Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater my nightmare,

Well today was finally the day to set up my HT system, I hired a guy to run all the wires in the wall for the surrounds and the sub (which is placed in the back corner). Well, 5 minutes into installation, I hear a loud bang, go running it, and the idiot knocked over my M40ti while moving my entertainment center. There was a small nick in the veneer, but my real worry was the speaker itself. The guy hooked it up and all sounds well, but I am still nervous. The guy said the only potential problem would be if the voice coil came detachted and I would hear a scratchy noise, but so far the speaker sounds normal. Is there anything I should be listening for, any potential problems down the road because of this? Man, I am still pissed.

The guy finished the job and gave my 1/2 off the installation, hopefully I averted needing a new M40ti!!!

That aside, the system sounded great during my first DVD (The Matrix). The only problem (still) is sub calibration, I watched with all speakers to "small" and the sub volume at about 9 o'clock and all sounded great. However, music was boomy, too much bass. turn it down to for music and not enough oomph for HT. I tried the "large" setting crossed over at 55hz and volume at 8 o'clock, great for music not HT. Are the hopes of one setting and leaving it alone a pipe dream?

And lastly, what do some of you listen to HT at, tonight I had my Marantz at -10db, almost all the way up the master volume "bar" on my display, is that considered loud?

wow, this post got long, sorry for rambling

Hi Undecided5,

As long as the M40ti didn't fall over on its front baffle, it's unlikely there's any internal damage. Speakers are fairly hardy devices and can withstand a fair amount of physical abuse. Use your pink noise Dolby Digital alignment signal to ensure the tweeter and woofer are both working. Put your ear right up to the tweeter--the hiss should be smooth sounding.

Regarding your other post on alignment DVDs, the Sound&Vision Home Theater Tune-Up disc is much easier to use than the Avia disc, and less expensive as well. It has lots of excellent subwoofer/satellite calibration tests. Get it by all means, and the Radio Shack SPL meter (analog version), otherwise your settings will be all over the place. And yes, using the DVD and the meter, you should arrive at a subwoofer setting that will suit most movies and much of your music, apart from actual differences in the deep bass levels of the program sources. Those may vary quite a lot, but you can trim the sub volume when required.

Don't forget to experiment with subwoofer locations as well.

The S&V DVD also has plenty of video calibration tests to properly set up your TV monitor.

Regards,

thanks alan -

the M40ti fell on it's side and I cannot hear any problems, i played music for a few hours last night and all seems OK.

I am off the Barnes & Noble to get the S&V video today!

Hi,

If you want a few more tips on using the S&V Tune-Up DVD and subwoofer adjustment, go to axiomaudio.com/archives, and click on the AudioFile newsletter for August,2002.

Regards,

Un, sorry to hear about the speaker crash.
Hopefully all is well.

You seem to have come across the same bass sound that i did when using the speakers 'small' settings. I have found peace for both HT and music using the second method of setup with 'large' options in place.
However it sounds like you tried that and were still unsatisfied. This also happened to me the first time i was setting up my system and as Alan suggested, try a different placement for the subwoofer.
My original location was to the left of my listening area about 4 feet out but now the sub sits up front next to my m60s on the inside b/w the 2 speakers. (If i had put it on the outside of the m60 it would be sitting in a corner...too much boom again).
Positioning really can be important.

Alan,

Why do you specify the analog version of the Radio Shack SPL meter? The Radio Shack's in my area said they only have the digital one, so that is what I got.

Michael

RS no longer manufacture the analog version of the meter. The digital version works well just make sure that the response is set to slow or you will as Alan says have readings all over the place.

Copy of letter from owner of HSU on tuning that sub.


Hello, I thought I would share this info as it may help some
others.The Question was specific about tuning with my Yamaha
RX-V1000 but there is info for others in his responce also.
This is customer service!!
Question
I am trying to set up my Subwoofer with my Radio Shack SPL
Meter.
My Yamaha RXV-1000 receiver gives me choices of frequencies to
use to set it up Which do you recommend I use with the meter
to set my subwoofer?
Here are my Frequency choices. 35Hz, 39Hz, 44Hz, 50Hz, 56Hz,
63Hz, 70Hz, 79Hz, 88Hz, 99Hz, 111Hz, 125Hz, 140Hz,
157Hz,177Hz, 198Hz, 223Hz, 250Hz or WIDE.
I expect you will want me to use either Wide or one of the
lower choices here but not sure which? There was no choice for
the main & Surround speaker tone only LFE.
My speakers are set to 75db & I plan on setting the Subwoofer
to 85db.
I listen to Movies as well as music on my HT system. I am at
best a beginner & still learning. Tuning for me has been a
difficult experience. I started with my crossover set to 8
O’clock as you recommended. I have it now at the 9:30 position
& my volume at the 10 O’clock position.& Set for max
extension. So far this seems to be the best place for all
around listening.



Responce#1 from Po Hsu:
Are those test frequencies or crossover frequencies? Sounds
more like crossover frequencies. Can you FAX over the pages
that describes it? FAX to (714)666-9261.
You should not be setting the subwoofer 10 dB louder than the
main speakers. I would go for at most 3 dB louder. If the
levels can be set differently for each source, I would go for
3 dB higher for video sources compared to audio sources. I set
mine for flat response for music (75 dB for mains and sub),
and 3 dB hotter for the sub for HT.


Responce#2 from Po Hsu:
Got your FAX. I stand corrected. Its interesting that they
included a narrow bandwidth pink noise for testing the in-room
response. That is great. What you need to do is
1. Set the mains, center and surround to small and yes to
subwoofer.
2. Set the crossover switch on the VTF-2 to out.
3. Play the test tones from 35 Hz up to 88 Hz and see what
readings you get for each frequency. If the measurements are
fairly even, skip to step 5.
4. If the upper frequencies are too high, set the VTF-2
crossover to in and adjust the frequency control to get the
flattest response from 35 to 88 Hz.
5. Set the test frequency to wide. Adjust level of subwoofer
to get about 3 dB higher reading on the SPL meter than the
main speakers.
6. Switch to a stereo source (CD, for example). If you can set
the subwoofer level separately for each source, set the
subwoofer level 3 dB less than what you have set for the home
theater sources.
Too bad that Yamaha still refuse to give the user the
flexibility to select different crossover frequencies. You
stand a much better chance of getting a flatter response and
make better use of your speakers if they allow you to choose
the crossover frequency as well as the test tones. With your
large main speakers, I would have crossed over at 50 Hz or so.

An alternative is
1. Set the mains to large, and select to send all bass to both
the mains and the sub. Set the subwoofer level on the Yamaha
to -3 dB.
2. Set the crossover switch on the VTF-2 to in.
3. Play the test tones from 35 Hz up to 88 Hz and see what
readings you get for each frequency.
4. Adjust the frequency control and level control of the VTF-2
to get the flattest response from 35 to 88 Hz.
5. Set the subwoofer level to 0 dB for video sources, and - 3
dB for audio sources..


If you would like to view the entire thread as this person was having the same problem as you:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=42022


From the web site:

The VTF series changes all that. It allows you, the user, to choose the tradeoff. If you enjoy music that is loud but does not have much deep bass, set the VTF series for max output. That way, you get maximum dynamic range with the lowest distortion. If you like music with deep bass, set it for maximum bass extension to reproduce the deep bass accurately. You can even switch between the two modes depending on what you play. That means effectively you get a subwoofer that can play loudly, and can play low, all in one, at one low price!

Have you tried all the different setting/port combo's??

SteveC

thanks for the info, alot of good stuff! I will continue to play around with it and let you know how it goes.

thanks again

Hi John & MCocanti,

I found the analog version much easier to use. Sorry to hear that RS is no longer manufacturing the analog meter. I'm sure you can get used to using the digital version, especially if, as John says, it has a "slow" or averaging setting. We had both types in our listening room at Audio magazine, and I preferred the analog meter scale, which was simpler to read at a glance.

Regards,