rdfish1

mystery solved. dang this stuff can be confusing. the two rca connections created a analog signal that did not allow my svs to perform nor the rest of my surround system. after creating a dig audio connection and adj the rec, i now have a great sounding sub and surround, after 10 months of disappointment.

The menu on the rec is set to "sub, yes" and the other speakers are set to small. As far as the sub connections on the back of the rec, I have two choices. One is the plug used, called Pre-out/subwoofer and this is the one that is being used in the manual of my receiver (marantz 7200). It seems to be the recommended input for a powered sub. The second plug that is labeled subwoofer is just below it and it seems to be part of the section on the rec labeled 7 ch input. The manual is not showing this connection on the diagram, which suggests i am doing it right. Could it be the dvd setup. In other words, I have the dvd plugged into the back of the rec using std RCA (red/white) plugs, going into the rec input labeled DVD. Should I be using a digital connections via Dig OUtput or Digital Coax instead of the RCA plugs? Maybe this is the problem??? I am not sure what takes place within the receiver, but maybe the analog connection is not allowing the rec to direct the sound in a 5:1 format. this stuff is really confusing to me...

There must be something wrong. This sub has never performed very well. I do have a large room (22x22) but the sub is barely noticeable with dvd's. It's much better with stereo, but still not a big boomer. I am beginning to wonder if there is a problem with my settings on the receiver, though i have combed through it thoroughly and can't find a setting problem. the phase is at zero, crossover disabled, cable plugged to pre-out on receiver and goes into the "IN" on the sub. Gain is set at 50%, receiv is set flat. It just does not seem to have the bass i would expect. any suggestions? also, i don't know what this means, but i used the test tones on the marantz 7200 and the speakers all kick in like they are supposed to but when i used the sound/vision test video/sounds, the speakers to do rotate properly. IN other words, when the dvd says right surround, both the left and right are playing. The sub only has subtle juice.

I will try to outline my scenario and request your assistance in choosing the best sub, perhaps SVS. I am not a huge audio enthusiast, but rather someone interested in having a home theater that sounds good, with the sub playing a key role. I don't want to shake the walls but I like to feel a moderate amount of bass while watching movies. My equipment includes the following: Bose cubes in the rear and Klipsch KG4's in the front with a Klipch center. The speakers are powered by a Marantz 7200, 105 watts per channel. The room is pretty large at 22x22 square. The ceilings are 8 feet tall, the flooring is a med density carpet. I have five door openings in this room and they are always open (two lead into the kitchen, two into small rooms and one into a bathroom. I don't know what else you might need/want to know in helping me choose the right sub, but hopefully this is a good start. What else can i tell you? Do you think a SVS PCi 39 w/ 325 watts would be sufficient? Pls advise, (and thank you) david.

I thought i would check this site since i rec'd so much help when looking for a sub but it doesn't seem to have a focus on the TV portion of HT. Can anyone steer me toward a good site where i can learn about EDTV, HDTV, CRT Projection big screens, etc. I am also looking for product reviews or recommendations. thx

I give up on trying to download the freebies. Can you recommend a good quality test tone cd for my svs 20-39? I need to work on getting this thing tuned better and want to buy a disk. Also, where is a good place to buy one?

I searched this site and found a thread directing me to "snapbug.com" or something like that, and it has tones that can be played. I was trying to download them to CD so i could play them in my stereo and test my subwoofer but couldn't get it to work. What am i doing wrong? How do I do it? Are there better sites or better ways to do this? I have never downloaded anything from the web but the SVS guy said i could do it. ha easier said than done for me.

I will try to respond to some of the questions: My room has 8 foot ceilings and is 20x20 with carpet. The sub is in the corner about 12 feet from my seating area. My friends BW was not calibrated but I looked at the back and the gain was set at 1/3 power vs. mine at 1/2. I do not know where his receiver was set in terms of individual channels. His room was different in that it was much smaller (1/2) and the floors are tile but the ceilings are 15 feet and the room opens into the kitchen. Not through a door but rather via an open floor plan design so the opening is large. What does phase do? Is crossover supposed to be disabled? Any other suggestions on why i don't have bigger bass?

I have a svs 20-39pci which i thought was pretty good but was never thrilled with the bass. However, after listening to a friends B&W ASW1000, which is inferior per its specs, I am wondering if i don't have my sub set up correctly. The B&W had way more bass than my SVS. My settings are as follows: Gain is 50% (straight up), Phase is 90 degrees (whatever that means) and my Crossover is disabled, but is set at 80 hz. My marantz 7200 has been set using the Radioshack soundmeter, and i have the sub at +3. The woofer is set in the corner as directed. Any ideas? Can my settings be safely adjusted to get more bass? thx, dave

I followed the SVS manual which said set sub at appx 6 db above the rest of your speakers (if spkrs are at 75 db, set sub at 81 when volume is at reference). However, I have found the base/sub to be less impressive unless i set it even higher. I know to a large extent it is personal preference, but I am interested in knowing how many of you set the sub relative to the other speakers when watching movies and/or listening to music. By the way, my new svs is the 20-39 pci Thx.

I am new to HT and with your advice, have been building a system. My center channel is on the way (kv3) but I wanted to test my SVS so i rented U-571. I thought it sounded pretty great using my KG4's in the front, the SVS 20-39pci and bose acoustimass in the rears, but I did not have a center channel. What am I missing by not having the center? I guess I will figure it out when it arrives, but in the meantime, I am still learning and just curious what I am giving up during the u-571 movie by not having the center. regards.

I have KG4's as my fronts and just purchased (not yet rec'd) a KV3 for my center. The rears are bose acoustimass 5's (two cubes in each rear corner). Several have criticized the bose as not being good rear surround spkrs so i am considering replacing them. Currently, I have used a sound level meter and the independent channel adjustment to make sure all speakers are calibrated and putting out equal volume so they seem ok, but maybe i am giving up something by not having different rears. Anyway, given my fronts and center, what would be a good compliment for the rear? I found my KV3 on ebay, so if you think an older spkr no longer made would be the best choice, i can probably find it. Receiver is Marantz 7200 (105watts) with lots of features. Thx, david

Marantz 7200 105 watts, HT receiver with KG4's in front, bose acoustimass 5 rear and KV3 center (on its way) with a SVS 20-39pci in the corner. I purchased sound level meter from radioshack as suggested by svs and set each speaker at 75 db when the receiver is at Zero (is this considered 'reference'?). However, i set the subwoofer at 82 db. To accomplish this, the svs "gain" is set exactly at 1/2 and the Marantz sub channel at negative 6 db. Is this the right way to do it? Should I avoid turning the svs gain past 1/2? That's what is sounded like in the directions but i wasn't certain. When the center channel arrives, should it be set at 75 db too? After setting each channel at 75 db, my unit is not as loud, but i guess this is because I was exceeding reference under the previous uncalibrated settings. Any other suggestions are appreciated.

Ironwoods, don't underestimate your ability. Problem resolved. Should have had enough sense to push the vcr/tv button but i didn't. lol By the way, never heard back from you on the kv-3.

When i turn my cd/vcr combo on to listen to cd, tv screen goes blue and shows track being played on CD. I would like to be able to listen to cd and watch a TV program at the same time. I must have wired something wrong. Can you help? I have a brighthouse cable box for digital cable, the vcr/cd combo and a marantz 7200 ht amp. thx