel (the .1). The subwoofer plays bass frequencies (subject to bass managment in the player or receiver) as well as LFE, if it exists.

Most receivers don't apply bass management to the 5.1/6.1/7.1 analog inputs and you must have a player that does if you want to manage the bass (as oppposed to sending each channel a full range signal).

 

[mtrycrafts]

So SACD/DVDA don't have a subwoofer track? Why do they have a 'subwoofer' output on the DVD player and a subwoofer input on the receiver?

DVD players have the 6 channel out so DD movie tracks can be processed by the DVD player and the player used with older receivers that are DD or DVDA read, not having that processor in it?

 

[hopjohn]

I think some of you guys are missing the most essential point of a number surround audio recordings. Many of the recording are done this way because there shouldn't (in the eyes of the recording engineers) be a need for an LFE, thus 5.0. Why you ask? Because the engineers design these recordings for playback on 5 IDENTICAL speakers, all capable of FULL range. Now, before you go yelling at me about how impractical that is, I'll just tell you that I agree. Though, if you want the full experience w/o bass management, this is the kind of setup you'll need.

Also to add a little more information, there are SACDs and DVD-A discs that do include an LFE channel, so it is recording dependent. Also you can add 3.0 recordings to the list, as I've seen those also.

 

[bruceh]

Bass on Pioneer 578A

I have a very similar DVD player, the 563A, which I believe is an earlier version of the 578. Try monkeying around with the speaker setup menu on your player, setting the mains to large and the center and surround to small at first. Make sure the subwoofer option is on. If that doesn't work, try setting all speakers to small with the subwoofer on - that should redirect the bass (below 200 Hz appx.) from the mains to the subwoofer. The fixed crossover on the 563A was at 200 Hz to the subwoofer, and I suspect it is similar, maybe a little less on the 578. Also, if you are using any kind of outboard bass module/manager, like the Outlaw ICBM, you may need to set all speakers to large in the menu, or the bass output to the subwoofer may be significantly reduced. At least that's the case with the 563A. You might check any crossover settings on your amp/receiver menu too, to make sure they are set correctly.

Bruce

 

[JVC]

When using the 5.1 outputs of the player, you are using the player's processor. So, you need to set the speaker levels in the dvd player's setup menus too. Giving the subwoofer a little extra adjustment in the levels setting doesn't hurt either. I have the crossover set to 120 on my 563a, and it works fine.
Also, in the setup menu settings of my 563a, there is an area called "Options", then "DVD Playback Mode". The choices for this is "DVD Audio" or "DVD Video". Make sure DVD Audio is checked (if your 578 has same menus), instead of DVD Video. I think some people's first reaction is to check Video, but that isn't right, for this menu. If you have Video checked there, change it, and see if that doesn't make a difference.
Unless you happened to get hold of a bad unit, I think the problem is somewhere in the setup. My 563a gets plenty of bass and your 578 should also.........
Good luck!