Official Power Sound Audio Thread.

[theJman]

Originally Posted by Goat1

I don't understand why you have to crank the gain up so high.. Running audyssey ,you shouldn't have to put the gain past 12 o clock I would think.. Anyone have suggestions?

The setting on a gain knob is not universal -- in other words, there's no industry standard -- so you can't really make a direct correlation to any other sub.

It's essentially an analog adjustment, with the sensitivity and output totally controlled by the amps designer. If company A wants their control to be highly sensitive to minor variations they could potentially give you 75% of the amps power in the first 50% of knob rotation. Company B could decide the exact opposite; 50% of the power in 75% of knob rotation. Company C might opt to be completely linear; 50% of knob travel equates to 50% of the amps power. It all depends.

I have the gain on the XS15 up higher then "normal" (assuming there is such a thing) as well. So long as the amp is not getting hot, and the sound isn't distorted because it's being over-driven, you're good to go.

[Goat1]

I have a Y splitter,So I can run 2 subs.. But still,after running audyssey,the calibration level should be between -1 and +1 not +11.. I shouldn't have to turn the sub up 3/4 of the gain to get decent sound.. Something is off.

[rpneuss]

Originally Posted by Goat1

I have a Y splitter,So I can run 2 subs.. But still,after running audyssey,the calibration level should be between -1 and +1 not +11.. I shouldn't have to turn the sub up 3/4 of the gain to get decent sound.. Something is off.

Just because you think you shouldn't have to turn it up 3/4 of the way doesn't mean you are correct. I would call power sound and get advice from them if you are concerned. Surely they would have a good feel for if there is a real problem. On my a3 300 I have to turn the gain up over half with a y splitter connected meanwhile my Hsu vtf 15s are set to the 9 o'clock position without y splitters. There are no hard and fast rules on this stuff.

[Goat1]

I just emailed Tom at PSA.. He's usually pretty quick to reply..

[rpneuss]

Originally Posted by Goat1

I just emailed Tom at PSA.. He's usually pretty quick to reply..

Cool man keep us posted. Btw that sub looks great!

[Tom V.]

Hi all, it is easy to confuse the "gain" control on a powered subwoofer for a standard volume control. But they work a bit differently.The "gain" in this context is simply how much the signal from your receiver's subwoofer jack is being amplified BEFORE it goes to the subwoofer amplification stage. Therefore the gain control adjusts the amount of input needed(from your receiver's subwoofer preout jack) to produce a given amount of output from the subwoofer's built in amp. Which in turn directly controls the amount of sound(output) the subwoofer ultimately produces. The variable in this context is the output from the receiver's subwoofer jack. There is no "industry standard" for this and it can vary wildly based both on receiver manufacturer AND the settings used in the receiver's speaker setup menu.

There is also one additional variable to consider...the sensitivity of the "gain" control on subwoofer can also vary greatly. With some, 90% of your actual "gain control" is encountered between the minimal setting and the control's midway point(often referred to as the "12 oclock position). With a different subwoofer, you may literally need to set the gain control at the 90% position(say---3 oclock) to receive the same effect.

In short----you can have the gain control set to max and the subwoofer may be working very little(barely audible). And, conversely, you may have the gain control set to say 10% of its full operating rotation and the subwoofer could be VERY loud. It ALL depends on the input voltage to the subwoofer amp and the sensitivity of the gain control itself.

Tom V.
Power Sound Audio

[Goat1]

I understand now.. Didn't know that.. Thank you for the quick response on the email also Tom.. I'll fiddle with the sub more when I get home from work. What about running audyssey? It put the sub at +11 I've never seen that. With 500 watts of power I would think you wouldn't turn it up so high.. Is there a proper way to run audyssey on this sub that you have tried?

[Tom V.]

>>>

Originally Posted by Goat1

I understand now.. Didn't know that.. Thank you for the quick response on the email also Tom.. I'll fiddle with the sub more when I get home from work. What about running audyssey? It put the sub at +11 I've never seen that. With 500 watts of power I would think you wouldn't turn it up so high.. Is there a proper way to run audyssey on this sub that you have tried?

<<<


Hi Goat,

It wouldn't matter if the amplifier was 5 watts, or 5000 watts. The settings you are referring to wouldn't change. Unless I'm not understanding these posts clearly---Those settings are made during the calibration sequence which typically are with 75dB of output from each speaker/subwoofer. A reasonably good powered subwoofer won't need very much power to produce this required 75dB. The subwoofer location(near boundaries?) will be a factor as will the distance between the subwoofer and the measurement mic. But, in general, we're looking at a couple of watts...max. (And a FRACTION of a watt in most cases).

Now, to get the Audyssey setting lower(+11), simply turn the gain control up on the XV15 to say 4 Oclock (about 85-90%). Now, this won't change the performance of the subwoofer at all...as you are simply raising the subwoofer gain control so the receiver's "gain control(subwoofer output setting)can be lower....and their COMBINED effect remains the same.

I do like to have the receiver's setting as close to the "midpoint" as possible though. This allows me maximum user control if I want to vary bass levels using the receiver remote.

Tom V.
Power Sound Audio

[Goat1]

Thanks for the response Tom. I understand. So I can use the SPL meter to get the sub up to 75 dbl's 1st and then run audyssey and it should come out a little +/- 0.

[rpneuss]

Originally Posted by Goat1

Thanks for the response Tom. I understand. So I can use the SPL meter to get the sub up to 75 dbl's 1st and then run audyssey and it should come out a little +/- 0.

Sounds to me like you bought into an excellent company along the lines of SVS and HSU! Tom explained it better than I ever could have.

[Goat1]

The XV15 with the limited time I've had with it listening to music last night at very moderate level's already hits lower and harder then the Legend I just got a few weeks ago. This weekend I'm gonna throw in some Transformers,Tron Legacy and make it pound!

[Bluvette]

Goat, Do not pay attention to the gain on the sub. Audyssey is a room correction, your room may be larger than others or open to other rooms, a sealed room with room treatments will react different with Audyssey. I would set the gain to 12 and check with a SPL meter and go a bit hotter say 78db. When you run Audyssey and the avr sets the sub to + 12 turn the sub gain up, if it sets to - turn the gain down. Good luck.

[Goat1]

Thanks blu.. So that is actually normal? None of my other subs have done that. But then again,maybe its the amp and the dsp inside?

[Bluvette]

Originally Posted by Goat1

Thanks blu.. So that is actually normal? None of my other subs have done that. But then again,maybe its the amp and the dsp inside?

Yes, all subs are different. Try some different settings, usually after audyssey runs you want to be +/- 3 db. Not +/- 12 because you may be beyond the Audyssey corrections.

[Goat1]

I'll check it out tonight..I think if I get the sub at 75 db before I run audyssey it will be fine.. I wonder how popular this thread is gonna get now?

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by Goat1

I'll check it out tonight..I think if I get the sub at 75 db before I run audyssey it will be fine.. I wonder how popular this thread is gonna get now?

You probably already know this, but make sure that your crossover on the subwoofer itself is wide open, as your receiver should be handling the bass management and subwoofer crossover frequency. These are some very helpful threads from Big Daddy that have helped me tremendously:

A Guide to Bass Management (Part I)

A Guide to Bass Management (Part II)

A Guide to Subwoofers (Part I): Characteristics, Placement, & Adjustments

A Guide to Subwoofers (Part II): Standing Waves & Room Modes

A Guide to Audyssey Auto Calibration & Other Technologies

[Goat1]

I've read those before.

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by Goat1

I've read those before.

I thought you might have, but I was just trying to help. They really helped me out a lot.

Congrats on your awesome new sub and I hope you get it all dialed in soon.

[mreilly611]

Originally Posted by Goat1

I've read those before.

But now you need to follow, what they are saying.

[pretsam]

Have you been able to test it out some more Goat, fine tuning and checking some movies out?