[MidLife]

First post in the speaker forum, please be gentle!

I did some searching, and, I have come up somewhat short on my particular configuration.

I have a 500 watt 5.1 amp running two fronts [10" bass reflex three-way speakers from my old stereo from circa 1984] which works really, really well. There was some "stress" with the old speakers in the sub-50HZ range, borderline distortion for the really deep bass. Today, I picked up a JBL PB10 150 watt 10" sub. I wanted to add some "chest-pounding" LFE to my setup. I set the reciever to 100HZ cross-over, hopefully, to send the most demanding base to the sub. Well, no matter what I do, the fronts still output this and the sub never really comes into action. If I set the receiver to front "small" speakers, the sound is less pounding.

Admittably, when running a HZ sweep, the PB10 kicks in at around 40HZ where the three-ways begin to go silent, and shakes and rattles anything in the room, but, I really am not noticing the great heralded effect of having a sub-woofer. The 10" bass-reflex fronts rattle the room too.

My old stero speakers are rated at a frequency range of 20-20,000HZ.

How can I get the sub to handle the 50HZ and below and cut off this frequency to the fronts with only a 100HZ cross-over on the reciever?

I am new to this stuff, and I thought the sub was really gonna make a noticeable difference, but, it hasn't. Is it because my fronts have the same size driver?

I have tried the "haunting" and "U571" and I don't "hear" a $179.00 improvement over having a sub or not. I switched the phase switch and "upped" the level of the sub on the reciever and the sub.

 

[Sorny]

Not to sound harsh, but you need a real subwoofer to get real bass.


Did you set the receiver up with the sub=yes or sub=plus? The Plus setting would send the bass to the sub AND the main speakers, while setting the fronts as small and sub=yes would route all the bass below the crossover to the subwoofer. Did you calibrate your setup with a calibration DVD like AVIA or video essentials and an SPL meter?


IMHO, a real subwoofer starts at about $500 with the HSU VTF-2 and goes up and up into really expensive really quick. FWIW, I've got a pair of HSU TN1220HO subs.


Sorny

 

[MidLife]

my expectations were rather high, I suppose. I didn't realize how well the "vintage" stereo speakers were already performing. Adding the sub, with the same size driver didn't add any reall noticeable punch.

I had read reviews after reviews of tight bass, no booming and house rattling with this sub. Hmmmmm, I already had that without it!

It probably would have been a noticeable improvement if I was using book-shelf speakers, instead of floor standing fronts.

I had previously calibrated with AVIA and a radio shack meter, so, I guess things were pretty good before the sub...

But hey, the red and green LEDs look pretty kewl!

 

[buckeyes fan]

Some quick thoughts that come to mind:


1. Is the sub placed in a corner?

2. Did you wire the sub via the RCA line for LFE in?

3. Did you wire the L/R into the sub and then out to the L/R speaker

4. Is the X-over on the sub set to the highest frequency (since you are doing the X-over on the receiver)?

5. Is the LFE or normal switch selected on the sub?

6. Is any attenuator/compression set on your receiver to minimize bass?


I would be surprised that the bass response isn't louder than the regular speakers, unless of course the woofer was powered in the 3-ways?


I just bought the JBL PB10 as well to replace my KLH starter sub. At first the KLH blew the JBL away, but as I moved the JBL around, I finally found a spot that caused the JBL to kick-in. Try the old trick - put the sub at the location you normally sit and then crawl around the room and find where the bass is the greatest and then put the sub at that location. It sounds crazy, but it works.

 

[MidLife]

Yes, the sub is in a corner.

I used a single RCA from the reciever [it only has one sub-woofer output] and connected to a "Y" to hook to the left & right inputs on the sub. I read somewhere that this was supposed to boost bass, but, the manual doesn't say anything about that.

The sub is has an LFE switch that I used to eliminate the internal crossover in the sub.

I raised the db level for the sub in the receiver, set sub-woofer to "ON", etc.

It is working, just marginally better than without. I expected more.

I did, however notice that the receiver had DRC [digital range control] set to "mid" as opposed to off or max. I will turn it off, and see if it makes a difference.

It is small, so maybe it needs to be in a sweet spot. I assume you mount it in a corner of your front wall and let the port fire towards the wall?

 

[buckeyes fan]

midlife,


Try it without the "y" - just hook the single RCA from the receiver sub-woofer output to the top RCA input on the sub. The top RCA plug on the sub is for the single LFE sub output signal. I believe you might be experiencing something by doing the split that may cause the sub to think it is running series or parallel, or something like that and that may affect the output.


I think the DRC may affect it some.


Yep - I let the port fire towards the wall. Experiement with it at various distances away from the wall and see if it makes a difference.

 

[MidLife]

well, a sound meter and recalibration has helped.

The Dynamic Range Control had some effect too. I turned it off.

I have the receiver subwoofer level up a bit and the gain on the sub up around 3/4s now.

I am having trouble with the phase setting cause I don't have an assistant at the time!

The sub is starting to come alive, now. The room is beginning to "smell" like new electronics now, cause of the air puffing out the port.

Thanks for the help. This, I imagine, is an entry level sub. My 10" ported fronts were doing a fine job with the bass, so, I was not so impressed with the sub. But, I think I'll keep it, cause it's small, and does somewhat supplement my sound, especially chapter 10 of the Haunting.

I was expecting a "night and day" change and I got an "afternoon and early evening" change, but, I didn't spend a whole lot.

It's small and tidy and relatively unobtrusive. My room is eleven feet by twenty two feet. But, that has an eight foot wide archway to an adjacent room that is fourteen feet by twenty two feet, so, that's a lotta space to puff air into. Oh well....

 

[Joe_M]

I have a PB12 that is hook to the sub line out (non-amplified) from my Denon Receiver. I run the cable to the LFE input on the back of the sub, flipped the toggle switch and that was it. Never tried the PB10 but my sub puts out a lot of bass, rumble and roar. It's set at about 50% volume which is all I need in my 18x13 room.

 

[Infominister]

I've got the JBL PB10 in a corner and am pretty happy with its performance. Did someone say that it's best for the ported side to face the wall?

 

[fabulousfrankie]

Quote:

I am having trouble with the phase setting cause I don't have an assistant at the time!

I stack pillows in a way that it will allow my SPL meter to stand by itself. Then I adjust my phase until the meter reads the highest number.