Newbie help: Great sound when listenting to music but bass "rumbles" in TV/movies

[soundfactory]

Hey guys,

Firstly, thanks for all the good stuff you guys post on here. It's been very helpful for a HT newbie like me!

I purchased my first HT system a couple of weeks ago - Onkyo 608 receiver and Aperion speakers (front 5T towers, center 5C, rear 4B), Aperion sub (10D).

I set up the speakers using Audyssey 2EQ and then tweaked the settings a little (mostly for distances, not for crossovers etc).

When I play music the sub sounds good, the bass is punchy and sounds reasonably tight. However, when I switch to TV or music, the bass rumbles a lot with any sound effects, so I end up having to turn the sub volume down either through the receiver or through the sub.

Is there some setting I've messed up or that I need to change? I turned off the DynamicEQ and tried different surround modes but I still get the same problem. Or is it just the sub? In which case, I can still return it!

Appreciate any help that you guys can provide. Thanks!

Amar

 

[Stripes]

What are the gain levels on the receiver/sub?

LFE is going to "rumble" on movies, is there actual distortion coming from the woofer?

Where is the sub placed in your room? If you have it in the corner you might have some serious peak problems if you havent EQ'd it.

If the sub is in a huge room, and you are trying to get alot of SPL out of it, its probably distorting from the low freq. of movies. You can only get so much out of a 10" sub.

These are just a few things you can look into that I can think of, but I seriously doubt that the fault is in the sub itself.

 

[soundfactory]

Thanks, Stripes.

The receiver is at -2db (from Audyssey) and the sub is at 0 (the volume is; is there a separate gain setting?). I have to turn it down all the way to -8 to cut the distortion when watching movies, but that also cuts the impact of the bass significantly.

There is actual distortion from the woofer with certain low frequencies (for example, if there's a chopper in the background in an action movie, everything just sounds distorted).

I'll try moving the sub to see if it helps. Also, not sure what you mean by peak problems and EQ'ing it (newbie alert!). Anything helpful that you could point me to? I'll google it as well.

Yeah I figured it was more something to do with the settings since the sub sounds really good with music. I'll play around with the settings, and maybe try calling the Aperion guys to see if they can help. Appreciate your input and any other thoughts you might have.

Amar

 

[sholling]

It almost sounds like you're having to push that sub too hard. How big (in cubic feet) is the room - including any rooms that open into that room?

 

[KEW]

Sholling is right, a 10" sealed sub with 300 Watts cannot be expected to pressurize a large room. It is a very good musical sub for the price and compact form factor.
Measure your room.

Here is a clip from the Audioholics review of that sub:

The Aperion Bravus 10D is an attractive, potent little subwoofer at a reasonable price. It certainly doesn't have the output and extension of its larger peers but that’s a tradeoff one must live with if they want a small box to better blend into their room décor. In that aspect the Bravus 10D is all aces.

While the Bravus 10D has impressive output for its size, I'd recommend it for small to medium sized rooms (< 2500ft^3).

 

[soundfactory]

Yes, the room is about 4000 ft3. I guess I didn't realize that a smaller sub could sound good when listening to music but not be big enough for watching TV/movies.

Couple of follow up questions if you don't mind:

1. My use if probably 50% music, 20% games, 30% TV so I'm not sure I'd do this, but would it help to get a second smaller sub or replace the current sub with a bigger sub (12"?)? If I did get a second sub, is it better to get the same or is it okay to get a different one?

2. In the meantime is there any setting I can tweak on the receiver or sub settings to reduce the rumble (besides lowering the sub volume), with minimal impact to overall bass? I know that's asking for too much but just figured I might as well ask..

Thanks guys!

 

[Hicks]

Hello Amar,

Sorry to hear about the trouble with the sub. We did have some subs go out recently with the parametric EQ and low bass adjust (another more general EQ setting) maxed out at +6 dB, so I wonder if maybe that is what is going on with your sub.

You can get to those settings by going into the Setup Room EQ for the Parametric EQ and then into the setup sections of the Music, Movies and Games presets for the Low Bass Adjustment.

If they are set to +6 I would try backing both of those settings down to 0 to see if it can alleviate the bottoming out that you are experiencing.

If they are already set to 0 then you might try dialing the 30 Hz band and the Low Bass Adjust back down to -3 or -4.

Hope that helps but feel free to give us a call at 888-880-8992 if you are still having trouble, thanks!

 

[KEW]

Yes, the room is about 4000 ft3. I guess I didn't realize that a smaller sub could sound good when listening to music but not be big enough for watching TV/movies.

Music doesn't have much content below 30Hz, while movies can have subsonic signals which are below 20Hz that "hit" you more than make sounds. The problem is that the sub has to move a lot of air to have subsonic impact. The amount of air is determined by the size of the driver and the distance it can travel.

I am a fan of sealed subwoofers, but a well design ported 10" sub will go lower and louder than an equally well designed sealed 10" sub. However, to date, the ported subs I have heard all seemed to be a little "loose" for music (but I must state that I have not yet listened to a high quality ported sub - such as the SVS Ultra). Note that a ported sub will also be substantially larger.

Hopefully, Hicks' suggestions will work out for you. Be happy you are in this situation with a company with great Customer Service! Keep us posted!

 

[soundfactory]

Thanks, Jason! I was (very pleasantly) surprised to see you guys monitoring the boards and responding so helpfully. Definitely great customer service! I'll try out your suggestions but unfortunately won't be back home till Friday so I have to wait for a couple of days.

KEW, guess I still have a lot to learn.

Will post back here in a couple of days in case there are any others in a similar situation.

Amar

 

[Stripes]

I'll try moving the sub to see if it helps. Also, not sure what you mean by peak problems and EQ'ing it (newbie alert!). Anything helpful that you could point me to? I'll google it as well.

I could be wrong but I'm sure I've read somewhere that most plug in EQ mics that come with recievers will only EQ the subs down to like 40Hz so if you have it in the corner of the room "corner loading" will boost bass response in certain areas, the EQ will not be able to catch these peaks and level them out for a "flat frequency response" as you will hear alot on audio sites. This flat response is where you get into audio zen and hear the music pure. Most audiophiles have an SPL meter to fine tune their subs. Thats my take on it anyway.

 

[Hicks]

Thanks, Jason! I was (very pleasantly) surprised to see you guys monitoring the boards and responding so helpfully. Definitely great customer service! I'll try out your suggestions but unfortunately won't be back home till Friday so I have to wait for a couple of days.

KEW, guess I still have a lot to learn.

Will post back here in a couple of days in case there are any others in a similar situation.

Amar

Glad to help!

 

[soundfactory]

We did have some subs go out recently with the parametric EQ and low bass adjust (another more general EQ setting) maxed out at +6 dB, so I wonder if maybe that is what is going on with your sub.

That was it! The parametric EQ was at +6 and the low bass adjust was also at +6. Works excellently now!! Thanks a ton!

As a side effect, the bass sounds much punchier on the music as well (or maybe that's what I think).

I set the low bass adjust to 0 for everything. Is there a suggested setting for music versus movies that most people tend to use?

Thanks again everyone, especially Hicks!

Amar

 

[Hicks]

That was it! The parametric EQ was at +6 and the low bass adjust was also at +6. Works excellently now!! Thanks a ton!

As a side effect, the bass sounds much punchier on the music as well (or maybe that's what I think).

I set the low bass adjust to 0 for everything. Is there a suggested setting for music versus movies that most people tend to use?

Thanks again everyone, especially Hicks!

Amar

Cool, I'm glad that was it, they are supposed to be set to zero right out of the box.

It's going to depend on your room and your preferences for what setting will work, but I've found that +2 or +3 for the low bass adjust setting for movies and then 0 for music is good for a lot of people.