Noob Questions from First Time HT User

gurujee

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Hi

I did set up my first HT yesterday - Pioneer 524k receiver + Yamaha NS P 20 5.1 package - both used

I did not want to spend significantly but want to have the complete setup up so that I can upgrade the speakers later.

I had listened to NSP20 speakers at Reliance Digital (it is yht 299 with yamaha 3067 avr i guess) and quite OK with the sound.

Last quite night, I set up it using MCACC speaker calibration. Though everything - midrange+highs sounds good, but low-end is missing. It is hardly there. I read the manual and forum guides. I want to do some adjustment.

- At What position the volume on Subwoofer should be?

- What should be Cross over ? the satellite frequency response is 70hz-25khz. Currently it is set to 100hz.

- At individual level, Subwoofer is at +3db (speakers are set to SMALL)

- Only using Accoustic EQ available in pioneer remote yield clarity. All other listening modes sound uninteresting.

- Is the sub a weak link in the setup - 6.5inch, 50 watt

- Are Pioneer AVRs musical or more meant for movies?

- Will attaching a Pioneer fs52 pair improve sound drastically?

help me!
 
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My answers interleaved.

Last quite night, I set up it using MCACC speaker calibration. Though everything - midrange+highs sounds good, but low-end is missing. It is hardly there. I read the manual and forum guides. I want to do some adjustment.

- At What position the volume on Subwoofer should be?
Check at Max. and see if you are hearing anything by keeping your ears as close as possible. If not hearing, there is a connection issue, if you are hearing not loud enough, then change the settings in the AVR to direct or whatever that works without EQ. A acoustic EQ might be sending it only to the front speakers.

- What should be Cross over ? the satellite frequency response is 70hz-25khz. Currently it is set to 100hz.
100 should be fine if the specs are correct, you can go upto 120, if needed.

- At individual level, Subwoofer is at +3db (speakers are set to SMALL)
Thats fine.

- Only using Accoustic EQ available in pioneer remote yield clarity. All other listening modes sound uninteresting.
Maybe a problem as mentioned earlier.

- Is the sub a weak link in the setup - 6.5inch, 50 watt
Not sure. I think the speakers are. But then if you are not getting any sound through the sub, it may be too.

- Are Pioneer AVRs musical or more meant for movies?
Nothing of that sort.

- Will attaching a Pioneer fs52 pair improve sound drastically?
Yes
 
Try these...

1. Check all connections and wires. Something might be loose.
2. Disable all filters and processing like DTS Neo, Dolby Prologic, etc.
3. Crossover typically 80 to 100 is fine, but have a play with 80 to 150 and see what sounds better.
 
Thank you sud98, regeHA

I did what you told, and I can feel the presence of the low end much better. I played with crossover settings, subwoofer level on the sub, check the wires, and do some sub crawl. The low end is there now.

However it is muddy, lacks clarity and not blending in with satellites. The beats are audible but not being enjoyed. And the bass lines/bass sounds(those creates an atmosphere) are there if I press my ears very close to the sub. You come back to listening position they are gone.

The crossover when set to 100hz yields good result in movies, but for music 150hz feels good to me. there is no option between 100 to 150hz. That means do i always have to change the crossover for movies & music?

What I feel the subwoofer is struggling to do its job. Do you think it needs burn-in? The system is bought used and I was told it was used for a month, that too occasionally.
 
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What is the content?

Are they Blu-ray and/or DVD rips with encoded multichannel audio like DTS, DD, DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD, etc.?

Or are you trying to upsample content with say AAC or MP3 into a 5.1 experience?

Don't expect too much bass kick for music. Most music does not go that low, the sweet spot for music is actually the tweeter and the vocals. Some genres like trans, house, etc. do go low, but the bass there is more hard, fast, and punchy that hits you in the chest and not boomy and rumbling bass you experience with movies, explosions, fights, etc.

Forget music for now and start with movies. Get some videos that are encoded with multichannel audio and especially in the LFE with a good bass track.

Good examples are...
1. Transformers movies.
2. Black Hawk Down.
3. Dredd.

That's the first part.

Now the second part i.e. placement.

Subwoofer has the most impact when placed right. Again no hard and fast rule here, and you will need to move it around and have a play with it.

But some things to consider...
1. Place in a corner where its surrounded by walls on 2 sides. Don't keep it next to the TV or AVR with no wall near it. Get more cable if you have to, but place it next to the wall... but even better if its room corner where you place it next to 2 walls. This and good content will typically fix it.
2. Place it under a bed or a table/stool (if you have one in the vicinity). Not an obvious fix, but I've had good success with moving it under the bed at a friend's home.

Subs need closed/confined spaces so look for those. Like the trunk of a car, under seat, etc., that's where they perform best.

Anyway like I said you have to find what works the best with moving it around and also start with good content.

Also, increase the subwoofer in the level calibration if you need it louder. I keep everything at 0 dB, but increasing for the sub might help.

Yet another tweak is to run room correction, if the AVR has the s/w. If not then at least take a measuring tape and count the distance for each speaker and sub and input those values in the AVR.

I don't do the last two, but I've had great success with moving the subwoofer around to a corner. Now I always place the sub in a corner with 2 walls behind/side to it.
 
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