Subwoofer Problem.Query

Bubbauk

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Hi

I have a marantz SR4500 with the tannoy FX5.1 speakers which has a 100wat amplified sub.

It sounds perfect at -20db and is quite loud, but some days when the house is free i like to crank it up to -10 or -5 and that is as loud as i want it but the base is very rumbly and not very punchy, do yous know what i mean? It sort of rumbles and dosent give me the punch i need. (This is music btw)

My whole room is concrete, its concrete walls, floors and ceiling so not sure if that matters. The sub isnt in the corner of a room but is against a supporting beam in the house.

The subwoofer cable is a Ixos cable which cost me about £10 and is pretty thin compared to my digital cable going from my amp to my dvd player (Actually that just give me an idea so im testing it now...Hmm, It dont think i found much difference if any but the cable is a digital coaxle cable which are prob meant to for diff things).

So what im wondering if yous could suggest some things to make it sound better?

Any more information needed just ask

Btw, i would like to spend minimal if i can, maybe about £30.

Cheers :)


EDit: Just wondering would getting a new set of bigger fronts for about maybe £100 make it sound any better since these speakers really arnt up to much cause of the small mid range speaker? I would love some floorstanding speakers but i dont really have the room for them in my bedroom.
 
Hmm, On an a sort of different issue, i was setting up the delays on my speakers and while measuring the distances i was kneeling down next to my suba nd i hear a clicking from it everytime it produced base, as if it was hitting the enclosure or something :S I have my amp at 0 and the sub right up on the back of it atm cause i need some base (base head :p) So i turned it down to about 3/4 and its fine, maybe the sub was moving too much or something but sureley it should be able to cope at maximum volume? Sorry im asking these questions and you may not understand.
 
You should calibrate your sub with a RS-meter, and eq it with a BFD. They cost £100 maybe together. They aren't too easy to use, so ask some pro over there. :) Use the search also.

Concrete room is usually bad, just like mine. The acoustics are very important for speakers and sub to produce good sound. There could be huge peaks and dips in the FR of the sub. FR looks like this. The flatter the line is, the better! And a good sub goes to 20-25 Hz flat in room.

This is the easy way, other would be to buy a more decent sub and eq it, then. ;)

AND don't put the maximum gain, half way is usually enough. From the amp -5 to 0dbs is good, prefer gain if you need more bass. This way you protect your sub. If any clicks or clacks are heard, turn it down! It could already be broken if you've run it too hot.
 
Yeah it was getting quite hot so i shot it off, i norm run half gain, bass set to -6 treble set to +6 and centre set to +10 on the amp and it is perfect for films and normal listening, just when like today i wanted a bit more bass i thought i would have a mess about and see what it could do but sounded awfull :(

Btw i dont even know what you just said there about rs and bfd and stuff like that :p SO i dont think im gonna try that.

My sub only drops to 40hz i think as it was a rather cheap sub/speaker package :(

Cheers for the help anyway and the info about the gain etc.
 
I meant subwoofer output, not bass level. So put bass 0 and treble 0, if you like them fine. Then the sub level from the AMP -5 decibels between 0. That way it's not giving the sub too much to handle. Try these first. You should also try different locations for it, between the mains is usually best. Also next to your sofa could work, or in the corner front/back. It's trial/error to succeed.

Btw, try different options for crossover on the amp. 80, 100 or 120 Hz should work. It means the mains are giving up there and sub is coming to play. 100Hz could be good for you.
 
I did have 100hz but i realised i only have small main speakers which may not be good at lower frequenzies so i tried 120hz and it sounded better. This setup is in my room so i have my sub beside my tv(about a meter away) because there isnt really anywhere i can put it. Ok i just setup my centre to +10 as i find it very hard to hear voices in movies, sub to -4, fronts to +2 and left rears alone since they are pretty much right beside my ears
 
Ok i just moved my sub (Turned it around and moved it a bit) so its now facing towards my door into an alcove and is also right against the wall, I have also set the sub level on my av receiver to -5 with the fronts at +3 and centre at +10 and everythign else at 0 i think it sounds alot better, i have the gain set lower now, about 2/5 and it sounds even louder than it did at 1/2 sitting where i had it before, im just wondering if yous think this could cause any problems at all?

Here is an image of where it is sitting
http://www.inx-gaming.co.uk/bubba/DSC00571.JPG

Cheers for the help so far.
 
It's good as long as it sounds good for you! It's that corner that lets the sub "boom" easier, it's free power. It may make bumps to FR though. Nothing dangerous!

I'm little :rolleyes: about +10 for the center, but if it's a different speaker, then that is what's causing problems. These are things to be encountered with pretty cheap speaker sets/series, you can always try to tweak them as that may improve the sound a bit/lot.

For major improvements you need to upgrade and build a set piece by piece. That's not necessary as long you're happy eith your set. =)
 
The centre and all the other speakers are exactly the same speaker so thats the problem, isnt enough power to the centre to keep up with voices so it strugles in movies, i find +10 makes it easier but still not perfect :).

Also whats FR?
 
Frequency response for your sub, like this.

PICT0025.JPG
 
I presume i would need to purchase an instrument of some sort to be able to test that? If so i dont think ill be spending my money on it as i really need to save.

But anyway with setting up the speaker distances and setting gain down and also setting the sub level down on the amp and moving the sub it sounds perfect for music :D Havent tested it on any dvds but i might watch some later or tomorow maybe.

Thanks for the help :)
 
Your welcome. Btw, I just realised that you probably don't hear enough "speech" in movies? That's natural, the movies are coded so the effects can be loud. So I'd put center down a bit and raise the total volume. On loud scenes you could put it down again as explosions etc grow. That's meant to be that way, don't ask me why.. Otherwise the center will dominate the whole system.
 
I like the centre to dominate because i want to be able to hear clearly what the people are saying, i cant turn the whole system up as my bedroom is right above the living room and my mum always complains to me :(.
 
Oh, MAF. I wonder which is worse, MAF or WAF... (Mother-approval-factor or Wife-approval-factor)

Then you'll do as you wish. :)
 
Lol, yeah, but when shes at work i like it loud :D

After all this tweaking ive done it sounds perfect, i was thinking of upgrading it all but it sounds so much better now i dont think i need to do anything to it.


Thanks for the all the help :D
 

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