Help - No sound….

[tmurnin]

So I just got my new VTF-3 delivered today and went to hook it up to my new, dealer-demo Anthem MRX-700, which I've had for about 2 weeks. Plug it in, nice green light comes on, but…. no sound out of the sub whatsoever. Re-ran the setup (just basic, not ARC) to make sure the AVR knew I had a sub, tried the Munsil test-tone Blu-Ray and again, no sound from the sub (other speakers work fine). Tried replacing the subwoofer cable, no effect. I'm REALLY not wanting to send the sub back to Hsu if I can help it. Any suggestions as to what to do? Like I said, I haven't bothered to run ARC yet but doubt that's the issue.

I do have another receiver set up in my basement. If I have to, I'll drag the sub down there to see if the problem is in the sub itself, but hoping someone would have an easy setting recommendation so I don't kill my back lifting this massive thing down the stairs….

Thanks!

 

[TLS Guy]

Connect something else to the sub input, like a CD player, and see if you get sound. If you don't the sub is no good. If you do, then turn up the sub output at the LFE out in case the output is too low. If you can switch off auto on, on the sub.

 

[tmurnin]

Would connecting my iPod directly to the sub via a headphone-to-RCA cable work?

 

[TLS Guy]

Would connecting my iPod directly to the sub via a headphone-to-RCA cable work?

Yes, it should.

 

[tmurnin]

just tried that and.... nothing. I guess I'll try calling Hsu before I send it back. Weird - no visible shipping damage on the box at all so I assume it's just defective

 

[shadyJ]

It might be as simple as a lead falling out of a terminal during transit. Call Hsu, they might just walk you through the steps of reconnecting it. Don't open the sub without their guidance though, you don't want to void that warranty.

 

[tmurnin]

That would be excellent. Will call as soon as they open this morning

 

[j_garcia]

What do you have the gain (volume) set to? Which input are you using on the sub?

 

[TLS Guy]

just tried that and.... nothing. I guess I'll try calling Hsu before I send it back. Weird - no visible shipping damage on the box at all so I assume it's just defective

You should not have to ship the whole sub back. we have had several cases of new subs not working because a lead fell off the driver.

Ask HSU if you can remove the driver and make sure the leads are connected. If they are, remove them and do the battery test on the driver. If the driver throws as it should on the battery test, then ask them if they will exchange the amp and you install.

 

[tmurnin]

Thanks for the advice - one of the leads had fallen off the woofer. Replaced it and voila! Beautiful bass. Now just need to do some tuning.....

 

[j_garcia]

I'm glad it was that simple

 

[TLS Guy]

Thanks for the advice - one of the leads had fallen off the woofer. Replaced it and voila! Beautiful bass. Now just need to do some tuning.....

Good thing you did not send it back just for that!

 

[tmurnin]

No kidding!

 

[j_garcia]

When I bought my A/V-2s, as soon as I hooked them up, one tweeter went dead. I popped it open and the speaker terminal had actually broken off, still attached to the connector Fortunately replacements weren't expensive. Another time when I moved, some paradigms were either dropped or damaged during transit by the moving company, because when they arrived one tweeter had broken completely out of the enclosure.

 

[Kevin_Hsu]

Hi tmurnin,

Sorry that the speaker lead had disconnected from the woofer terminal when it arrived. They utilize a locking tab to keep it in place, but I guess it wasn't fully connected. Glad to hear you got it back to working order! For the record, we have no problems with you removing the amplifier/driver to check the connections. Just make sure you know which screws to remove. If you have an issue like that, don't hesitate to call us, especially after you just received it. We will make sure that you get squared away. Happy listening and welcome to the Hsu Family!

Sincerely,
Kevin
The Hsu Research Team

 

[TLS Guy]

Hi tmurnin,

Sorry that the speaker lead had disconnected from the woofer terminal when it arrived. They utilize a locking tab to keep it in place, but I guess it wasn't fully connected. Glad to hear you got it back to working order! For the record, we have no problems with you removing the amplifier/driver to check the connections. Just make sure you know which screws to remove. If you have an issue like that, don't hesitate to call us, especially after you just received it. We will make sure that you get squared away. Happy listening and welcome to the Hsu Family!

Sincerely,
Kevin
The Hsu Research Team

I always solder the wires to the speaker terminals in my speakers. I would never trust a press fit connector for lots of reasons, including oxidation over time and a degraded connection. Secure the speaker leads, so they don't break the terminal in transit.

We have had a number of help posts for this issue. The root cause is press on tag connectors, which are not appropriate.

Thank you for your interest and response.

 

[j_garcia]

Soldering the leads to the drivers is semi-overkill to me, but many of the speakers I've built I've done it also. Peace of mind more than out of necessity to me. In the case of a volume manufactured product, it is additional labor and cost, so less profit or more cost to the consumer. Having encountered the two leads braking off when I "fixed" my new center channel almost had me soldering those leads on as well, simply because they used cheap connectors and no shrink wrap (I added shrink wrap when redoing them). I'll guess that isn't the case here and it was just a matter of the connectors being a bit "loosely gapped" so they aren't quite snug on the terminal and slip off during shipping and likely just requires a bit better QC checking as opposed to solder IMHO.

 

[TLS Guy]

Soldering the leads to the drivers is semi-overkill to me, but many of the speakers I've built I've done it also. Peace of mind more than out of necessity to me. In the case of a volume manufactured product, it is additional labor and cost, so less profit or more cost to the consumer. Having encountered the two leads braking off when I "fixed" my new center channel almost had me soldering those leads on as well, simply because they used cheap connectors and no shrink wrap (I added shrink wrap when redoing them). I'll guess that isn't the case here and it was just a matter of the connectors being a bit "loosely gapped" so they aren't quite snug on the terminal and slip off during shipping and likely just requires a bit better QC checking as opposed to solder IMHO.

There is another issue with these connectors. They generally have aluminum content. Surface oxides build up with creates a diode effect at the press fit connection. Oxides of aluminum are the worst offenders. This is a cause of non linear distortion and well documented. To prevent it a thin layer of di-electric grease should always be placed on those connectors. I have never seen that. In automobiles it is standard practice.

Now you probably won't hear it in a sub, but you certainly will a tweeter.

That is the reason for the switch to placing a thin gold film on RCA connectors. They are still not immune though. I have certainly experienced "things not sounding quite right", and cured it by treating offending RCA plugs with tuner cleaner.

I personally would never use those pressed metal connectors in any audio circuit for that reason alone, reliability issues apart.

 

[Kevin_Hsu]

Hey folks,

Also note that a good number (likely a majority) of our customers are not proficient with a soldering iron. In the event that they would need to replace or remove the driver/amp for warranty purposes, dealing with soldering/desoldering would be added frustration. We've never really had issues come up in regards to oxidation of the connectors. That's not to say that it can't happen especially in very humid climates, but we haven't come across that issue as of yet.

Sincerely,
Kevin
The Hsu Research Sales Team

 

[TLS Guy]

Hey folks,

Also note that a good number (likely a majority) of our customers are not proficient with a soldering iron. In the event that they would need to replace or remove the driver/amp for warranty purposes, dealing with soldering/desoldering would be added frustration. We've never really had issues come up in regards to oxidation of the connectors. That's not to say that it can't happen especially in very humid climates, but we haven't come across that issue as of yet.

Sincerely,
Kevin
The Hsu Research Sales Team

The owner replacement issue is a good point. I don't think you would hear the diode effect at sub frequencies, but at higher frequencies you definitely do. It stats off so you hardly notice. In my view it is one of the most missed causes of sound degradation.