PSW 505 Settings

Jp381242

Ok I am setting up my system. Have a Pioneer VSX 1121 K. How loud should the sub be? The speakers are at about
75db. Sub is around 63db. I cant get the sub up above 68db without it popping. By the way its loud as hell at that point! Makes me think I am doing something wrong. Thanks

specd_out

use the MCacc calibrations and then tweak from there

tonyb

Would help if we knew how you have it wired up, what gear your using it with, and where the settings are at to begin with.

Jp381242

Sure. I have Moniter 70 (2's) for the fronts and a CS2 Center. Rears are OWM3s. AVR is a Pioneer VSX 1121K.

Speakers are set to 75 dbs and sub is at 66. I have it set to +8 on the settings and the knob on the sub is at 9 O'Clock. I cant push it any higher. This is after MCACC. 80Hz Crossover.

Jp381242

Ok I think I figured out the "popping sound". It was the sub moving on the hardwood floor. I know have up to 70db. Can go higher but I don't think I want too. Should the db's be the same as the speakers or at this point is it personal choice?

Mon40CSMM10

In my opinion, it's a personal choice depending on what you want from the sub.

1) Do you want the full home theater boom effect? If so, then calibrate it the same as the mains. To push the sub higher, try lowering the receiver subwoofer channel volume (i.e., from +8 down to +6.5) and then also increasing the subwoofer amplifier dial. If the front mains are calibrated to 75 dBC peak level, the goal would be to calibrate the subwoofer to 75 dBC (and some even calibrate to 78 dBC if they like their sub presence to really stand out). Also be careful about going past the 1 o'clock (analog hour hand equivalent position) with the sub amp dial as well.

I'll mention that when I tried this, even with a PSW110 (10 inch subwoofer), the sub really stood out over the mains during low bass passages which made for very bass heavy music listening--way overpowering bass drum, heavy electric bass in rock and metal, but not so much with synth bass in dance music and rap (probably also because the bass drum overpowered even that). However, that is the correct calibration for home theater.

2) Or, do you want it to just naturally be a lower end rolloff from the mains? In that case, forget all numerical calibration levels. Here's how I did it:

a. Choose the lowest subwoofer channel volume that will still allow it to be powered on at the desired listening volume.
b. Turn the subwoofer all the way down.
c. Pick a listening volume--not too soft, but loud enough to enable the sub. Play some music that has bass drum and bass instruments (such as electric bass or synth bass) and avoid radio stations with bass drum heavy mixing.
d. Slowly increase the amp dial until the subwoofer is just barely detected above the mains.
e. Optional--Check the sub presence: temporarily disconnect the front mains (and the center, if using a surround mode that also uses the center speaker) at the speaker connection (just remove one cable). Note how little subwoofer presence there actually is--audible, but actually quite soft--but it's correct, that's all that is needed to naturally extend the bass rolloff from the mains. Then reconnect the front mains (and the center, if it was also disconnected).
f. Want more bass? Then turn the subwoofer up some more in very small increments.

Home theater will still have some boom, but not nearly as much as when calibrated to near the same level of the mains.