PSW 505 - Blown?
Jerbo
Posts: 2
Hi,
I just received a PSW505 from Newegg, as a bought a new A/V receiver (the Denon 3311CI). After running the auto-setup of the stereo, it set the sub settings for me automatically, and the system was sounding great.
Unfortunately I left the subwoofer in the "On" mode (as per my stereo's instruction manual from initial setup) and went out of town for 3 days.
As best I can tell, leaving the sub "on" for 3 straight days might have overloaded it or caused it to short out?? Is that possible? (That might not be the cause of the problem though, as I also had to reset the microprocessor of the stereo because the network card was not working properly, and after that I re-ran Auto Setup where pulses of sound are sent to each speaker so the receiver can determine the speaker characteristics and determine the best settings for crossover, channel level, etc. So, the problem could also have resulted from the resetting of the stereo microprocessor or the re-do of the Audyssey Auto-setup, I am just not sure)).
Regardless, my new sub is "blown". I don't know how or why -- I had only used the new system for a couple of hours before going out of town, and certainly not at very high volumes (about -25 to -30 as a maximum on the relative scale of my receiver). Could it be because it overheated when I left it "on" for 3 straight days? Or is it likely related to overload from the stereo?
Since the sub was brand new, I was able to send it back to the vendor and they will be sending me a brand new one. What I am hoping to accomplish by posting this question is to determine how best to make sure this DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN (heck, it could have been a defective unit, although as best as I can tell it did work great when I first set it up, albeit for only a couple hours before I left town for 3 days).
FYI, I hooked up the sub with the LFE input (and the "sub out" jack of the receiver). This was the preferred method from my receiver's instruction manual, which stated to use "direct mode" of the sub. I believe using the LFE input on the sub bypasses the subs' crossover, which indeed would be a "direct" mode and the stereo handles all the bass management, which is what i want.
When I get the new one... I want to make sure I don't screw it up again... any tips on how best to operate this new sub? My A/V receiver has 125 W per channel x 7 channels (each channel discrete). If I listen at a max sound volume of, say -20 on the receiver, is this too high a volume? Any other contributing factors to why my sub might have "blown"? Please help... I now have to wait 2 weeks for a new one and when I get it, I want to make sure I'm good to go and want to minimize my risk for another "blowout".
I just received a PSW505 from Newegg, as a bought a new A/V receiver (the Denon 3311CI). After running the auto-setup of the stereo, it set the sub settings for me automatically, and the system was sounding great.
Unfortunately I left the subwoofer in the "On" mode (as per my stereo's instruction manual from initial setup) and went out of town for 3 days.
As best I can tell, leaving the sub "on" for 3 straight days might have overloaded it or caused it to short out?? Is that possible? (That might not be the cause of the problem though, as I also had to reset the microprocessor of the stereo because the network card was not working properly, and after that I re-ran Auto Setup where pulses of sound are sent to each speaker so the receiver can determine the speaker characteristics and determine the best settings for crossover, channel level, etc. So, the problem could also have resulted from the resetting of the stereo microprocessor or the re-do of the Audyssey Auto-setup, I am just not sure)).
Regardless, my new sub is "blown". I don't know how or why -- I had only used the new system for a couple of hours before going out of town, and certainly not at very high volumes (about -25 to -30 as a maximum on the relative scale of my receiver). Could it be because it overheated when I left it "on" for 3 straight days? Or is it likely related to overload from the stereo?
Since the sub was brand new, I was able to send it back to the vendor and they will be sending me a brand new one. What I am hoping to accomplish by posting this question is to determine how best to make sure this DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN (heck, it could have been a defective unit, although as best as I can tell it did work great when I first set it up, albeit for only a couple hours before I left town for 3 days).
FYI, I hooked up the sub with the LFE input (and the "sub out" jack of the receiver). This was the preferred method from my receiver's instruction manual, which stated to use "direct mode" of the sub. I believe using the LFE input on the sub bypasses the subs' crossover, which indeed would be a "direct" mode and the stereo handles all the bass management, which is what i want.
When I get the new one... I want to make sure I don't screw it up again... any tips on how best to operate this new sub? My A/V receiver has 125 W per channel x 7 channels (each channel discrete). If I listen at a max sound volume of, say -20 on the receiver, is this too high a volume? Any other contributing factors to why my sub might have "blown"? Please help... I now have to wait 2 weeks for a new one and when I get it, I want to make sure I'm good to go and want to minimize my risk for another "blowout".
Post edited by Jerbo on
Comments
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I use the auto on which turns the sub on after it detects a signal and turns on 15 minutes after it don't.Parasound Avc-1800
Mains-Rti 12 -Parasound 1500a
Center-Csi5-Parasound 1000a
Rears-Rti 8-Parasound 750a
Sub SVS Ultra Tv 12
Diamondback and King Cobra IC's
AQ T4 SC -
I use the auto on feature also. It is a bit of a pain, but always a good idea when you leave for an extended period of time or during severe thunder storms to unplug sensitive equipment. I live at the end of a 75 mile single run of power line and have frequent brown outs in severe wind and storms. Working on building up my supply of good power conditioners, but unplugging is always an inexpensive and effective option.
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good tip, thanks guys.
will DEFINITELY use the "auto" mode from now on, and yes unplugging does make good sense esp. when I am going to be gone for several days or more.
Anybody have any thoughts if the blown sub could have instead been the result of my AMP blowing it? I read an article on the Polk website about it being a common misconception that "my stereo only provides 125 W of power per channel and my sub does 300 W so the stereo couldn't be powerful enough to blow out the sub". Instead, it is easy to blow the sub if you drive your stereo too high. Since I just got a new a/v receiver, I'm leery of this, as I don't know its full potential yet. I did run the receiver's auto-setup program and used the settings it created for all my speakers and bass management (all speakers are set to small, the crossover is handled by the receiver and the setting is reasonable for small polk RM sattelites -- 120Hz for the front and surrounds and 150Hz for the center channel). I find that I have to turn the volume higher than on my old stereo, so that it shows anywhere from -40 to -20 on the relative volume indicator. I wouldn't think there is risk of blowing the sub at that volume level... but if anybody has any thoughts on the matter I would appreciate the feedback.
Bottom line, in addition to more common-sense handling of the sub in terms of using the auto setting and unplugging, is there anything in regard to receiver sound management function and volume levels that I need to be aware of. Thanks again all.
