5.1 installed, but doesn't work right

RogerOH · 12-15-06, 01:58 AM

I purchased;
Velodyne Front Row
BIC H-100
all connected to ->
Pioneer 516
LCD tv -> coax digital audio out to reciever
DVD player 5.1 wiring connected to 5.1 dvd input on reciever.

Installed the wiring myself before they dry-walled the walls.

Front L & Front R seem to work
Center seems to work.

I am having problems with th rear R and possibly the rear L

first the volume on the reciever seems to need to go really high -30db for any volume.

now for the rear speakers there doesn't seem to much volume on the rear R, and pretty much none at all on rear L.

is there something that i can use to confirm the wiring? so that i know that there is no issue there, or if something got damaged?

secondly what am i doing wrong with this volume, why does it seem to have to be so high for a "normal" volume?

thirdly, i tried to do a manual setup and do the test tone, and when it got to the rear speaker, the reciever said "overload" and shut down -> whoops what happened?

currently i am in a 3.1 situation. help. thx.

bfdtv · 12-15-06, 02:45 AM

You didn't mix up the connections on the speakers, did you?

Are you using bare wire directly to the speaker and receiver, or did you add banana connectors?

KMO · 12-15-06, 07:02 AM

Why do you think "-30" is high? It all depends on calibration, but if you had to turn it up to -10 or 0 to get decent volume, I'd find that a bit odd. -30dB or so is probably where my knob is most of the time, for normal TV viewing. Higher for DVDs.

Secondly, the surrounds shouldn't be that loud in normal material - things generally are going to be happening in front of you, not behind you. Only with test tones should you normally hear the same volume from the surrounds.

But it sounds like you've got a wiring problem with the left surround. Something's shorting out somewhere. Check for stray strands of wire at the two ends. Make sure you're going in to the correct connectors in the receiver.

whoaru99 · 12-15-06, 07:38 AM

Sounds like KMO hit it.

Either stray wire(s) are causing the overload problem or the wire has been pierced by a drywall screw.

If you had a multimeter you could check the circuit resistances to the rear speakers from the receiver end of the cables, but if you don't find any problems with connections at the speakers or at the receiver, it's pretty safe to assume the problem is in-wall.

I suppose you could swap the left and right rear speakers to test for a defective speaker, but that it much more rare than a loose/stray strand of wire or pierced cable causing a short. Checking the connections at the speakers and the receiver is the best place to start.

My ex-girlfriend woke one morning to find a wet 1st floor from a copper water pipe that had been pierced by a drywall screw. The odd part was, she had been living at the place for almost a year before it finally leaked (first occupant of new townhouse).

Schwingding · 12-15-06, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whoaru99

My ex-girlfriend woke one morning to find a wet 1st floor from a copper water pipe that had been pierced by a drywall screw. The odd part was, she had been living at the place for almost a year before it finally leaked (first occupant of new townhouse).

That happened to me, too, almost 20 years after the screw pierced the pipe. It took that long for the screw to rust away enough that it no longer served as a stopper for the hole. Finishers are supposed to put a metal plate over a stud anywhere that a pipe runs through it so that can't happen. SUPPOSED to.

Anyway, to the OP - I had a similar problem with one of my systems. Turned out that while I was swapping cables, long after the calibration scheme was run, I mixed up the sub and LR cables.

RogerOH · 12-15-06, 03:54 PM

"
If you had a multimeter you could check the circuit resistances to the rear speakers from the receiver end of the cables, but if you don't find any problems with connections at the speakers or at the receiver, it's pretty safe to assume the problem is in-wall."

im interested in testing the wires. anyone know how i can go about it?

i'll buy a multimeter if necessary, i'm just not sure how to use it. i want to test the signal strength going to the rear speakers.

TSuellentrop · 12-15-06, 05:33 PM

check your settings of the source and make sure its set to output. Before I knew too much about HT (I dont know your level of knowledge) but I had to turn it way up and couldnt hear anything either and I had the DVD player set on the wrong thing.

whoaru99 · 12-15-06, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RogerOH

"
If you had a multimeter you could check the circuit resistances to the rear speakers from the receiver end of the cables, but if you don't find any problems with connections at the speakers or at the receiver, it's pretty safe to assume the problem is in-wall."

im interested in testing the wires. anyone know how i can go about it?

i'll buy a multimeter if necessary, i'm just not sure how to use it. i want to test the signal strength going to the rear speakers.

Pretty easy for this, actually.

Get the multimeter and set it to the Ohms setting. This is the Greek Omega symbol (looks like a horseshoe).

Leave the test probes apart and see what the display looks like - probably will say something like "OL". Now touch the probes together and see what the display looks like - probably will show something like 0.2, give or take a little.

Now, with the speaker cables disconnected from the receiver, connect the test leads to the speaker cables at the receiver end of the cable(s)- one lead to each wire of the pair going to the left rear or right rear, etc. For an 8 ohm speaker, the DC resistance will probably be somewhere around 4 ohms, give or take an ohm or so lower to a couple ohms higher.

If you see a resistance that is 0-something, or way below 4 ohms, there is probably a fault in that circuit. Next, disconnect the speaker on the other end of that cable and make sure the disconnected ends of the cable are not touching. If the resistance measurement stays very low, there is a short in the cable somewhere. If the resistance goes back to that "OL" reading, the cable should be good to go and would tend to indicate a problem in the speaker.

ChrisWiggles · 12-15-06, 07:32 PM

Also once you're all finished testing and things are working properly you must use an SPL meter to calibrate the channel levels correctly.

davdev · 12-16-06, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisWiggles

Also once you're all finished testing and things are working properly you must use an SPL meter to calibrate the channel levels correctly.

I can't believe it took 9 posts to get the most basic and logical solution.

Did you calibrate with an SPL meter? If not, you need to.

And -30 is not high, for me it would be considered pretty low. I typically watch movies right at the 0 point and tv at about -10. It's all about how the system is calibrated.

matt lagana · 12-16-06, 07:22 PM

Just get a run of speaker wire, connect it to the receiver, lay it on the floor, connect it to the speaker, and run the test tones again. Don't go out buying a meter. If it works like it's supposed to, it's the wire.

RogerOH · 01-04-07, 05:32 AM

well just an update. it was the cable, guess i should have not bought 14 guage solid copper, and bought stranded instead.

I fished the cable up the walls, again. it is much tougher with the drywall up.

the velodyne + bic h100 sounds awesome to me.

12-15-06, 01:58 AM	#1 \| Link	<a href='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adclick.php?n=a4ac4393' target='_blank'><img src='http://rev.avsforum.com/phpAdsNew/adview.php?what=zone:30&n=a4ac4393' border='0' alt=''></a>
RogerOH Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 37	5.1 installed, but doesn't work right I purchased; Velodyne Front Row BIC H-100 all connected to -> Pioneer 516 LCD tv -> coax digital audio out to reciever DVD player 5.1 wiring connected to 5.1 dvd input on reciever. Installed the wiring myself before they dry-walled the walls. Front L & Front R seem to work Center seems to work. I am having problems with th rear R and possibly the rear L first the volume on the reciever seems to need to go really high -30db for any volume. now for the rear speakers there doesn't seem to much volume on the rear R, and pretty much none at all on rear L. is there something that i can use to confirm the wiring? so that i know that there is no issue there, or if something got damaged? secondly what am i doing wrong with this volume, why does it seem to have to be so high for a "normal" volume? thirdly, i tried to do a manual setup and do the test tone, and when it got to the rear speaker, the reciever said "overload" and shut down -> whoops what happened? currently i am in a 3.1 situation. help. thx. __________________ On my way to an HTPC... hopefully.

12-15-06, 07:38 AM	#4 \| Link
whoaru99 AVS Special Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5,243	Sounds like KMO hit it. Either stray wire(s) are causing the overload problem or the wire has been pierced by a drywall screw. If you had a multimeter you could check the circuit resistances to the rear speakers from the receiver end of the cables, but if you don't find any problems with connections at the speakers or at the receiver, it's pretty safe to assume the problem is in-wall. I suppose you could swap the left and right rear speakers to test for a defective speaker, but that it much more rare than a loose/stray strand of wire or pierced cable causing a short. Checking the connections at the speakers and the receiver is the best place to start. My ex-girlfriend woke one morning to find a wet 1st floor from a copper water pipe that had been pierced by a drywall screw. The odd part was, she had been living at the place for almost a year before it finally leaked (first occupant of new townhouse). __________________ Don't look too hard for black and white in a grayscale world. Last edited by whoaru99; 12-15-06 at 07:44 AM..

12-15-06, 03:54 PM	#6 \| Link
RogerOH Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 37	" If you had a multimeter you could check the circuit resistances to the rear speakers from the receiver end of the cables, but if you don't find any problems with connections at the speakers or at the receiver, it's pretty safe to assume the problem is in-wall." im interested in testing the wires. anyone know how i can go about it? i'll buy a multimeter if necessary, i'm just not sure how to use it. i want to test the signal strength going to the rear speakers. __________________ On my way to an HTPC... hopefully.

12-15-06, 07:32 PM	#9 \| Link
ChrisWiggles Perpetually Confused Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Seattle Posts: 17,961	Also once you're all finished testing and things are working properly you must use an SPL meter to calibrate the channel levels correctly. __________________ Source Settings Guide Discover the best radio station on earth: kexp.org

12-16-06, 07:22 PM	#11 \| Link
matt lagana Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Virginia Beach, Va. Posts: 102	Just get a run of speaker wire, connect it to the receiver, lay it on the floor, connect it to the speaker, and run the test tones again. Don't go out buying a meter. If it works like it's supposed to, it's the wire. __________________ Matt

12-15-06, 02:45 AM	#2 \| Link
bfdtv AVS Addicted Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 12,912	You didn't mix up the connections on the speakers, did you? Are you using bare wire directly to the speaker and receiver, or did you add banana connectors?

12-15-06, 07:02 AM	#3 \| Link
KMO Advanced Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: England Posts: 934	Why do you think "-30" is high? It all depends on calibration, but if you had to turn it up to -10 or 0 to get decent volume, I'd find that a bit odd. -30dB or so is probably where my knob is most of the time, for normal TV viewing. Higher for DVDs. Secondly, the surrounds shouldn't be that loud in normal material - things generally are going to be happening in front of you, not behind you. Only with test tones should you normally hear the same volume from the surrounds. But it sounds like you've got a wiring problem with the left surround. Something's shorting out somewhere. Check for stray strands of wire at the two ends. Make sure you're going in to the correct connectors in the receiver.

12-15-06, 05:33 PM	#7 \| Link
TSuellentrop Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saint Peters, MO Posts: 222	check your settings of the source and make sure its set to output. Before I knew too much about HT (I dont know your level of knowledge) but I had to turn it way up and couldnt hear anything either and I had the DVD player set on the wrong thing.

01-04-07, 05:32 AM	#12 \| Link
RogerOH Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 37	well just an update. it was the cable, guess i should have not bought 14 guage solid copper, and bought stranded instead. I fished the cable up the walls, again. it is much tougher with the drywall up. the velodyne + bic h100 sounds awesome to me. __________________ On my way to an HTPC... hopefully.