Help with SVS SB1000 in 20x10 living room.

[sl4y3r]

Also, here's a pic, should be more helpful than my pathetic MS Paint representation @sandeepmohan you had some comments on the sub placement?. (its covered with a white cloth)

 

[amrutmhatre90]

Having used Pioneer AVRs, the subwoofer levels the MCACC suggests is higher than Marantz, Denon or Yamaha.
I also had tried the same thing on the Pioneer, increase the gain and reduce the AVR speaker level on subwoofer.

Start playing with the crossovers,60-80-100hz higher you go the sub will get more frequencies.
Best way is to play a music and keep changing the crossover till you get the perfect crossover which sounds good. But also do hop back to movies and test your system out, music and movies should have a good balance.

My friend had calibrated his Marantz system without mic for music only, and when played the amaze trailer his sub bottomed out!!!
One more thing is to point out the Sub should not be placed close to center or center of room. Corners are preferred.

It takes time and patience, you will get there
I am learning REW, once I get hang of it will bring it along to your place.

 

[sl4y3r]

Having used Pioneer AVRs, the subwoofer levels the MCACC suggests is higher than Marantz, Denon or Yamaha.
I also had tried the same thing on the Pioneer, increase the gain and reduce the AVR speaker level on subwoofer.

Start playing with the crossovers,60-80-100hz higher you go the sub will get more frequencies.
Best way is to play a music and keep changing the crossover till you get the perfect crossover which sounds good. But also do hop back to movies and test your system out, music and movies should have a good balance.

My friend had calibrated his Marantz system without mic for music only, and when played the amaze trailer his sub bottomed out!!!
One more thing is to point out the Sub should not be placed close to center or center of room. Corners are preferred.

It takes time and patience, you will get there
I am learning REW, once I get hang of it will bring it along to your place.

I also read keeping subs in the corners tends to cause it to get boomy.. also, notice how the front right of my room is wider than the behind portion of the room, if i were to move the sub below my PC, will that cause an issue as it will be technically hitting a wall, I know they say bass is omnidirectional, but want to be sure.

If you can get the gear to run REW at my place, (after mastering it) I will be eternally grateful

 

[MaSh]

Thanks for the inputs and support @MaSh @Decadent_Spectre @sandeepmohan @efernand1. I will play around with it some more to see how best i can optimize. My sofa is taking longer than expected to come, will wait for that too to see how the sound changes. Thanks again.

@efernand1 - What's your room size btw?

Lastly, the shitty thing about this AVR is that it does not let you set crossover for individual speakers (not even fronts, height, etc.) its 1 universal crossover, to make things worse its not even in good increments, there's 60, 80, 100, 150, 200! No 10Hz increments like most receivers have. That's the biggest painpoint for this AVR.

You are welcome. In that case, set it to 100hz.

MaSh

 

[efernand1]

Thanks for the inputs and support @MaSh @Decadent_Spectre @sandeepmohan @efernand1. I will play around with it some more to see how best i can optimize. My sofa is taking longer than expected to come, will wait for that too to see how the sound changes. Thanks again.

@efernand1 - What's your room size btw?

Lastly, the shitty thing about this AVR is that it does not let you set crossover for individual speakers (not even fronts, height, etc.) its 1 universal crossover, to make things worse its not even in good increments, there's 60, 80, 100, 150, 200! No 10Hz increments like most receivers have. That's the biggest painpoint for this AVR.

Hey, My listening area is approx 300 sq ft

 

[efernand1]

Also, here's a pic, should be more helpful than my pathetic MS Paint representation @sandeepmohan you had some comments on the sub placement?. (its covered with a white cloth)

Hi,

The area where the sub is kept, why not try keeping it in the center of that space....that would ideally balance out well and you can play with settings accordingly.

If possible, try to get your hands on a Denon / Marantz / Yamaha which would be better settings and performance.

 

[sl4y3r]

Hi,

The area where the sub is kept, why not try keeping it in the center of that space....that would ideally balance out well and you can play with settings accordingly.

If possible, try to get your hands on a Denon / Marantz / Yamaha which would be better settings and performance.

Thanks, I tried moving the sub in the extreme corners, never in the middle, I could try that. Thanks!

Sadly, a new AVR is out of the question. Unless one of you kind gents have a spare AVRs. Mr. Helpful @amrutmhatre90 offered one of his spare Amps to see if it helps solve my (second) problem of getting my towers to sound decent in my new place.

 

[MaSh]

Sadly, a new AVR is out of the question. Unless one of you kind gents have a spare AVRs. Mr. Helpful @amrutmhatre90 offered one of his spare Amps to see if it helps solve my (second) problem of getting my towers to sound decent in my new place.

Well, I would suggest not to make any changes till you have done up your room. In the pic, I see you do not have curtains, carpet, furniture, etc. Do run the auto setup after every addition to the room.

MaSh

 

[sl4y3r]

Well, I would suggest not to make any changes till you have done up your room. In the pic, I see you do not have curtains, carpet, furniture, etc. Do run the auto setup after every addition to the room.

MaSh

Carpet temporarily removed, sofa is under construction, curtains are behind the listeners position, opp the TV. But yes, I will hold on till the sofa arrives. Thanks

 

[MaSh]

Carpet temporarily removed, sofa is under construction, curtains are behind the listeners position, opp the TV. But yes, I will hold on till the sofa arrives. Thanks

Oh okay. What about the side window and the door? The idea is to cover up the first reflection points. That should help matter quite a bit.

MaSh

 

[sl4y3r]

Oh okay. What about the side window and the door? The idea is to cover up the first reflection points. That should help matter quite a bit.

MaSh

The thing on the wall, is that what you are referring to as a window? If yes, its not a window its a table that folds into the wall. The passage way is where you are suggesting I add a curtain is it?

 

[MaSh]

The thing on the wall, is that what you are referring to as a window? If yes, its not a window its a table that folds into the wall. The passage way is where you are suggesting I add a curtain is it?

Ohh yes, I thought that was a window. I meant the door behind the Left speaker. And yes, a curtain at the entry on passage way would also be a good idea.

MaSh

 

[sandeepmohan]

Won't setting it below 80 give the sub less work and cause me to lose some of that thump?

The thing is, your Polk's are capable to play down to 43Hz. Lets assume that's estimated based on a sound chamber and the results in the real world at not as good. Lets put it as 60hz (worst case) real world or living room conditions. Why do you want to miss out on low end notes that the loudspeaker is capable of?

Like I said, this is a personal preference. I don't like hearing the sub. It should blend in to the system. When the cross overs are set so far away from the capability of the main speaker, that defeats the purpose of a large loudspeaker. You bought a floor stand for its bass, not solely for mid range and high frequency. You want it to produce something versus cancel it all out. This is my approach.

The cross over points on your receiver is sufficient for most applications. What you should pay attention to is speaker distance as from the image, the sub is a little further away from you compared to the mains.

Yes, 80hz or lower gives the sub less work but your main speakers are capable of playing up to that frequency. For HT applications, setting the cross over at 60Hz works great for me. I like to hear bass out of my main speaker.

I use a sub woofer primarily for deep bass notes and for impact while watching a movie. For music, its more a blend. I am not after a thump.

 

[sl4y3r]

The thing is, your Polk's are capable to play down to 43Hz. Lets assume that's estimated based on a sound chamber and the results in the real world at not as good. Lets put it as 60hz (worst case) real world or living room conditions. Why do you want to miss out on low end notes that the loudspeaker is capable of?

Like I said, this is a personal preference. I don't like hearing the sub. It should blend in to the system. When the cross overs are set so far away from the capability of the main speaker, that defeats the purpose of a large loudspeaker. You bought a floor stand for its bass, not solely for mid range and high frequency. You want it to produce something versus cancel it all out. This is my approach.

The cross over points on your receiver is sufficient for most applications. What you should pay attention to is speaker distance as from the image, the sub is a little further away from you compared to the mains.

Yes, 80hz or lower gives the sub less work but your main speakers are capable of playing up to that frequency. For HT applications, setting the cross over at 60Hz works great for me. I like to hear bass out of my main speaker.

I use a sub woofer primarily for deep bass notes and for impact while watching a movie. For music, its more a blend. I am not after a thump.

I totally agree with you. These Polks have some SERIOUS bass. I have heard them in this house and the bass was massive when set to large, BUT, this was when the TV unit and TV were not in the place they are now, the Polks were placed where the TV currently is, and gave very good bass! My room had a few boxes and suitcases at the time (as we had not yet unboxed stuff), not sure how much of a role this played.

Now, for the love of God, I cannot manage to get them to sound anywhere close. Yes, i did set them to small but even setting them back to large they sound DEAD. I have tied what @k-pad suggested and put them as far away from the walls as possible and managed to get them to sound just marginally better, but they still do not give anywhere close to the bass they gave when they were in the position the TV currently is.

Speaker distance has been keyed in as accurately as possible, using a measure tape.

So, my point is, if they are capable but due to the placement constraints they are going to sound just slightly better than satellites, why waste the space they are occupying? They are in an awkward position as it is and not looking too great. I highly doubt a sofa, curtains, a mat will fix these towers. I want to come to terms that if they are not placed touching the wall, they will never perform. I have a dirty idea, to place them on top of the TV unit to see if this brings out the bass from them again.

 

[sandeepmohan]

Now, for the love of God, I cannot manage to get them to sound anywhere close. Yes, i did set them to small but even setting them back to large they sound DEAD.

You might want to check your speaker polarity.
A loudspeaker can't go dead just like that.
Use your system in the way it works best for you and the room it is in.

 

[sl4y3r]

You might want to check your speaker polarity.
A loudspeaker can't go dead just like that.
Use your system in the way it works best for you and the room it is in.

I did check to see if it was out of phase but red is going to red itself. Well, I would not say it's gone dead just like that, the speaker placement has changed quite a bit, so i feel that's the cause of things i suppose.

 

[k-pad]

I totally agree with you. These Polks have some SERIOUS bass. I have heard them in this house and the bass was massive when set to large, BUT, this was when the TV unit and TV were not in the place they are now, the Polks were placed where the TV currently is, and gave very good bass! My room had a few boxes and suitcases at the time (as we had not yet unboxed stuff), not sure how much of a role this played.

Now, for the love of God, I cannot manage to get them to sound anywhere close. Yes, i did set them to small but even setting them back to large they sound DEAD. I have tied what @k-pad suggested and put them as far away from the walls as possible and managed to get them to sound just marginally better, but they still do not give anywhere close to the bass they gave when they were in the position the TV currently is.

Speaker distance has been keyed in as accurately as possible, using a measure tape.

So, my point is, if they are capable but due to the placement constraints they are going to sound just slightly better than satellites, why waste the space they are occupying? They are in an awkward position as it is and not looking too great. I highly doubt a sofa, curtains, a mat will fix these towers. I want to come to terms that if they are not placed touching the wall, they will never perform. I have a dirty idea, to place them on top of the TV unit to see if this brings out the bass from them again.

From the pic in post 31, I think it could help if you could hang a thick curtain on the doorway leading to the other room by controlling the dispersion of that side's speaker a bit.

On a different note, I am guessing there is a window on the opposite wall to the speakers? (where the sofa will go) If at all possible, you could try moving the entire set up to that wall.

 

[sl4y3r]

From the pic in post 31, I think it could help if you could hang a thick curtain on the doorway leading to the other room by controlling the dispersion of that side's speaker a bit.

On a different note, I am guessing there is a window on the opposite wall to the speakers? (where the sofa will go) If at all possible, you could try moving the entire set up to that wall.

Yes. I will add a curtain in the passage, hopefully that helps with things. Thanks!

Sadly, I cannot move the speakers to the opposite wall as that would render my sliding windows unusable and the wife will kill me!

 

[liverpool_for_life]

So if the SVS>QB12>BIC, why doesn't my sub sound as good or better? (same track)

Because the rooms are different and, quite likely, so is the sub positioning and MLP. Quality is effectively immaterial if the acoustical energy that the subwoofer generates isn't transferred efficiently to where you're seated.

 

[k-pad]

Sadly, I cannot move the speakers to the opposite wall as that would render my sliding windows unusable and the wife will kill me!

Guessed that much.

If at all possible, could you move the sub on that side - three wall peninsula - and try once?