A newbies over 1st expriences and impressions

[Rabbi R.]

This being my 1st real dabble into HT I really wasn't sure what to expect. I'm a major HTPC junkie as well so when I purchased a used H/K 635, a SVS PB12-ISD off of e-bay and ordered up my speakers from Dave, I felt confident that I had the pieces to a great puzzle but now I had put everything together and make it all work properly:confused:.


Lol, it was a long first night I tell ya. Fooling myself earlier on in the day that my set up was taking place I purchased myself some beers thinking that I'd put in 2-3 hrs set up time and the rest of night I would be drinking my face off, pumping tunes and celebrating the long awaited audio bliss I have been dreaming about:p. Well that sure never happened. It took me all night just to finally figure out how to get sound from my PC to my speakers. Now that I have figured it out, it's no biggie but figuring out all the connections and settings between the PC and the H/K for a rookie takes a bit of patience to say the least. Plus I had my H/K speakers unknowingly set on large up till just the other day, but I knew something was off.


Next thing I realized I needed was a new audio card. I spent a crazy amount of hrs.(night #2) trying to figure out how to play DTS-Audio and DVD-Audio tracks but apparently my on board sound card had other plans:mad:. So screw it I kind of wanted a new card anyways as I wish to have 5.1 when I play PC games. Today I received my new sound card (Auzentech Prelude) and finally all is well.


So at last I have the HQ sound I've been looking for but now notice other things. 1st and most obvious is : I NEED MORE JUICE, :eek:. This set up sure sounds great but being a 33 yr old single guy with my own house and my set up being in a developed basement I most definately need to turn the volume up higher then the H/K 635 can handle. My house is also fairly sound proof so distrubing the neighbors is not even an issue. The dilemma is that I can't decide if I should get a preamp or a stronger new receiver with HDMI so I can be ready for TrueDolbyHD and so on. Of course $ is always a concern there too.


Next thing I've noticed: not a fan of the sub(SVS PB12-ISD). It does sound good for movies but I found was majorly lacking in music. My buddy has a 10" sounstage sub that he bought from BestBuy that pounds waaay harder, WTF?


Last but not least, my last thing that my system seems lacking...... more speakers. Now that I seem to have the HQ thing under somewhat wraps I can easily see where my 5.1 gig could sound even better as a 7.1 gig:D.
*sigh* It's endless, but in a good way I guess.


Anyways now that I seem to have things smoothed out somewhat, I'm over all very happy with my exprience so far. Sorry about being so long winded. Just thought I would share thoughts and expriences up to this point. Well I gotta go, once again beers are again chillin( no problem trying this part again;) )

[DougMac]

Congrats on you progress so far! You didn't tell us what Ascends you bought.

Don't give up on the SVS just yet. Tell us about the room and the location of the sub. Moving a sub just a foot or two can make a huge difference. Have you heard the same music on your friend's system? Maybe it's source. Also, your friend may actually have his sub running too loud. Keep tweaking.

Doug

[Mitch G]

On the sub-ject of subs, since you seem to like techno-tweaking, check out Room EQ Wizard. It's free software that when used with a sound meter - which if you don't have one, you'll want to get one - can show you what your sub's room response looks like. You can then use this data and subsequent runs to place your sub in its optimal place. Or, even cooler, you can pick up a Behringer Feedback Destroyer and with the output of Room EQ Wizard you can program one of the parametric equalizers to manage the sub's output. I did this with my SVS 25-31 PC+ and it made a noticeable difference.
You can find Room EQ Wizard as well as all sorts of support for the software at www.hometheatershack.com.


Mitch

[Gov]

Next thing I've noticed: not a fan of the sub(SVS PB12-ISD). It does sound good for movies but I found was majorly lacking in music. My buddy has a 10" sounstage sub that he bought from BestBuy that pounds waaay harder, WTF?


I am betting that you are used to hearing some "boomy" bass. With music, the bass should not be pounding and booming like crazy. It is supposed to blend in with the speakers.

[Rabbi R.]

Hey guys thx for the very helpfull responses so far. Looks like once again I jumped the gun( yep night #3 lol ) as I still can't seem to play DTS-A and DVD-A. The sound card install went smooth and apparently when I ran a quick test before going to work I accidentally tested my "Police videos DVD" rather then my "Police DVD-Audio". For some reason I keep just getting a hiss noise when I try to play DTS-A or DVD-A. Oh well, AVS forums here I come(night #4?:rolleyes:).


Yeah sorry Doug after rambling on for so long you would of thought I would thrown in which Ascends I bought. I purchased PB Serrias for L/C/R and 200's for the back. To touch on the sub situation a bit, I actually took that beast over to my friends house and hooked it up to the exact same source, tried different settings, room placement, etc. but was easily outperformed in music by buddy's 10" soundstage. We even took his sub to my house and same deal.


Gov I hear ya on the blend thing and in the movie department I do like the sound off the SVS as it does blend nicely but in the music department it just feels like something majorly missing. It seems like the deep bass is present but the upper(tighter) and mid bass seem non-existent. It just doesn't fill the room like my buddy's does.

Thx for the great advice Mitch I will defianately check that stuff out. Do you have any places you recommend to purchase a sound meter?

[kinggimp82]

Gov I hear ya on the blend thing and in the movie department I do like the sound off the SVS as it does blend nicely but in the music department it just feels like something majorly missing. It seems like the deep bass is present but the upper(tighter) and mid bass seem non-existent. It just doesn't fill the room like my buddy's does.

Rabi you should try your sub in different locations in your room. You may get the midbass to sound better in a different location. Location has a lot to do with how certain frequencies are produced. One spot may produce good midbass and another spot bad midbass. I think placing it close to the listening position is better for midbass from what ive read.

[Mitch G]

<snip>

Thx for the great advice Mitch I will defianately check that stuff out. Do you have any places you recommend to purchase a sound meter?

Check out the hometheatershack forums - most people use a Radio Shack sound meter, but I think there may be some other options out there these days. Also, you may be able to find a used one over there.


Mitch

[DougMac]

I purchased PB Serrias for L/C/R and 200's for the back. To touch on the sub situation a bit, I actually took that beast over to my friends house and hooked it up to the exact same source, tried different settings, room placement, etc. but was easily outperformed in music by buddy's 10" soundstage. We even took his sub to my house and same deal.


I bet the Sierra's sound great! Since they are known for good bass extension, tell me about the type of music you're playing that seems to lack punch. Also, what instrument sounds better on your friend's sub? Is it acoustic bass, kick drum, etc.?

I can think of two possible explanations.

Your friend's sub may have a peak at a "good" frequency that makes it sound punchier. I had an old Infinity servo 10" that died on me after +20 years. I replaced it with an SVS PB12-NSD. At first there was a letdown. I soon realized that the Infinity was actually peaky and I'd gotten used to the little one note wonder. After spending some time with the SVS, I realize how much smoother it is.

The other possibility, since you bought your sub off ebay, is that you have a defective unit. That will be pretty hard to determine unless you could A/B it with another PB12 that's in good working order. Another possibility is to run some sweeps using an RS SPL meter and REW software, especially if you could do sweeps of your friend's sub in the same position and sound level. I think that would be very revealing.

Doug

[Rabbi R.]

Hey guys thx again for the info. As far as sub placement goes believe me I moved that baby everywhere and every direction, even in places where I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it. No worries though I haven't completely given up on it yet. I plan on keeping it for at least 6mths - year before I make a final decision on the situation. In the mean time I'm gonna rewatch all my favorite movies, pump the shit out of all my CD's, sit back and enjoy the ride:D. Later guys

[Rabbi R.]

Ok after finally figuring my receiver, PC, new sound card,media player and AC3 filter settings, my system is now sounding amazing:D. I must admit I'm even coming around to the sub now. After jamming hard all weekend I am now starting to realize what quality bass actually sounds like. I think the problem at first was: 1- It wasn't what I expected. Being a newb and all I really didn't know what to expect from the huge 80 pound box but for some reason it was still not what I expected, whatever:rolleyes:.

Second and more importantly, having the settings set porperly on every single one of those things I mentioned at the top was definately the key. Again the newb factor playing the culprit here. After figuring all this out( who knows may even still some bumps to iron out) the difference in sound on everything, sub included changed dramatically. Even if one of those settings are off or if the wrong media player is used that could easily be the difference between average to poor sound and higher quality sound, or at least in my case it was.

I realize this is now considered bragging but my system sounded so great this weekend and all though I did alot of research before my purchases, I was honestly blowin out the water that the music I was playing were just my regular MP3's and not some sort HQ 5.1 versions(or something like that) that I never heard before. The details and sounds in these songs that I've had and have been my favourite for years was actually shocking. I must admit that I expected top quality sound when I made my purchases but since I didn't really know what quality sound sounded like, I had no clue that it was gonna turn out this good.

I want to thank all you internet cats that helped me out on my 1st HT journey here, I am extremly happy with the results so far. Without you guys I wouldn't be anywhere near the HT that I currently have and likely would of paid more money on top of that. The funny thing and at the same time somewhat pathetic thing is I would probably would of been satisfied with whatever crap one I would of ended up with if I wouldn't of found places like this or AVS. I would of had no idea that sound like this existed as none of my friends have sound like this lol. Wow again, sorry bout the novel. Bored at work again and thought I would share my thoughts just in case some day it can help another future newb in a similar postion.

[Rabbi R.]

Just a little update on this thread I feel is needed for future references of others considering purchasing similar equipment. Now that it's been a few months I finally think I've worked out all the kinks and so on. A major factor why I was having sub problems at first was due the speaker connector box on the sub was broken, causing it to rattle when played at some what louder(no where near loud though) levels, plus air was also pumping out through there as well causing the sub to distort at even low levels. I knew something wasn't right but it took me a while to find it as I was assuming it was something else(setting or something like that).

I have since completely removed the connector box, sealed up the holes and wow! does that shit pump now. I can even turn my H/K much louder now as I thought before my distortion problem was due to not having enough power lol. Anyways I felt like an update was necessary as when I originally posted I mentioned not being a big fan of the sub and thought that my H/K 635 wasn't loud enough. Now I am a huge fan of the sub, shakes my house and kills my buddy's 10" soundstage:D while still keeping a clean sound. The H/K also seems much louder now too, being that I can turn it up much higher then before without distortion issues.

Figured it was only fair to mention these things just in case someone else is thinking about similar purchases and comes across this thread. Now that everything seems to be properly done and sounding so amazing I wanted to clear the water as my original post now seems a little unjustified.

P.S. The Sierras have never been an issue. They sounded amazing right away:).

[davef]

Just a little update on this thread I feel is needed for future references of others considering purchasing similar equipment. Now that it's been a few months I finally think I've worked out all the kinks and so on. A major factor why I was having sub problems at first was due the speaker connector box on the sub was broken, causing it to rattle when played at some what louder(no where near loud though) levels, plus air was also pumping out through there as well causing the sub to distort at even low levels. I knew something wasn't right but it took me a while to find it as I was assuming it was something else(setting or something like that).

I have since completely removed the connector box, sealed up the holes and wow! does that shit pump now. I can even turn my H/K much louder now as I thought before my distortion problem was due to not having enough power lol. Anyways I felt like an update was necessary as when I originally posted I mentioned not being a big fan of the sub and thought that my H/K 635 wasn't loud enough. Now I am a huge fan of the sub, shakes my house and kills my buddy's 10" soundstage:D while still keeping a clean sound. The H/K also seems much louder now too, being that I can turn it up much higher then before without distortion issues.

Figured it was only fair to mention these things just in case someone else is thinking about similar purchases and comes across this thread. Now that everything seems to be properly done and sounding so amazing I wanted to clear the water as my original post now seems a little unjustified.

P.S. The Sierras have never been an issue. They sounded amazing right away:).

Hi Rabbi,

I am very pleased that you have finally gotten all of the kinks worked out. Problems with the subwoofer high-level inputs can be a serious problem...

Now it is time to sit back and enjoy!!!