Subwoofer sounds too soft

Dr.Rock

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When my subwoofer kicks in, it sounds far too soft.

I am using a Denon 2802 with Mission M72 speaker package. As advised by Mission, I set all my speakers to "small" and the cross-over frequency to 100 Hz.

I set my 70W subwoofer volume to between 2/3 to 3/4 way and the subwoofer level on my amp is -2DB.

However, when the T-rex in JP3 stamps his foot down, or in other scenes/films when the subwoofer kicks in, I feel the vibrations but the overall sound (from all the other speakers) is very soft. If I turn the subwoofer down, the over sound sharpens but I lose the subwoofer effects (vibrations).

Any suggestions to what I'm doing wrong and how to fix them, I'll be most grateful for.

Thanks.
 
Hi

What sub are you using??

Try changing the crossover on the amp to 80hz. Not sure why they recommend 100hz as the fronts go down to 48hz and the centre & surrounds to 75hz.

Have you set all the channels with a sound meter to 75db??

I would set the crossover on the subwoofer to maximum as the amp is controlling the cutoff, then its case of getting the volume balanced in relation to the other channels.

If its still not right you may have to change the position of the sub to improve the sound.

Try the above and see what happens.:)

cheers
 
> Not sure why they recommend 100hz as the fronts go down to
> 48hz and the centre & surrounds to 75hz.

I think the Mission M72 fronts go down to 75hz. It would make sense to set the amp's crossover to 80hz, so anything above that will be directed to the speakers. But the guy at Mission said this 75hz is only an approximate value, and because the lowest frequency in the sound-feed fluctuates, a higher crossover setting would make things more uniform. He even suggested tying 120hz which I thought defeated the whole purpose of having a subwoofer. I understand that above 100hz, the bass becomes directional so that's better off being routed to the satelite speakers and not the sub.

> What sub are you using??

I'm using a B&W Power Bass. It's low frequency response is 95hz and below, I believe from reading the specs. The sub itself has no crossover control, just a control for volume.

So you think this 100hz crossover setting on the amp means I'm sending too much bass-range to the sub, which is what's causing the overall sound to be too soft?

By the way, if I set everything to "Large" then what low frequency range is sent to the sub?


Thanks.
 
if you set your speakers to 'Large', the only thing that will go to your sub will be the LFE channel. ie. none of the bass from the main speakers will go to the sub. you should do this if your speakers are full-range (that is they have good low bass drivers)
 
Hi

If the sub has no crossover, you´ll have to play around with the crossover settings on the amp. Setting it at 80hz may sort the problem out for you, its just a case of experimenting.

Setting all the speakers to Large means the sub will only produce the .1 LFE channel bass.

It may also be worth moving the sub around as that can have a big effect on the overall sound.
 

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