Need Help with settings of my new system!

ravaneli

Pioneer VSX-521-K 5.1-Channel
Polk Audio DSWPRO 660wi 12" Sub
Polk Audio RM75 satelites
HT OMEGA CLARO sound card.
S/PDIF from the sound card to the pioneer receiver.
12 x 19 drywall room w hardwood floor
used for 75% music and 25 % PC games

Two problems:
First: This is expensive sub with supposedly more than enough power for this room. But it is not at all, or I can't get it to hit right. I have audio system in my car that consists of 12" sub, two amps and 4 speakers - alll POLK, it it absolutely blows the system above out of the water.
If I use the Xover to 100, the Sub doesn't hit strong. If I increase the volume it starts to distort the high frequencies (around 100) and rattles ugly and even clips. If I set the Xover to 80, then it is better, but my satelites rattle badly, because they can't go lower than 95 on paper, and in my opinion they don't even get close to that.
So right now I have the Xover to 100, and then I use the Sub's internal Xover on 80. Now I can turn it up high and it hits good, but nobody plays the 80 to 100 range. Needless to say after all that money spent this is not acceptable. The sub is supposed to have range up to 160, but if you want it to really hit you have to cut it at 80. Am I doing something wrong? ANyone have experience with this sub?

Will post the second issue below.

ravaneli

Second: If go to control panel, Sound, manage sound devices, HT Omega Claro speakers, and set them up to 24/192 000 I can under no settings get all 5 speakers to work. Only the front and center and sub work



Not cool at all. I have to reduce the number a lot, and then I get all speakers to play. Any help with that?

ravaneli

Oh, and this needs to be set to stereo, not 5.1. STEREO, man, STEREO, after all that processing from the receiver and the sound card!!:evil:
If I set it to 5.1 the rear speakers will work when I test them, but will not play on pandora or utube music.

ravaneli

and these are the settings of the sound card that allow all 5.1 channels to work - 2CH!!

So to sum it up, all of the conditions on the 3 screens need to be present simultaneously if I want to hear all 5 speakers play - needs to be STEREO (not 5.1), CD quality (not studio), and 2 channel input on the sound card (not 6).

I am doing something very very wrong and need help

Drenis

Okay first off you need to make some changes.

1. Let your Receiver control the xover. Turn the subs crossover ALL the way up and set your subwoofer xover on the Pioneer to 120hz. Ensure all speakers are set to "SMALL" and not "LARGE" and sub is set to "YES". Ignore the "PLUS" option as this will be of NO benefit to you with your small speakers.

2. Run MCACC and after its done running (Refer to your manual if you've never set it up or are unaware how to. It's not too hard). Go into your data and see what level it puts your sub at. You'll want this measurment between -5db and +3db. If it's above this number then you should lower the subs volume. When in this sweet spot. You can up the sub level after MCACC 3 dbs and see how it blends. Start with this and experiment. I also am prone to disable the EQ and standing wave settings that the MCACC sets up but that's my preference. You may enjoy the sound with it EQ'd but I have never.

3. Disable any DSP features in your software. Set your SPDIF out to something OTHER than Dolby Digital Live. Is there an option for 16 bit 44.1 KHz sample rate? If so, select that. Same with under your "Speaker Properties". Don't select the 24 bit 192 KHz option.

Once this is done set your receiver into stereo mode. This will play music out your front mains (Left, Right channel) and your sub. If you want stereo out ALL speakers then you need to select the DSP mode "Ext. Stereo" on the Pioneer. test it out and see if you like. If you need more bass, up the gain in the sub a couple db's in the MCACC menu.

ravaneli

I had already done 1,2 and 3. I agree equalizers just mess up the music.

The Ext.Surround worked and fed sound to my rear speakers. However now the stage sounds too homogeneous. It's like I have only one channel that all speakers are playing. I really like UNPLUGGED much better. What is the reason for that? Is there any way to listen unplugged to all speakers?

As for the subwoofer, I think I found the problem - it was the damn LFE. If I use the LFE option on the subwoofer it starts to distort like crazy very early on. If I don't use LFE and just a simple Line In it hits rather clean even on high volume. Good enough, but certainly wouldn't call that sub some must have speaker. I wanted the Klipsch but there was no deal on it when I bought it.

What bothers me is that with all the processing from the sound card and the receiver I still can't have a decent 5.1 channel music. This EXT. STEREO is really not my thing

Drenis

Well Ext. Stereo is just splitting whats played out the left and right channels to additional channels in accordance to the channel there playing on. You can go into the sound options and move around until you get to "Effect", Turn that down and your rears will tone down in output. When I last had a 5 speaker setup, my speakers were right behind the couch and the gain was at the lowest setting (I believe it's 30). Blended with the mains and center real nice. YMMV...

Remember, with a LFE channel, if the source has no subwoofer channel recorded into it, then it wont play. A good example of this is 2-channel music Music is not recorded in 2.1