Polk Subwoofer Problem

kmcclelland

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum after I bought my second Polk Subwoofer and am having the same problems as I have with my subwoofer I'm using on my main TV.

I just bought a Yamaha RX-V473 Receiver and a speaker system which includes the Polk PSW110 Subwoofer.

I ran through the sound test with the subwoofer and it isn't working. I've had the exact same problem with a Polk Subwoofer and Yamaha receiver (older models) with my main TV and never got around to fixing it (don't ask why). I just purchased these new sets for another TV and want to solve both problems.

I have the single subwoofer cable running from the Yamaha Subwoofer input in the receiver to the R/LFE In jack in the subwoofer. I get sound from the subwoofer when I'm plugging it in, but when running the test to see that it is set up properly it doesn't work at all.

Can anyone here help? It would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Kevin

mdaudioguy

Welcome! So, you're running the auto-setup (YPAO), and when it gets to the sub, you hear nothing?

teekay0007

First off, WELCOME to Club Polk!

OK, you said, "I have the single subwoofer cable running from the Yamaha Subwoofer input in the receiver..." Sounds to me like you're connecting your subwoofer cable to the multi-channel input on your receiver instead of where it should be connected, the "Subwoofer Pre-Output", on your receiver. The receiver puts out a signal to the subwoofer input.

Just hoping it's something this simple for you.

kmcclelland

Thanks for the reply. Sorry I am pretty sure it is the Subwoofer output. With the Yamaha receiver it is the only output that says "Subwoofer" so it looks pretty clear to me that it is the correct place to plug the subwoofer cable into. I am using a subwoofer cable that has just one jack on each end, but the subwoofer has two inputs. Do I need a Y connector or something?

Thank you

kmcclelland

@mdaudioguy yes I'm running the test where it runs through the 5 speakers + sub and when it gets to the subwoofer I get nothing. Subwoofer is turned on.

[Deleted User]

Hello kmcclelland,
Welcome to Polk's forum. Let's determine if the problem is with the subwoofer or elsewhere. Try this:
1). Turn the volume all the way down on the sub and remove the sub-cable from the receiver.
2). Connect this cable to any high level component, it could be a DVD player, CD player even a VCR, anything that has an audio output that you know is functioning.
3). Start playing a CD (if you're using a DVD/CD player) and turn the volume up to about the 10:00 o'clock position on the sub.
There should be plenty of bass coming from the sub.
Regards, Ken

kmcclelland

I plugged the subwoofer into a DVD player and threw in a DVD and the subwoofer is indeed working.

kmcclelland

Am I missing something on the receiver? I'm plugging it into the output that simply says "subwoofer". I looked at the instructions and it showed the subwoofer to be plugged in there.

mdaudioguy

Are you sure it's connected to the sub OUT, as teekay0007 suggested above? That's a plausible explanation, and an easy mistake to make!

kmcclelland

I don't see anything about "out" but its the only thing labelled subwoofer

kmcclelland

This is what the Yamaha receiver says about the Subwoofer jack I've been plugging it into:

SUBWOOFER jack
For connecting to a subwoofer (with built-in amplifier) (p.15)


It also has this:

Connecting the subwoofer
Use an audio pin cable to connect the subwoofer.


And has a picture of the single cable into the Subwoofer jack like I have done. So it looks like I've done everything properly. Unless I need a subwoofer cable with two prongs or whatever they're called to go back into the L and R?

gdpeck

I wonder if this is a speaker config issue in the receiver. I'm not familiar with the Yamaha you have, but I've set up a few AVRs, and they all have some sort of menu where you let the receiver know that you do have a subwoofer. I'm guessing you already checked this, but didn't see it posted. Also, does your receiver have a manual way to send test tones to the individual speakers instead of YPAO? I would start there, and then re-run YPAO after getting the sub to work.

kmcclelland

There is a way to turn the subwoofer on and off. And I have it set to on.

The only way to test the speakers is when it runs through all 5 + subwoofer (that I know of). I will take a look and try to find something with it running through individual speakers.

Thanks

kmcclelland

Does it have to do with setting the "Crossover"?

[Deleted User]

Hello,
My advice would be to contact Yamaha's customer service and ask about getting the sub-out function to operate properly. If there's still no signal being sent to the subwoofer then there's a problem with the receiver.
Regards, Ken

kmcclelland

I got it working!

At least my new subwoofer on my old receiver. Going to try the others in a second, just thought I'd update it here first.

I changed a bunch of stuff in the settings so I'm not really sure what did it.

Is there any recommendations for what to set "crossover" to?

Thanks a lot guys,
Kevin

rpf65

The setting you probably changed was to turn the sub on. On that yamaha you have to tell the reciever which speakers you have connected. The ypao ignores anything not turned on. You do this from the speaker screen for each speaker. You also tell the reciever if it large or small.

kmcclelland

rpf65 wrote: »

The setting you probably changed was to turn the sub on. On that yamaha you have to tell the reciever which speakers you have connected. The ypao ignores anything not turned on. You do this from the speaker screen for each speaker. You also tell the reciever if it large or small.

Nope.