Decisions, Decisions...

[RythmikAudio]

...I have all speakers set to small and I have put the distance setting of the front speakers to 10ft and the sub to 30.....

It is not normal that you need to set the subwoofer distance 20ft more than front speakers. Do you really place the subwoofer 20ft further than the fronts? To get the best phase alignment, we recommend to set subwoofer 2-4 ft further than the physical distance.

[SC^SoCal]

My tower speakers and subs are set up 14 ft from my listening area. However, the sound coming from the towers overpowers my 2 rythmik subs easily. I want to increase the presence of the subs in proportion to the towers. I can turn the gain on both subs to full and it still is not enough.
I am trying to get some tips on how to use my receiver in order to increase the sub output. Or maybe it is not possible with this receiver. Is there a setting on the sub that I can mess with?

I have one sub cable from my Denon that I have split to the two subs. In order to get the output of the subs close to what I want, I have to set the receiver up so that the distance is 10ft for my towers and 30 ft for my sub. I also set the sub gain to +15db. It makes the subs more noticeable, but not quite what I want. Any suggestions on what I could be missing, if anything?

I had an old Sony sub that came in a HTIB. With that sub, I knew that if I went up enough that I could eventually blow out the sub. I could not blow out these subs even if I tried. I can turn the gain all the way up and I have. Is that how direct servo works?

I know that I have a lot to learn about HT. Thanks for reading.

[curtis]

Have you taken SPL measurements from all channels in your system?

[RicardoJoa]

Just a thought, could be that u are having phase problem on the sub?

My tower speakers and subs are set up 14 ft from my listening area. However, the sound coming from the towers overpowers my 2 rythmik subs easily. I want to increase the presence of the subs in proportion to the towers. I can turn the gain on both subs to full and it still is not enough.
I am trying to get some tips on how to use my receiver in order to increase the sub output. Or maybe it is not possible with this receiver. Is there a setting on the sub that I can mess with?

I have one sub cable from my Denon that I have split to the two subs. In order to get the output of the subs close to what I want, I have to set the receiver up so that the distance is 10ft for my towers and 30 ft for my sub. I also set the sub gain to +15db. It makes the subs more noticeable, but not quite what I want. Any suggestions on what I could be missing, if anything?

I had an old Sony sub that came in a HTIB. With that sub, I knew that if I went up enough that I could eventually blow out the sub. I could not blow out these subs even if I tried. I can turn the gain all the way up and I have. Is that how direct servo works?

I know that I have a lot to learn about HT. Thanks for reading.

[RythmikAudio]

Let us start with the AVR. Can you check the speaker configuration menu and let us know how you set it up there? Are all front, center, surround set to "small" and subwoofer "on"? What crossover frequency have you selected?

[SC^SoCal]

Let us start with the AVR. Can you check the speaker configuration menu and let us know how you set it up there? Are all front, center, surround set to "small" and subwoofer "on"? What crossover frequency have you selected?

All speakers are set to small.
SW yes
SW mode LFE

x-over
F 60
C 40
S 80
LFE 80

While checking these values, I noticed that the meq xt, dynamic vol, and dynamic eq were set to on. I turned these effects off and the sound improved tremendously.

Have you taken SPL measurements from all channels in your system?

No. I just tried audyssey. I bought the Radio Shack SPL meter awhile back, but I don't really know how to use it. I think there was a tutorial somewhere?

[RythmikAudio]

All speakers are set to small.
SW yes
SW mode LFE

x-over
F 60
C 40
S 80
LFE 80

While checking these values, I noticed that the meq xt, dynamic vol, and dynamic eq were set to on. I turned these effects off and the sound improved tremendously.

This is good. Try set every xover to 80hz and distance according to actual physical distance, and then add 2 ft to subwoofer and try Audyssey again.

[monomer]

Never just crank any electronic device to its maximum, it will not perform as it should as it usually just increases distortion and in some cases can cause some self-destruction.

Instead try this. Turn OFF Audyssey in the receiver and zero all the speaker levels. Next set the sub's gain for somewhere around 10 o'clock. Turn the phase to 0 and set the cross-over to 120. Now play the receiver's pink noise test tone for the sub. With your RS SPL meter set to "C weight", "Slow", and the dial on 80, adjust the sub's calibration level within the receiver's menu 'til the meter is reading around 75. If the sub's dB level setting (in the receiver) is greater than +5dB then turn the sub's gain control clockwise (increase), conversely if the level setting is below -5dB then turn the sub's gain counter-clockwise (decrease). Repeat this procedure again with the meter reading and re-adjust the receiver's sub calibration level adjustment to get the SPL to again read approximately 75dB when using the receiver's pink noise. Repeat another iteration if necessary... soon you will have the sub's output SPL at the listening position reading 75dB with the receiver's sub calibration level setting somewhere between -5dB and +5dB... the sub's gain control is finally set in the 'ballpark', this is where you want to begin. At this point go ahead and run Audyssey... importantly it will determine for the system the proper distance/phasing between speakers and sub. Once you've run Audyssey, turn the EQ OFF or change from Audyssey to flat depending upon what your receiver's options allow for. Now download some test tone sweeps off the Internet and play it back in an endless loop. For now, you are only interested in the freq region from 20Hz up to around 160Hz. From your listening spot what you are listening for are what's called nulls. These are obvious dips in the sound level... you don't want these. (Alternately you can view your SPL meter reading continuously to verify what you are hearing). The significance of identifying these nulls becomes apparent once you understand that nulls cannot be improved much (made louder) by boosting and therefore the only way to counter-act these nulls (bring the sound level in this region up) is by relocating the sub's position. This is why positioning of both sub and listener is so important to getting a smooth freq response across the whole bass freq response band. If you have serious nulls present, you will notice the bass just doesn't sound right as 'something' just sounds like its missing and so you will try to counter-act this by boosting the volume (either the gain on the sub or at the receiver or both) but still the nulls will remain essentially unaffected while everything else gets pushed up into major distortion or worse. I believe this is your situation as you are attempting to fight the nulls with gain rather than 're-adjusting' the sub's location. Continue seeking a position for your sub that minimizes the bass frequency nulls. You will not find a position totally free of all nulls, so instead seek a place where any nulls you hear are 'shallow' as these can be helped somewhat by EQ boosting (the job of Audyssey). Under no circumstances can you allow complete or nearly complete nulls to exist... this is where the volume drops to nearly inaudible within the null's freq band... no amount of boost will have any effect on these. Once you've determine the best sub location within the room with respect to minimizing nulls THEN re-run Audyssey and I'll bet you'll be quite pleased with the final results. Do it and post back with your thoughts, impressions, and results.

[indulger]

Make that a sticky. It's gonna be about 3-4 months before I can get my new sub and I'm gonna forget where I read this thread. Great info Monomer!

[davef]

Make that a sticky. It's gonna be about 3-4 months before I can get my new sub and I'm gonna forget where I read this thread. Great info Monomer!

Agreed!! Wonderful post Monomer. Thank you!