Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners 500 question / problem

Rob, I'm no expert here, but if the test tone for your receiver did not trigger the sub to 'wake up' then I would say you definitely have a wonky amp. And I agree with your wife that it should 'just work'. I am sure Axiom will make it right and will keep both you and your wife happy with your sub choice.

Good luck!

Rob, no different suggestions, just to confirm that the increase that was spoken of is an increase in the sub trim level(which increases the voltage output)on the receiver(e.g., the +3 that you've now set), not an increase in the sub volume level control. In fact, as you now see, the volume control should be turned down when the sub voltage output on the receiver is increased, so that there's no overall change in the calibrated sub level.

I watched Alan's video on how to set up the 500 before doing anything. I started with the knob in the 10:00 position. It is waaay down now but still putting out 78 db. I am going to stay the course - a little wiser - and if it wonks out again, I'll be back with JC....

Thanks for the good wishes.

I got home tonight and checked the bass with POTC2. 500 was playing as it should. After dinner, I worked on the computer while listening to a couple of cd's - Cello where I would not expect any great rumble out of the 500. After a couple of hours, I put in Planet Earth in Blu Ray and immediately noticed no bass. I thought about waiting till the episode was over and putting in Transformers to see if it would wake up the 500. My wife was watching or I would have done it immedieately. Instead a thunderstorm scene played - so I backed up the pic to the first of the scene and paused it. I turned the 500 off and back on and the 500 played like a champ.

I have already emailed JC spelling out the story and telling him that I am no longer "getting frustrated" - I am officially frustrated. Looking forward to his response tomorrow......Rob

I just recreated the drop out by playing the same cd (JohnK's EMI Bach Cello Suites) and then popping in the Planet Earth Blu Ray. NO bass again. Instead of turning the sub off and back on, ejected and put in Transformers 2 Blu Ray. The 500 now played as it should? I guess tomorrow I will try boosting 6db and dialing back the trim. I did send an update to JC.....still frustrating. For the record my receiver is a Yamaha RX-V663 and the Blu Ray is the Oppo.

Rob, just to make sure that we're still all on the same page, the "trim" on the receiver should be dialed up, not "back" and the sub volume control proportionately reduced.

You are correct. I get a bit tangled up. JC has been good at responding next day to my after hours posts and I asked him for the next game plan. If he has not responded, I plan to boost the Sub to +6 and turn the "volume?" down on the sub to achieve the 77-78 db output at reference (0?) level. I hope there is enough play left to reduce the sub output with the volume knob.

I would think if my receiver was the problem then turning the sub off and back on would not fix the issue every time - is that a flawed assumption?

Yes.

The sub automatically turns itself on when it senses an input signal. Often times, it won't do so with a weak or "soft" signal, so the idea is to boost the output of the receiver. This makes the receiver output a "stronger" signal to wake up the sub better. Of course, you then need to turn down the "volume" on the back of the sub so the total output is not louder. i.e., if you boost the receiver's output by 6 dB, you'll want to lower the subs "volume" knob by 6 dB.

When you turn your sub off and then on again, it automatically "wakes the sub up" so, in effect, it's not relying upon that signal from the receiver at that point.

Rob, it is this post that has me believing you have a problem with the amp on your sub. If the calibration test tones are not strong enough to wake the sub, it seems to me the problem cannot be with the receiver because this is not 'just' some LFE in a movie - it's a reference level pink noise tone - the sub should wake on that. Please correct me if I misinterpreted this post. I would also make sure JC is aware of this particular scenario.

Is there a flaw in my thinking on this?