SVS PB10 Setup Help

[Nuzy]

Hey guys. My PB10 was delivered earlier this week and I finally got home from a business trip last night. Needless to say, I was anxious to get the sub hooked up (after seeing my wife and son, of course ). I got it placed in a corner and hooked it up to my receiver (Pioneer VSX1015). Since our 18 month old was sleeping, I couldn't run the MCACC calibration or turn it up very loud. At moderate listening levels, I didn't really seem to notice much bass (put the Incredibles in briefly). The receiver recognized the sub when I connected it because the 1015 setup shows all speakers at small and sub set at yes. The LFE setting (not sure what this was called exactly) is at 0db as opposed to 10db or off. The room is in our finished basement and only about 15'X15' with 8-9' ceilings and a half wall at the rear. I placed the PB10 in a rear corner (rear in relation to the seating position of the room) and have the gain turned up between 1/4 and 1/3 as the manual suggests. The green light comes on in back so I'm pretty sure it's working (I am using the blue jeans cable Canare LV-77S cable (25' length).

I'm at work today and plan on messing with this more tonight before my son goes to bed, but do you guys think running the 1015 MCACC will help boost my bass? I ran it before I had the sub and it seemed to do a good job. Could it be that I was listening at too low a volume level to notice it (about -30 on the receiver)? Do I need to turn the gain up further (I don't want to turn it up too high and damage the sub)? I was expecting some pretty heavy bass from this thing so this has been bugging me since last night. Any opinions or suggestions would be appreciated. I'm hoping that just running the MCACC and turning the volume up a bit will get me that killer movie bass I'm expecting. I've never owned a sub so this is all new to me.

Thanks!
Nuzy

 

[Tom Andry]

You should be able to hear it somewhat no matter the volume. You probably just need to turn up the whole system and check it that way. You may need to turn the volume on the sub up. Try running test tones and equalizing it rather than sticking in a movie and waiting for the loud parts.

 

[Sheep]

-30? Thats pretty low. I usually run my subwoofer as loud as possible in my receiver and use the volume control on the subwoofer to adjust. I say boost the low voltage more rather then the high voltage(subwoofer gain).

SheepStar

 

[Ron Temple]

No offense to the MCACC, but do you have a SPL meter? I prefer to manually calibrate the sub. Pioneer's auto/eq is supposely the best, but I've heard it does strange things to speaker size that need to be adjusted manually anyway. Speakers should be set to small (at least initially) and crossover, most likely 80hz, set based on your speakers FR. Also rear placement, per Ed Mullen, is not recommended for non localized bass crossed at 80hz. The front soundstage between the mains is recommended.

If you don't have a meter, by all means, let MCACC do it. Speakers should be calibrated to 75db @ -10, sub to taste, 75-80db.

You've definitely got alot of sub for that room. It's got to be a calibration/placement issue.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Like Sheep said, turn up the gain on the receiver, then adjust the gain on the sub. You're not going to blow it. I've read that sub is extremely hard to bottom out. The PB10 should put a big smile on your face after you adjust a few things.

 

[j_garcia]

I had to have the PB-10 adjusted to 50% gain before it really made it's presence known.

One problem may be, your room is quite square and square rooms are typically not easy to get good bass in. Sound reflects at 90 degree angles so when you have a square room, cancellation occurs at far more frequencies than with a rectangular room.

What x-over point do you have the sub set to? When you get a chance to run MCACC, let us know how it goes.

 

[Nuzy]

Thanks for all the suggestions! My crossover is set at 80hz (fronts are Polk R30, center is Polk CS2, rears are Polk R15). I'll try MCACC first and if that doesn't help I'll look into buying a SPL meter and adjusting the receiver's sub gain manually and then the gain on the sub as a last resort. I'll report back after I get a chance to make the adjustments.

Ron, I don't have any way to put my sub between the fronts. Are you suggesting that I move it to a front corner instead of a rear corner? I suppose I can just move it myself and listen to what sounds best. It's just hard for me to know what the optimal placement is since I don't really know what I'm listening for - then again, I guess that's what the SPL meter is for!

Nuzy

 

[j_garcia]

It has a subsonic filter and the amp will self limit also (I heard mine do it when i was calibrating), so it will be VERY tough to bottom out. It's a damn good sub for the price.

 

[Nuzy]

Ok, I ran the MCACC and made some manual adjustments. All I can say is, WOW! What a difference a sub makes. As Ron suspected it might, the auto MCACC set my speakers as large. It also set my sub channel level at -0.5db. I manually changed the speakers to small and increased the channel level to 3.0db. The gain on the sub is set about 1/3. I listened to several movie scenes at -20 to -15 volume level...Apollo 13 launch scene, Incredibles car chase opening scene, Top Gun opening scene, and Star Wars Ep II opening scene. I can't wait to try others tomorrow (Master & Commander, U571, and Gladiator come to mind).

I do have a few follow up questions:

1. You guys mentioned increasing the receiver gain (to max level) and then adjust the sub gain from there as required. Do you really think I should do this? The receiver will let me set the sub channel level at +10db. What advantage does this provide?

2. Right now, the sub is between a love seat and couch with the front of the sub facing the side of the couch. Does it matter whether the sub faces the side of the couch, side of the love seat, or one of the two walls? Is the distance away from the walls important?

3. How do I know the difference between hearing nice clean bass and bass that is distorted?

I have the AVIA disk. If I can find an inexpensive SPL meter I may pick one up and try manually calibrating the sub that way.

Thanks for all the information and suggestions. I really appreciate it. I'm starting to understand why many of you are so obsessed with subwoofers. The sub has really improved my "home theater" experience!!

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Nuzy
I do have a few follow up questions:

1. You guys mentioned increasing the receiver gain (to max level) and then adjust the sub gain from there as required. Do you really think I should do this? The receiver will let me set the sub channel level at +10db. What advantage does this provide?

When you set the receiver LFE gain to +10dB, it makes it simple to adjust the bass from a dial (the gain) on the back of the sub. The signal from the receiver to the sub is low level. There's no reason not to send the full signal to the sub, which is adjustable. Think of a garden hose. You turn it on full blast at the spigot, and control the output with the nozzle. Sometimes when watching tv, you'll want to adjust it up a few dB. Other times with a DVD, you'll want to tone it down a bit. I find it quicker to adjust the gain at the sub rather than using an onscreen display and 5 entries on the remote.

2. Right now, the sub is between a love seat and couch with the front of the sub facing the side of the couch. Does it matter whether the sub faces the side of the couch, side of the love seat, or one of the two walls? Is the distance away from the walls important?

I'd recommend facing the driver out into the room, and the port towards the wall. The distance from the wall is important. Read the bottom of this article:

http://www.polkaudio.com/education/article.php?id=15

3. How do I know the difference between hearing nice clean bass and bass that is distorted?

Use a favorite audio cd, one with punchy bass - a fast kickdrum for example. Tweak your sub the same way you tweak your speakers - by replaying the track and dialing in the bass you find most appealing. MCACC does this for you, but you can continue to adjust after auto setup adjusts for distance/etc...

The hardest part is meshing your main speakers' bass with your sub. You want to avoid overlapping Hz, but not by much. Find out how low your main speakers play, then set your crossover at the receiver. 80Hz is generally recommended for movies, but you may prefer 60Hz if you have floorstanders, or 100Hz if you have small bookshelves with 5.25" woofers. MCACC isn't perfect, but it's a great tool nontheless.

You've already made the biggest step - getting an excellent sub.

 

[Tom Andry]

I do have a few follow up questions:

1. You guys mentioned increasing the receiver gain (to max level) and then adjust the sub gain from there as required. Do you really think I should do this? The receiver will let me set the sub channel level at +10db. What advantage does this provide? I don't agree with this. Set the reciever to 0 then set the manual volume control on the sub as close as possible to the other speakers. Fine tune with the reciever.

2. Right now, the sub is between a love seat and couch with the front of the sub facing the side of the couch. Does it matter whether the sub faces the side of the couch, side of the love seat, or one of the two walls? Is the distance away from the walls important? The PB10 is a front firing sub. Point it away from the wall. Couch or loveseat should make little difference.

3. How do I know the difference between hearing nice clean bass and bass that is distorted? Buzzes...one note louder than the other...one moment too much, the next none...all could be symptoms.

I have the AVIA disk. If I can find an inexpensive SPL meter I may pick one up and try manually calibrating the sub that way. Great idea. Try radio shack.

Thanks for all the information and suggestions. I really appreciate it. I'm starting to understand why many of you are so obsessed with subwoofers. The sub has really improved my "home theater" experience!!

see above....