Hmm.. Just not right. Speakers/Set-up

Valentine143

I increased the performance to the PSW350 dramatically with a monsterbase M300 cable out of the Denon's sub out to the LFE. I was ready to return it because it was mushy and slow with the recommended set-up. I did not want to buy this cable and I did not want to deviate from the manual, but I did for trial purposes.. That subs not goin' anywhere now.. Love it!

Now on to the 6600's.. Granted I don't have the greatest layout for perfect speaker location. And I have the speakers mounted from the ceiling, in an area of a great-room, so the listening area only has two walls (11x14)..

The 6600's don't seem to open up. The sound being output is clean but not open.. Thought they were okay, at least with HT.. But until I went back to the store (they blew me away, again..), I realized something was just not right. The center channel seems to be doing its job but the other four speakers don't.

Now here is something I've been wondering.. The speaker wires that go to these 4 speakers are in wall. This is direct burial 14-gauge wire for in wall installation. The wire out of my receiver is 12-gauge. So the center channel is directly connected with the 12g (the sub was). The four speakers have the 12g only going to the wall and then steps down to 14g. Could this be a problem??

-When I set-up the Denon 2802's channel levels (tone) they all come up balanced at zero. Is this something that I need to adjust?? Should they all be equal settings and if so at what level, or do they get adjusted independently based on how they sound.

Please help! I'm stoked with my equipment. I'm just trying to get it to sound better. Another example.. I was watching Fantasia 2000 in DTS and it sounded flat seemed better in DD. This may also be related to speaker performance.?

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for any help.

gidrah

While the 14AWG is small, so are the 6600s. Most of the improvement with larger wire is noticed in the bass. You might want to try running some 12AWG and see if there's a noticable difference. I would also check your connections, as this is where most signal loss occurs and you have an extra set.

There should be a test tone on your receiver that scrolls through all 5 channels. Try using this with the volume at what you would watch a movie at. Some people swear by using an SPL meter (Radio Shack). Personally I just go by ear. You might have to increase the Db of the fronts as they are probably further away. You might also check out your delay settings if they are too far.

How do they sound with stereo music?

Good luck!

RuSsMaN

I wouldn't say14 awg is small, it should be more than enough, esp on a short run. I have 14 awg on greater than 50 ft' runs in my whole house system and I can hit 100+ db easily, and clearly.

I would wager a small amount that with the same brand/type of wire, you would not be able to tell the difference in 12 and 14awg in a blind test.

Connections could be the issue, also, in-wall electrical lines could cause some interference with the low-voltage speaker wire.

How is it in stereo, music only? Run a short wire from your rec to your mains (take em down) and test it. Repeat with your rears.

Polairty could be an issue also, but shouldn't totally fry your sound, it should sound a little hollow, or bass-shy though if its reversed.

Happy troubleshooting brotha.

R

Valentine143

I had a friend come over last night that is a car audio installer. He helped me tune in my sweet spot and tweeked the system a bit. It sounds pretty good especially at near -18db. What we determined was what the Polk Techs also suggested, that the RM6600 may not really be able to fill that room.. At 11x14 would be NO problem, but this foot print is only an area of a "great room" that also opens to an open kitchen and nook area. The area in total is ~25x25 in total and Polk suggested returning the RM6600 and getting a pair of Rt 25i w/CS245 and fx## as a min.. I don't think upgrading the speakers right now is in my budget, plus my situation at this point favors ceiling mounts as opposed to wall mount or floor standing. My next step is to turn the surrounds up a bit and to make the direct connection fron AVR to mains with a short run to see if it makes any difference or if there is a possible connection problem down line. I watched the Eagle's WHFO in DTS last night, I don't think you could get that to sound bad. I'll keep chuggn'

Thanks for the help..

-Darrin Valentine