Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Epicenter Subwoofer Issue

Due to building delays on the fire reconstruction (last Feb), we've finally moved back in and the place looks great. I had time last night to try and get the system hooked up and tuned. For some reason, I can't get the sub to kick in (I used the settings per the Axiom instructions - flat, bypass, 9:00 volume, etc). I used the Denon microphone auto room set up and the sub was definitely being pinged on all six listening locations. But when I played the Return of the King DVD, a CD, TV, etc. the sub just doesn't kick in at all even when cranked. I reviewed the auto calculations per the auto setup (distance, crossover, etc.) and they look reasonable.

VP150 center
1 Pair Millennia M60 towers
1 Pair QS8 surrounds
1 EP500 subwoofer
1 pair M2i rears
Denon AVR-2807

Suggestions? It must be something simple. I must admit the documentation for Denon (Yamaha previously) is less than clear.

Thanks all,
Tom

Have you been able to get any sound out of the sub at all?

Hi tpb,

Is the green light on the back of the EP500 on? If it is, then disconnect the coaxial cable from your Denon's sub output to the 500's line in connection and try using a left or right channel line-level output from a CD player or DVD player; you can even use the headphone output from an iPod or portable CD with an RCA male plug adapter. You should hear muffled sounding "bassy" low frequencies.

If you hear that, then the sub is working OK, so go into the Denon's channel menu, be sure the sub is ON, and raise the subwoofer output level to well above 0 dB so that the sub gets a good input voltage. Forget about the auto setup. Just do it manually.

If the green light isn't on or you hear no sound when you plug in the CD player to the sub RCA female input, then call the toll-free Axiom line. One of the speaker connectors to the driver inside the enclosure may have become detached, in which case you'd hear nothing from the subwoofer even though the green light is on.

Regards,

When I run the autosetup on my Denon, it always sets the sub (EP500) to -10 (or was it -25) and I can't hear a thing unless I max out the volume knob on it and even then it is weak. I have to manually shift the sub level on the Denon back up to zero or more. It then begins to pleasantly rattle my ribcage.

Levels autoset nicely on all my other speakers but I have to do the Sub manually as per the previous post. There are lots of posts explaining why this might be if you search but I won't try to explain it myself as I'm new to the game.

I hope that's all it is for you.

Alan,

Just got back from traveling and had a chance to follow your instructions. The sub is definitely working (did your test) and the connection is correct on the receiver and sub. I went ahead and ran the auto room equalization again and the sub definitely gets pinged. I then reset manually the sub level to the max of +15db (the mode is LFE with an 80Hz crossover frequency). All of the other speakers are firing correctly. It seems like it should work given that it gets pinged by the receiver during the setup? I guess another option would be to reset the processor on the receiver? Other ideas?

Many thanks,
Tom

Hi Tom,

Sorry you are having trouble. I sent you a private communication and our service department will take care of you.

Just in passing, turn off the Denon auto-equalization because it tends to degrade sound quality and gives erratic information on setup levels, particularly regarding the subwoofer. When you get a chance, pick up the Radio Shack Sound Level meter and a test DVD and do it manually.

Regards,

I recently did a calibration for my brother-in-laws new setup. When I went thru the levels calibration with the Yammy receiver all was fine, and I used the SPL meter to get everything level. Then I put in the Pixar Cars DVD and went thru the tests with the THX optimizer. This was just to double check. What I found was that I had nothing from the sub with the tests from the DVD, and the 4 surrounds sounded like they were all tied together (they all fired at the same time for each distinct surround channel). I was confused as this was wierd.

I figured it had to be something in the Sony DVD player as the receiver test tones sounded fine. I checked the setup in the DVD, and the audio output/downmix settings for Dolby and DTS were set to PCM. I changed them to bitstream and all was better. The sub and surrounds now sounded just fine from the DVD test, just as the receiver test did.

I mention this in case this may apply to you. If the receiver test tones sound normal, try the tones from a calibration DVD or any Disney THX DVD (THX Optimizer). If they don't match, then this could be the issue.

*** EDIT *** Also, what manner is your DVD player connected to your receiver (digital coax, optical, HDMI)? I know it is obvious, but want to make sure you aren't using stereo outs or something. That would also creat the scenario you describe.

Good luck!

Hi dllewel,

Excellent point! I didn't think of that, which is dumb, because I've solved a couple of customer problems in past instances where they had been using the wrong connections or incorrect setup in the DVD player.

Thanks for pointing this out.

Regards,