Sub tinsel wire leads breaking

badinlake

A little help please. I have a psw505 powered sub that is amazing. I use in a whole house audio set-up in which the sub is in the basement. I push it with a Pioneer VSX822 with 400 watts max. We do play the music loud at times, but it is not full out ever. The subwoofer's tensile wire leads continue to break free on two different replaced speakers. I would imagine that if I were overpowering the speaker, I would blow the cone before the leads would break free. Any experience with this or advice? Another new speaker is on the way and I don't want to have this problem again. Thanks

F1nut

How is the sub connected to the AVR?

What crossover setting did you select for the sub?

Did you run the MCACC calibration program and if so, what level is the sub set at?

How many speakers do you have connected to the AVR?

What is the volume level on the AVR when playing loud music?

BTW, you are not pushing the sub with the AVR, it has its own built in amp.

badinlake

Connected through LFE - Low Pass set at 80 - sub volume set at 90% - Did not run MCACC - I have 4 ceiling 6.5" Polk speakers and a center speaker under my television. I have a speaker switch that sends signal to another room with just 4 ceiling speakers - volume level 40-55

tonyb

That's pretty high for the sub volume, I wouldn't go over 70% without worrying about over driving that puppy.

ambiophonics

Is the sub also trying to provide bass for the second room?

F1nut

sub volume set at 90% - Did not run MCACC

Too high on the sub volume and you have to calibrate the system.

I have a speaker switch that sends signal to another room with just 4 ceiling speakers - volume level 40-55

Are you driving the speakers in both rooms at the same time?

badinlake

Most of the time just the single main room with center channel. But yes at times all 8 ceiling speakers when we have get togethers. The sub is primarily for the main room, but it does provide a fuller sound over the whole house. Is tensile wire breakage common?

F1nut

Is tensile wire breakage common?

It is when the sub is working beyond reasonable levels. That should be obvious since this will be your third woofer.

You need to dial back the volume level on the sub and you absolutely have to run MCACC.

As for running all those speakers at once, that is not something you should do. Your $399.00 AVR is an entry level unit rated at 80wpc with 1, maybe 2 channels driven and will drop like a lead weight as more are driven, not to mention the impedance load on the AVR's power supply. Continued use like that will kill your AVR.

badinlake

I will run MCACC this weekend - Is there an AVR that is recomended for this type set-up for under $500 or a component that can be added for better efficiency. I know the sky is the limit, but I'm trying to keep it moderately simple. We mostly use it for television and background music. - Thanks for the expertise, until now I have relied on the local BestBuy guys for advice and have had trouble getting the volume of sound that was demoed to me. Ceiling speakers are Polk Sc60.

F1nut

Set the sub volume level back to 50% before starting the MCACC program and make sure the room/house is dead quiet, no A/C or refrigerator, etc. running.

I don't know of any AVR in that price range that has a second zone capability, but there might be one.

Higher end AVR's have pre outs, which allow you to add a power amp or amps, I'm not sure about yours.

I have relied on the local BestBuy guys for advice and have had trouble getting the volume of sound that was demoed to me.

What AVR and speakers were used for the demo?

tonyb

badinlake wrote: »

Most of the time just the single main room with center channel. But yes at times all 8 ceiling speakers when we have get togethers. The sub is primarily for the main room, but it does provide a fuller sound over the whole house. Is tensile wire breakage common?

Nope, not common as far as I'm aware. The fact that your replacing the speaker a few times already dictates something is amiss.

Your trying to push too much volume out of that sub to cover the whole house, 2 rooms anyway, and that's not what they are designed to do.

The more speakers you add to the receiver, the less power each one gets. I don't think the guy at Bestbuy demoed the receiver in a super large area with 8 speakers attached....which would explain the volume differences.

You could either separate the 2 rooms, put together a system for each, or buy a better receiver capable of running 2 zones together, but neither option will come cheap.

If you want to continue using a speaker selector switch, a receiver with some more power should be on the table.....and turn the sub down. There are many ways to do whole home audio, however not many I can think of will start under 500 bucks. Many options also exist to wifi your music around the house.