understanding psw 505 functions

B-ryce

Hi there all!
I just bought this gorgeous sub woofer and im alittle confused of the different knobs and functions are back there. I am used to an older sub that just had the volume control. but this one also has a low pass knob and a phase switch. I need someone to explain what these 2 things are supposed to do exactly. I have it currently setup with a regular sub cable to my onkyo reciever. I play games about 90% of the time 5% movies and 5% music. Now i don't want massive boom where i currently live now BUT i want something clean obviuosly. I also own TSi 500's, 200's, and a CS20 and i need the sub to blend in. any help is great!!!

Thx!

phocion

Low pass knob sets the crossover point of the sub, so if it is set at 100, then the sub will kick in at 100hz and lower. Use this knob to blend the sub with your system. If your mains dig pretty deep, then you will hear a lot of boom on the frequencies that they share with the subwoofer. Some people like that, some do not.

Phase is the polarity of the subwoofer, ie. when the speakers move in and out. You want the sub to move in and out with the mains when they are playing the same tone. If they are out of phase, where the sub pushes, while the mains pull, then they essentially dampen each other and hurt output. Try it both ways, and if the difference is not obvious, leave it at 0.

Your receiver probably also has a cutoff level for the sub (sub frequency in the settings), which you will need to check, as well as the "speaker size" which modifies the frequencies played by the mains.

[Deleted User]

Hello,
Some great sounding audio gear you've got there. The variable low pass knob controls the upper frequency that the sub produces. If you have it set to 80Hz, for example, the sub-woofer will play the frequency spectrum from around 25Hz to 80Hz. This is used to get a proper blending of the main speakers and the sub. If my main speakers have a low frequency response capability of 100Hz, for example, I would set the sub to the same 100Hz.
The phase adjustment is designed to compensate for setups where the sub-woofer is further away or closer to the listener than the main left and right speakers. Here again, the goal is to get the sub and the main speakers working seamlessly. In a well setup system it is never obvious that you have a separate sub. All of the sounds, for the front channels, should seem to be coming from the main left and right speakers.
Many people use calibration discs to fine tune their audio/video system and part of the setup procedure will deal with setting the sub levels and phase adjustment. I'm sure the CP members can make recommendations for good setup discs.
Cheers, Ken

B-ryce

ok great info thx alot! I just need to do alot of tweaking