how to integrate a subwoofer (psw10)

MANSKITO

Hi my name is Michael and I just finished setting up my first system. Currently I have a Yamaha 463 receiver and Monitor 40s as left and right and a psw10 sub wolfer. My room is about 15ft by 15ft. Currently I'm about to pull my hair out because I can not get the psw10 to integrate properly with Monitors 40s. Basicly what I'm trying to do is get the system to sound like a single entity and not two speakers AND a sub. Because right now I can clearly pick out a gap between the sub and the speakers and clearly pick out the subs location in the room and to me that sounds awfull. I know the Monitor 40s and psw10 are capable of much better sound because I heard them on a show room floor. Some advice would be very helpfull as this is my first attempt at really doing any thing the A/V world as I just moved out and currently am in my freshman year of collage. Again some advice would be greatly helpful.

obieone

Welcome to Club Polk. Please come in off the ledge:D

How do you have the speakers hooked up?

MANSKITO

I m using the speaker level inputs (could not afford a LEF cable lol) and there placed about 4ft apart and 3ft high with the sub on the left floor about center of room.

MANSKITO

also I have the phase (have no idea what it dose) set to 0 and the two knobs set to 12"o'clock if that helps. thank you so much by the way, whats the ledge?

obieone

O.K., how do you have the system set up, meaning, do you have the speakers set to 'large', and subwoofer to 'no/ off' in the recvr.?

MANSKITO

2 channel, direct, and EQ is flat. I m sorry but i don't know what you mean by large.
and the sub is on can hear it shakes the floor at high volumes lol.

Knucklehead

I think a good starting point may be for you to look at your AVR manual.

MANSKITO

i m sorry but it was an open box item all i have is the AVR..... was the only way i could afford it, i would of done just that.

MANSKITO

that you so much for your help though.

kawizx9r

MANSKITO wrote: »

that you so much for your help though.

You can always find a .pdf version of your manual and skim through that. Keep in mind, subwoofer placement is VERY important so you might just have to pull it out of a corner or place it in a different one to hear what you like.

Btw, Welcome to CP!

MANSKITO

wow nice advice reading it right now

Knucklehead

Here ya go my friend, im sure it will help....

http://www2.yamaha.co.jp/manual/pdf/av/english/re/RX-V463_U.pdf

Im late....LOL

MANSKITO

Thanks again that helped alot sounds much better now, how ever there is still an issue, the sub still sounds disconnected with the main speakers, like there is a gap between them. Do you have any advice on what the set the sub's cross over at/phase at or where to place it? (lessoning to pink floyd's dark side of the moon)

Knucklehead

Well, i must say, by itself the PSW10 is an O.K. sub, im currently running 2 of em', I had to move those suckers around the room so many times it wasnt funny, the best advice I can give you is to sit in your normal listening spot and move the sub around until you find what works for you.....you'll find it...believe me!

kawizx9r

Knucklehead wrote: »

Well, i must say, by itself the PSW10 is an O.K. sub, im currently running 2 of em', I had to move those suckers around the room so many times it wasnt funny, the best advice I can give you is to sit in your normal listening spot and move the sub around until you find what works for you.....you'll find it...believe me!

+1 To what David said

Like I mentioned earlier, placement is one of the most important things to consider when setting up your subwoofer.

As for your phase switch, my best advice is to have someone sit in your "sweet spot" and toss in some bass-heavy music. Go to the back of your subwoofer, and flip the phase switch to 0 deg., then to 180 deg. One of those settings will provide noticeably more bass, if you don't hear it....hopefully the person there sitting near you will. When you find that setting, leave it there. The phase switch works by setting the speaker to fire in a specific phase. When speakers are out of phase I.E. your front mains and your subwoofer, your speakers will literally 'compete' and cancel each others bass notes.

Once you've got that knocked out, I'd recommend turning the cross-over setting a bit lower than what it is and fine the spot where the mains better match with the subwoofer. Even turning down the gain a bit might help.

-Freddy

MANSKITO

ya i really only have two places to put the sub, honestly they sound pretty much the same. Is this a limitation of the sub, should i try and take it back and getter a better one, or is there any thing else?

kawizx9r

Sub placement is vital for any and all subs.

Knucklehead

Yep Freddy is exactly right Bro, hey if you got the money a lot of guys on here go for SVS or Velodyne subs, I will eventually but with 3 kids and all the bills it's one step at a time for me!

MANSKITO

no money what so ever, just started school saved up a while to get what i have now, budget is $100 even if i where to take back the polk sub. I could move into a corner if i disconnect the right speaker lead and connect it directly to the AVR, Would this be a bad idea dose it matter if i only have the left channel connect to the sub? (thanks again for your help.)

kawizx9r

MANSKITO wrote: »

no money what so ever, just started school saved up a while to get what i have now, budget is $100 even if i where to take back the polk sub. I could move into a corner if i disconnect the right speaker lead and connect it directly to the AVR, Would this be a bad idea dose it matter if i only have the left channel connect to the sub?

If the sub is already doing more than enough for your needs, then there's no need to upgrade. However, if you did later in the future (in the much later future in your case) do make a mental note of the subs listed above.

I just read about how your subwoofer is hooked up to your AVR, and honestly it's not the way I'd recommend hooking one up. Where do you live? I've got a ton of extra cables in a backpack, and one of them you can use for the LFE/RCA INPUT on your subwoofer.

MANSKITO

Wow thats nice of you to offer, Columbia South Carolina

Knucklehead

MANSKITO wrote: »

Wow thats nice of you to offer, Columbia South Carolina

stick around MANSKITO, these guys have a wealth of knowledge!

MANSKITO

on a side note i did some quick research and there is a company called Fluance that makes a sub in my price range. would that be a better buy then the polk? (its actually only $70) have any of you heard any Fluance products, are they worth my time?

kawizx9r

MANSKITO wrote: »

on a side note i did some quick research and there is a company called Fluance that makes a sub in my price range. would that be a better buy then the polk? (its actually only $70) have any of you heard any Fluance products, are they worth my time?

I've personally never heard of Fluance.

My advice to you, stick with the subwoofer you got. If you encounter any problems at all, you will find that Polk Customer Service is 2nd to none. By far the best experience you'll ever have

Hmm South kakalaki huh, I haven't been there for a few years now. I'd have to see if I've got a decent length cable, and if you want I'd ship it at your expense. Otherwise you can just go to Parts-express.com or monoprice.com for an extremely affordable cable for your sub.

MANSKITO

i will have to get back to you on that, i honestly cant even cover extremely affordable atm, i have 70 cents left in bank lol but thats again for all the help.

MANSKITO

but just in case you want to look http://www.fluance.com/ they got whole 5.1 systems for $200 tower speakers and all. but i m thinking they might be on the level of HTIB systems rather then component audio.

Knucklehead

I would probably stick with your PSW10, maybe buy another one, they can be had pretty cheap.

apphd

Hard to say but from what I'm reading you may have the gain too high on the sub. Start out with the xo and the gain settings at the mid way point. Then it is just putting time in to tweak. Another trick for sub positioning, is to put the sub in your listening position then crawl around the room listening for where the bass sounds best. That's where the sub would go. But since you only have two locations it can go, try them both, but that would mean spending the time to dial it in for the best sound at each location before making the decision.

kcoc321

Michael,
I am going to back up, as opposed to the fine-tunings ppl have mentioned...

First I would check your settings on the receiver.
Since his was an open box purchase,, I would reset the receiver to factory stting, sence whomever had it before was probally running it setup to their own settings.

Then:
1. front set to "large" (sends a 'full range' signal out the wires) Sub preforms the Cross-over function as in it splits the signal and sends the "highs" on thru the back hookups to the Speakers.
2. Subwoofer Set to "none" (as t is running of of the front speaker wires)
3. Adjust the crossover point ON THE SUB. Start at 80hz and try up and down.
The Mon40 are "Lower -3dB Limit 57Hz" from the specs page, so they need alot of help from the Sub, hense the 80hz setting, maybe even higher....
there are diagrams and instruction in the Maual. The PSW10 and PSW12 use the same manual
http://www.polkaudio.com/downloads/manuals/home/PSW10_12_Manual.pdf
Go to Setup Option #2

THEN I would start tweeking using sub placement and gain/ volume & phase.

You should still be able to get decent sound, as in effect the Mon40's are a "big" satellite speaker. That Yammi is only spec'd for 1khz of 105wpc, so I am guessing it is around 80-90wpc for 20hz-20khz...Should perform decent but don't try and make your ears bleed.

ctrulock

I would try to get an rca cable and Y connector. Then you can play 2 channel music and use the a + b zones to turn off the monitor 40's and just listen to the sub with certain passages of known music (the sub out still plays if a or b speaker zones are on or one is off). That way you can better integrate the sub. Sometimes it seems as if your sub is not doing anything at all if it is integrated properly but try turning it off. You will miss it IMHO.