TX-SR507 Receiver, Sony Subwoofer, Crappy Bass.

[crypted]

I've installed a powered subwoofer, Sony SA-W2500.

However, there is very little bass output compared to the volume coming from the smaller speakers. It basically leaves to little bass heard.

I've gotten it setup to the highest level volume and the highest cut-off frequency.

How can I get the receiver to throw more at the subwoofer and less to the other speakers?

Or at least something to make the bass seem better?

[kareface]

Originally Posted by crypted

I've installed a powered subwoofer, Sony SA-W2500.

However, there is very little bass output compared to the volume coming from the smaller speakers. It basically leaves to little bass heard.

I've gotten it setup to the highest level volume and the highest cut-off frequency.

How can I get the receiver to throw more at the subwoofer and less to the other speakers?

Or at least something to make the bass seem better?

Are you setting the crossover on both the receiver and the sub? Do you have any of your speakers set to small?

[crypted]

On this sub, I have it set as high as possible to around 200. On the receiver, I think it's currently on 150 but I've tried all levels.

All speakers are set to SMALL. Their cones are in the smallest of categories listed.

I'm wondering if there's a way to modify the old school way, setting bass higher? Maybe like dB or something?

[Odin75]

Originally Posted by crypted

I'm wondering if there's a way to modify the old school way, setting bass higher? Maybe like dB or something?

Actually, the receiver does have an option to adjust the volume further after you adjust the volume on the subwoofer itself. Onkyo calls it "Level Calibration", or at least that's what it's called on my TX-SR606. There you can adjust the volume for each speaker, including the subwoofer, from -12db to +12db.

Just know that the Sony is only 90watts RMS. That' not a lot of power, nor is Sony known for making subwoofers.
But also have in mind, that the whole point of the subwoofer is to pick up where the speaker left off, not to just call attention to itself. Ideally, you want to hear the bass, but not know the subwoofer is there.

[crypted]

Well these little speakers sound just like top-notch oldschool tweeters. I don't get much great sound for them.

Any thoughts as to what the best dB would be?

Also, what would be decently priced replacement speakers that can handle some good bass? Smaller size is better.

[Mordir]

Originally Posted by crypted

Well these little speakers sound just like top-notch oldschool tweeters. I don't get much great sound for them.

Any thoughts as to what the best dB would be?

Also, what would be decently priced replacement speakers that can handle some good bass? Smaller size is better.

Give us a budget to work with, how many speakers 2, 3, 5 or 7 and what are the size limits for each speaker? That will give us much more to work with. Your idea of decently priced and small size is probably completely different from many others.

[crypted]

5 speakers, 2F 2R and 1C speakers.

6in height, 4 in width, 4in depth for the maximum sizes.

[Mordir]

Good info so far. And the budget? What you would like to spend and also what's the max you could spend without getting into real trouble?

[crypted]

Wow. I can't believe I really missed that. I'd like to spend under $100, but I doubt that will work even though HTiB's begin around that range.

No more than $170 at this point. But cheaper is best right now as my budget took a huge hit having to buy a powered subwoofer.

[Odin75]

Oh wow, $170 is really not a lot of money. I was going to ask if you could consider just getting 2 speakers instead, until you said you need them to be super small, which pretty much kills the idea of expanding it in the future. I say this, because quality speakers normally don't come that small, nor that cheap.

Ok, I did quick search, and came across this on eBay. Is a tiny bit above your budget, but very close to it, and has the exact dimensions you ask for:
Energy Take 5 - $199 Bid (free shipping).
Energy Take 5 - $219 Buy It Now (free shipping).

A lot of people like those, and Energy is knows for making great budget speakers. While the Energy Take 5 are not the greatest thing in the world, review sites claim they are as good as it gets considering the size limitations.

Ok, good luck.

[crypted]

Well, size limitations aren't a major concern.

I'd like a center speaker that I can lay in front of my TV. The two rear speakers are sitting on the floor on either side of my couch. The left front speaker sits on an end table so that's not an issue on size. The right front speaker sits on the end of the entertainment center, about 4.5ft from the center speaker.

My only concern is keeping speakers from covering up my TV screen. There's about 5.5in clearance from the surface to the screen.

If I were to say $250 or buy speakers as singles or pairs, rather than all together, might be able to spend more.

[Odin75]

Originally Posted by crypted

Well, size limitations aren't a major concern.

I'd like a center speaker that I can lay in front of my TV. The two rear speakers are sitting on the floor on either side of my couch. The left front speaker sits on an end table so that's not an issue on size. The right front speaker sits on the end of the entertainment center, about 4.5ft from the center speaker.

My only concern is keeping speakers from covering up my TV screen. There's about 5.5in clearance from the surface to the screen.

If I were to say $250 or buy speakers as singles or pairs, rather than all together, might be able to spend more.

What kind of TV do you have? Is it possible to put some kind of raiser to the tv stand, just to give you more clearance from the surface to the screen? Or perhaps put the speaker in top instead.

Now, if you say you plan to put the surrounds on the floor, then don't get surrounds at all. There's nothing worse than poorly placed speakers. I know that ideal positioning is not possible sometimes, but buying surrounds to put them on the floor is just a waste of money.

I would personally suggest that you start with a 3.1 setup. So that means, 2 fronts and 1 center, plus the subwoofer you already have. I know that some would suggest 2.1 instead, but it seems like you don't want to spend that much money anyways. Besides, I feel that 2.1 sounds too compressed compared to 3.1. There's a bigger jump from 2.1 to 3.1, than from 3.1 to 5.1, and the main reason is the center channel. That's because in a 3.1 setup, each speaker gets its own sound channel, while in 2.1 the mains have to share. If you have a friend with a 5.1 setup, let him give you a comparison, and you will know exactly what I mean.

[crypted]

Well, I would imagine that I can buy speaker stands at some point. I just haven't been up for messing with that in the past few months.

So, I can keep crap speakers in use for surround temporarily.

Here's some images showing what I have to work with area wise... And yes, that is KISS on the tube.

I have a Toshiba 42HL167.

[crypted]

Okay, I was looking at some images in the Home Theater Gallery here.

It appears I have fallen prey to a common misconception. I thought that surround sound meant small speakers in general.

What I'm now assuming is that the old system I used, a Sony setup, did some amplification, that isn't standard on "real" surround sound systems.

In other words, I'm assuming that legit systems use larger speakers similar to the detachables on an old boombox I had growing up?

So what I should look for would be a couple pairs of say 8in speakers? What do I need to look at when researching bookshelf and/or floor speakers?

What types of ohms, hz, or whatever should I look for when searching for a good setup that will work well with the TX-SR507?

These sony mini's seem to be almost only tweeters. No base ability whatsoever.

Such thoughts for buying:
http://cgi.ebay.com/PAIR-M10-Black-B...item35a795341d
http://cgi.ebay.com/PAIR-M10-Black-B...item35a795341d
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-5-2-Way-Shie...item5190f1939d
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-SS-B1000-Pe...item4cedfd27d9
http://cgi.ebay.com/Energy-Take-2-Sa...item2305bce41c

[Odin75]

There is nothing much you need to look in particular, as most speakers are 8ohms. As far as hz, all you need to know that most 6.5" woofer bookshelves don't go below ~100hz. If they do, the volume starts to decrease really fast below that point. I say 6.5" because that's what most of them are. If you ever see specs that claim they can go deeper, they're probably lying.
Tower speakers can go to around ~60hz, but that's because of the cabinet size. The bigger the cabinet, the more output in the bass department.

Check this:
Polk Audio Monitor 40 PAIR - ($149.99 + free shipping)
Polk Audio CS1 - ($89.99 + free shipping)
Wood Technology WC-30.5 stands - ($28.88 + shipping)

All that comes around your new budget of ~$250. Audio gear is like that, the more you increase your budget, the more options that open up. Also, the bigger the speakers, the easier it is to blend them with the subwoofer.
From word of mouth, Polk are good budget speakers (except subs), maybe better than Sony budget speakers.
I know the CS1 center is a little taller than you said originally, but you just said that size is not a huge concern, so why not. From the pictures, it seems like the screen itself is higher than you said, so it should not cover the tv.
As far as the speaker stands, I own those exact ones, and they are solid, so check my gallery to see them.

And now that we have possible solution there, I want to ask if you solved the subwoofer volume problem. Where you able to adjust the volume in the receiver to get it where you like it?
Is it really that soft, to the point where you know something is wrong, or is it that it doesn't perform as you expected?

[crypted]

Sweet. One more question, when reading the specs and such, what do I look for to tell me that these can handle some bass?

Like I said, these old Sony's from a 4 yr old HTiB can't handle bass/deep sounds whatsoever. They sound like just a little deeper than the tweeters from an old school, 1980's stereo...

[Odin75]

Well, normally, you look for what they call Frequency Response. Take the Polk I just linked for example, it claims 47Hz - 25kHz. After you take into account exaggeration from manufacturers, I don't expect them to go linear below 100hz, instead of the 47hz they claim. You might be able to hear 80hz at high volumes, like when watching a movie, which should help it blend with the subwoofer, which should pick it up from 80hz and below.

Bass starts to sound like bass at around ~120hz, so anything below that point starts to sound deeper and deeper very fast. Lots of music genres don't usually go below 80hz, except rock and hip-hop/rap which try to make songs with very deep bass. So, depending on the type of music you listen to, you might notice little difference with or without a sub. Also, human voices in movies don't go below 80hz either, that's why center speakers are not as big as the other speakers. Take the movie Transformers for example, if you pay attention, all human voices come from the center channel, while the robot voices come from the FL and FR speakers.

I'm pretty sure than almost anything you get at this point is going to be night&day better than the little plastic speakers you have currently.
And feel free to look around, as there are plenty of options out there for speakers, mine was only a suggestion. Just make sure that you are able to find a matching center channel, because that's very important. There's plenty of bookshelves speakers out there, but not all of them have matching centers, and if they do, they are super expensive. That's why I suggested Polk, because they are so common, that is very easy to find a matching center at an affordable price.

Good luck.

[crypted]

what about buying replacements in pieces? should i get the le pair or center first?

[Odin75]

Originally Posted by crypted

what about buying replacements in pieces? should i get the le pair or center first?

Well, what do you do most? Listen to music, watch regular tv, or watch movies?
If it's music and regular tv, then you can can probably just buy the 2 fronts, which should keep you happy until you can afford the center. However, if you watch a lot of movies, you might want to wait until you can buy all three. You really don't want to have mismatched speakers, at least not in the front.

Again, you forgot the answer the subwoofer bass problem. Were you able to solve that? I mean, new speakers will improve a lot your overall sound, but they really won't help you in the bass department, that's what the subwoofer is for.

[crypted]

Yeah, the Sony Subwoofer I bought works fine. I just have to turn its dB up to 4 or 5 so that it can compensate for the really tweet-like sound from the other speakers.

So, I'm assuming once I have decent speakers then the bass issue will be more easily resolved.

It seems that the sub kicks in when it ought to, but it just isn't kicking in enough to compensate for the constant loss in quality from the current speakers.