Denon AVR-3805 Not Detecting KEF PSW2010

motorbikeman

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Hi all,

I'm very new to this and I've just been handed over a KEF 5.1 setup along with a Denon AVR-3805 amplifier by my uncle. All components were working when the setup was dismantled.

I've paired all the speakers and they work perfectly. The KEF sub won't make a sound. I've got a Y connector to go in at the Left Input socket on the receiver and the red and white plugs at the amp end is in the Subwoofer sockets as written in the Denon manual.

Images below. What am I doing wrong here? Is the powered sub supposed to be plugged elsewhere? I tried everything but nothing works. The sub has a green LED on at the back and I've toggled all the dials and switches at the back of the sub with music playing but no sound. I've factory reset the amp, the output mode is stereo (FL, FR and Sub). I can't even see the subwoofer setting option in the speaker setting menu.
 

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Firstly, you only need a mono connection from the receiver's subwoofer pre out to one of the sub's RCA inputs. No Y connector is required and you appear to have connected the receiver's centre channel pre out as well as the sub pre out to the Y connector?

Also set the AUTO/MANUAL power selector to MANUAL on the sub.
 
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Thanks for the quick reply. So where exactly am I supposed to connect the red and white subwoofer plugs on the amp? The Y connector is just on one end, at the subwoofer input end. This was in the setup when we pulled it out of the previous location. I was told to just plug things as is. The thing is, I didn't take a photo of where the plugs were connected before we pulled it out.

Thanks!
 
just connect one RCA cable to the sub pre out and then connect the other end to the left line input on the sub. THe Y connection isn't required.
 
just connect one RCA cable to the sub pre out and then connect the other end to the left line input on the sub. THe Y connection isn't required.

Please pardon my noob but what do you mean by 'sub pre out'?
 
Its the subwoofer output on the rear of the receiver.

PRE denotes it as being not amplified by the receiver. THe sub's own amplifier amplifies the signal as opposed to the receiver amplifying it. The pre out above it is for the mino aural centre channel and is there to connect an external amp to the receiver for the centre speaker. You've connected both this and the sub pre out to the sub.
 
Its the subwoofer output on the rear of the receiver.

PRE denotes it as being not amplified by the receiver. THe sub's own amplifier amplifies the signal as opposed to the receiver amplifying it. The pre out above it is for the mino aural centre channel and is there to connect an external amp to the receiver for the centre speaker. You've connected both this and the sub pre out to the sub.

I tried this. Connected the one red plug end to the sub pre out and the other red plug end to the sub 'left in' as it says in the manual. Still no sound. The amp is still not 'detecting' the sub as the 'subwoofer setting' is still not appearing in the system menu for me to toggle. The user manual for the Denon amp says it will only show the 'subwoofer setting' option if the system detects a subwoofer connected.
 
Set the sub's power management to MANUAL as opposed to having it set to AUTO.
 
Hello, thanks again for trying to help! Really appreciate it.

I followed all your instructions. Here are the photos to how the setup is now. One plug in, one plug out, power management set to manual. Still, zilch. Maybe the subwoofer got damaged during a short ride from my uncle's place to mine...

Still, is there something I need to fiddle with in the system setup?
 

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Errmm, no. I did try running it and the Front L and Front R made a bit of a static noice. When the system was trying to check the sub, there was no noise at all and then it moved on to the Rear L, Centre and Rear R which weren't connected and at the end gave me an error. I don't have the mic! can I connect? The socket looks like a 3.5mm. I have a boom mic...
 
THe mic was an optional extra with this receiver. I've no idea whether a third party mic would work or whether it would be accurate. Try it and see iwhat happens.

Have you tried manually configuring the speakers and setting the sub as being present?

What was the exact error you got?
 
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Are we sure that the AVR is sending audio to the subwoofer. Have you set the speakers to small, and set the crossover to something sensible like 80hz. Then played something with a lot of bass?
 
The cable in the original pic looks like an old style composite cable (red/white audio & yellow for video)...is this still the same cable you are using since responding to the advice above or are you using a dedicated mono lead for the sub connection?

EDIT: Ignore the above for now. One thing that isn't clear from the picture is the crossover dial on the rear of the sub...is it turned all the way to the left? If so, that may be why you didn't hear anything when the AVR was trying to detect the sub.
 
THe mic was an optional extra with this receiver.

This statement dropped my jaw and I had to look it up because I couldn't believe it and you're correct. What a cheapskate move on a high line receiver. My lower model 2805 even came with the mic. Unbelievable.
 
I really appreciate the responses!

Here's few more photos that show the rear panel of the amp and the subwoofer clearly and the things that are connected. I'm using the same RCA red/white cable but just the white line as mono for the subwoofer.

I'm pretty clueless on what else I can do. At the back of my amp I have the two front speakers and the subwoofer plugged in along with the power and the DBS input for connecting my phone via the 3.5mm jack. Everything is working except the sub.

Also, my uncle had it running for about a decade with the Y cable connected to the RCA red/white cable. The shop guys installed it for him so he has no idea where the Y end was and where the RCA cables were plugged in.
 

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Turn the crossover frequency all the way to the right (up to 140).

Can you get the AVR to play a test tone to the sub?

When it's working you will feel the sub vibrating. If it has been connected to the centre speaker pre out for years it might have been playing audio it shouldn't. So when testing put your hand on the sub to see if you can feel any vibrations. You might not obviously hear it in the room unless it is turned up very loud.
 
Surely the only way for it to detect a sub is with a Mic.

So as punctilio states the cross over should be set to 140. Phase should be set to 0 normally. Volume the dot on should be set to between 10 and 12 o clock. Everything else can be left as you currently have. The cable connection is fine.

Haven't looked at the manual but you need to make sure the sub is enabled.

So it could be the cable itself is faulty or the sub has died.

Can you check with a different cable? Or try the red wire instead just to check.

To check the sub you could plug it into one of the fronts props and play some bassy music. Ensure the amp is set top stereo rather than surround. This should force the sub to produce sound when that speaker plays lower end base notes and see if the sub is working and not just a configuration issue.

There are known problems with that sub which are caused by being left on all the time. Eventually it causes part of the amplification board to fail. Was this ever repaired?
 
I think my sub is blown. Tried everything you guys recommended and at one point the amp showed me the 'subwoofer config' menu item but then it disappeared.

I'm not sure if the KEF sub can be repaired. It's almost a decade old. Will need to look at a local service centre.

If I had to buy a new sub, which one should I go for? Since my other 5 speakers are KEF, will need to get a KEF sub.
 
I think my sub is blown. Tried everything you guys recommended and at one point the amp showed me the 'subwoofer config' menu item but then it disappeared.

I'm not sure if the KEF sub can be repaired. It's almost a decade old. Will need to look at a local service centre.

If I had to buy a new sub, which one should I go for? Since my other 5 speakers are KEF, will need to get a KEF sub.

There's no requirement or benefit associayed with using a KEF sub if using KEF speakers. Maybe look at one of BK's subs which are very good value for money:

Sub Woofers - Sub Bass - Subwoofer
 
I think my sub is blown. Tried everything you guys recommended and at one point the amp showed me the 'subwoofer config' menu item but then it disappeared.

I'm not sure if the KEF sub can be repaired. It's almost a decade old. Will need to look at a local service centre.

If I had to buy a new sub, which one should I go for? Since my other 5 speakers are KEF, will need to get a KEF sub.

It could be blown, but again subs are not just detected by plugging the sub phono cable into the amp it doesn't detect in this manner. Something you have done to the amp configuration enabled or disabled the sub config.

Did you try plunging into another channel?. Was music coming out of the respective speaker at the same time?

If you switch the sub from auto to on the red light should turn from red to green and you should hear a relay click on. Do you hear this?

There is a thread on the subwoofer speaker forum about the common failure and ways to repair.
 
On section 2:1 of the manual on page 32 this gives you the option of sub woofer yes or no, what is shown here on your screen. If you don't enable it you won't get the other sub woofer menus
 
Again the denon without the Mic won't be able to detect the sub
 

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