Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler adjust or disable EP125 auto on/off feature?

I recently equipped my small AV room with an Epic Mini home theater package, which I absolutely love, but for one thing. Even with the subwoofer output on the receiver set to +10db, the subwoofer cuts in and out at low/modest volume levels. The sub volume is set to between 8 o'clock and 11 o'clock (higher for low volume listening and movies, lower for music and high volume listening). I've tried various cables and it makes no difference. The volume is enough, once it kicks in, to be clearly audible which makes it that much more annoying (i.e. it's sometimes better to just switch off the sub since the sudden introduction of bass can be quite distracting).

Can this feature be disabled or its sensitivity adjusted? Or should I build an amp to go between my receiver and the sub to bring the line levels up even higher? I'm going to have to throw out this sub eventually if I can't solve this -- but I gotta say, even if I throw the sub in the garbage, I still think the Axiom speaker package is great value for the money. Just not the sub.

In case it matters, the receiver is a Sony STR-DA4ES.

- Eric

eajohnson2,
I'm sure some other people will reply in regards to some potential fixes but just offhand, it sounds to me like one of two things, either your subwoofer is clipping or something is weird with your crossover settings. Since you never mentioned how your crossovers are setup, i can't answer to the issue there. If you do a search on crossovers in these forums, you should find plenty of information on how to go about setting up your system appropriately.
If however your crossovers are setup properly, then you have to look at some other possibilities.
However, i would keep the receiver gain for your sub set to 0dB. You should not have to increase this value. If you have any bass settings on your receiver, they should also be set to 0.
With your sub volume knob set between 8 and 11 oclock as you mentioned (but with all your gain settings in the receiver a 0dB), does it still 'cut in and out'?
Under what circumstances? Just one movie? Music as well? What is the location of your sub? Have you tried moving it around?

Since the sub contains its own amp, it is also possible the amp is not working properly and is causing the sub to clip.

See what suggestions others may post over the day.
Sorry for the short post, i'm in a rush.

Another possible solution that is fairly common is to put a splitter on the sub that gets hooked to both left and right inputs. (This is if you are using the line level inputs) This increases the signal the sub sees so the "auto-on" circuit kicks on sooner.

There are a number of companies that make a "Sub connection kit" that includes the Y adapter and all the cables you need.

I'll be interested to know if it helps you.

Michael

Thanks for the reply.

The sub isn't clipping. It's turning off (as evidenced by the lEDs in back), evidently because it isn't receiving enough input to stay on. Setting the sub channel to +10db helps keep the sub running; preventing the sub from turning off is the only reason I did that. I've left the sub's crossover set to its highest frequency, but the problem seems to occurs no matter what it is set to. The problem occurs with the crossover point in the receiver set to either 120Hz (my original setting) or 150Hz (which is what I have set it to now in hopes of supplying the maximum signal level to the sub to prevent it from turning off).
Am I missing something obvious?

Mcodanti -

Thanks for the suggestions. Actually, I know my original post was a little ambiguous because I talked about bringing line levels up higher, but what I really meant was bringing up the line levels of the low-level input from the receiver. I'm not using the high level speaker line inputs on the sub. Maybe I should try using the high level inputs in the manner you suggested. Actually, I have an old integrated amp with one side blown that I could use to amplify my low-level input, and then feed that into the high level inputs on the sub, split with a Y-connector as you suggest.

No, I was suggesting that you split the low level signal from your receiver into the left and right inputs on the sub. That should help you with your problem.

Hi,

Have you spoken to Joe Vassallo, the Axiom service manager? He may have a useful suggestion. Call him on the toll-free line (any day but Wednesday and Sunday) and describe what's happening. The auto on/off circuit shouldn't be malfunctioning as you describe.

Regards,

I think you just described the source of the problem. You set the receiver crossover too low and therefore the signal the sub gets starts at the lower end.

Try setting the receiver crossover at 80hz and make sure the sub crossover stays at maximum (150hz). The sub-gain on the receiver should be at 0db. Adjustment of loudness should be done on the sub only and start at no more than 12 O'clock.

This should fix your problem. Otherwise, only Joe can help you at this point.

Thanks everyone for your replies and suggestions. I called Joe this afternoon and he was very friendly and helpful. He mentioned that some receivers might turn off the sub output in some conditions, so I tested that and I do definitely have signal from the amp. I'll remove the amp section of the sub and send it in to Axiom.

Thanks again for all your help everyone. With any luck, I just have a defective unit that can be fixed/replaced.