robbyrob

I had the SVS PB10-NSD for a few weeks recently and it sounded great but I had to return it because the amp made an annoying humming noise when I turned up the GAIN. I ended up getting a Klipsch SUB12 at bestbuy instead but I would have kept the SVS if it didn't have that issue. Also, I would have exchanged it if I lived in a city that had an SVS dealer that I could simply drive to... but since shipping is expensive, I didn't want to risk exchanging it and possibly getting another bad one. My impressions are the following: - larger and much heavier than the SUB12 even though only a 10" driver - solid, thick, one piece box (no visible seams) so you'll never hear any vibration noises coming from it - it's hard to describe but I found the sound to be cleaner and tighter than the SUB12

I had the SVS PB10-NSD for a few weeks recently and it sounded great but I had to return it because the amp made an annoying humming noise when I turned up the GAIN. I ended up getting a Klipsch SUB12 at bestbuy instead but I would have kept the SVS if it didn't have that issue. Also, I would have exchanged it if I lived in a city that had an SVS dealer that I could simply drive to... but since shipping is expensive, I didn't want to risk exchanging it and possibly getting another bad one. My impressions are the following: - larger and much heavier than the SUB12 even though only a 10" driver - solid, thick, one piece box (no visible seams) so you'll never hear any vibration noises coming from it - it's hard to describe but I found the sound to be cleaner and tighter than the SUB12

So, it looks like I will be returning the SVS because the humming is too annoying to live with and I could already feel headaches coming on after being exposed to it for only a little while. I've purchased a Klipsch SUB12 which doesn't suffer from the humming problem no matter how high I turn the GAIN knob. Anybody have to ship a large and heavy sub from a Canadian city to Toronto? If so, please let me know if you went with UPS, FedEx, Canada Post, etc. It's a fairly large box and weighs 60 pounds so I'll definitely have to check all the shipping companies' websites but if you have shipping advice then please share. Worst case if it's too expensive then I guess I could drive there since it's only about 5 hours away. Thanks, Rob.

Just an update... I exchanged the defective SUB12 at bestbuy today for another brand new one and luckily it seems to work. Also, there is no humming sound like on the SVS even though they both have BASH amps (which I assume is a company that makes amps). So, I can only assume that the SVS is defective somehow. I must admit that the SVS appears to have better sounding bass but I haven't had much time to play around with the SUB12 yet and since it's downfiring then I'm sure a corner placement will make it sound better. Right now, I've just been testing them beside my entertainment cabinet with part of a door behind and stairs (going up) a few feet away on the other side. Anyways, thanks everybody for all of your help.

I flipped it on its side and took out the 8 screws that were holding the downfiring driver in place (now I know what makes up most of the weight of a sub ). There were two wires connected to it so I pushed on them a bit just to make sure that they were fully connected. Then, I closed it back up and tried it again... same results. There must be something else wrong with it and I don't think bestbuy / Klipsch would want me messing around in there too much so I think at this point I'll just have to bring it back.

I brought home a brand new Klipsch SUB-12 today and it doesn't seem to work. I have an HK AVR147 receiver connected to it via an RCA cable to the LFE port. The blue light is on but there's no sound no matter what I do. I even messed up all of my receiver settings trying stuff with the crossover freq and boosting the dBs to it. I tried playing the helicopter scene from the movie "The Matrix" which has a lot of bass but nothing. I think the receiver works fine because my SVS sub was working (except for a hum issue... another thread) before I swapped them. Could it be DOA (dead on arrival)? Is there a good simple test to see if a sub is dead or not? On the bright side, the SUB-12 doesn't hum. Thanks, Rob.

Good call! I guess I can lug it upstairs and try it on another circuit. However, I've just tested the case when all of the circuits in the house are off except for the one that the sub is plugged into. Also, no other appliances are running on that circuit and I disconnected the cable tv at the house entry point just in case the cables run side by side somewhere. I can still hear the hum but only at about 60% gain and higher which is the same as when the other circuits are on. Maybe I'm making a big deal out of this for nothing? It's just the sound of electrical transformer inside the sub and I assume that this means a hum problem. Are there any other people here that hear this type of sound in their sub at full gain?

Good call Mike! I contacted them and they've proposed a workaround that I have yet to try. If you're interested please refer to the following thread: http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/permalink/916426/916426/ShowThread.aspx#916426

Well, I decided to try changing it to s-video and it looks like the HK AVR147 doesn't convert between s-video and composite. On the bright side though, I managed to locate the manuals for my old DVD player and TV and it turns out that they have some features that I didn't know about. It turns out that the TV can have both s-video and composite connected at the same time and all I have to do is press the TV/VIDEO button twice. Anyways, just decided to post this in case it helps anyone else who may be wondering.

Thanks for the reply Mike! Nope, it's a townhouse and there aren't any other cables nearby so I find it very weird. I've been in contact with SVS's tech support and they suggested that I lower the GAIN level to 20% on the sub and increase the dB level from the receiver. What are your thoughts on this workaround? I haven't had a chance to try it yet but I would rather solve the problem instead of going around it like this so I will continue to troubleshoot. I was thinking of grabbing a flashlight and turning off all circuits on my circuit breaker except for this one. I've also purchased a Klipsch SUB-12 and if it doesn't hum then the SVS is going back. If they both hum then I'll have to decide which one to keep and maybe purchase a Belkin isolator powerbar or something.

Thanks Pat! I ended up going with the HK and it sounds great but I'm sure that the Yamahas would too. It was pretty much a timing thing with sales at the stores in my area.

In an effort to troubleshoot, I've tried many things including simply plugging the sub into the wall without connecting the sub cable to it... and I can still hear it. Are there any other SVS PB10-NSD owners out there who have experienced this? If so, did you solve it or do you think that mine may be defective? Thanks, Rob.

It's an SVS PB10-NSD. I can hear it at the listening position so it's very annoying at half gain and higher. I could tell that the cardboard box that it was shipped in had been opened before so now I'm wondering if they sent me a previously enjoyed sub with a known issue? I might just return it and get a brand new Klipsch SUB-12.

Thanks guys! I'll be sure to post some pics soon in the "let's see your..." thread. Yes, I do have cable TV. Maybe I'm over-reacting about the hum since it's not that noticeable until the gain is turned past the middle. I tried disconnecting the coax but it didn't help... then I tried disconnecting the RCA plug and the hum is still there but not as loud. Is it normal for there to be a humming sound when it's just connected to the wall and nothing else?

I just wanted to share that I finally have my system and it sounds great! I ended up going with a Harman Kardon AVR147 receiver, five Klipsch RC52 speakers, and an SVS PB10-NSD subwoofer. I just got the sub today and there appears to be a humming sound so I'll need to solve that... maybe a shielded RCA cable or plugging it into a noise filtering powerbar will do the trick. Anyways, thanks to everyone on these forums and to Klipsch for providing this service! I've learned so much just by reading countless posts. There are so many knowledgeable and dedicated people here always willing to offer advice and answer questions. Thanks again, Rob.

I recently purchased and installed my first ever receiver, an HK AVR147. My television is a 32" Sony CRT with a composite and s-video input, however, only one of them can be connected at any time. So, based on this and what I read in the HK manual, I took the safe route and connected everything with composite only which is my lowest common denominator (VCR). Everything works fine but some friends at work said I should use s-video instead where possible. I thought I'd post this in the forum first though because it's not easy to access the back of the receiver to change things. For a slight boost in video quality, I'd like to use s-video from my DVD player and cable box to the receiver and composite from the VCR to the receiver. Then, s-video from the receiver to the TV instead of composite. Will the receiver be smart enough to convert the composite input from the VCR to the s-video output? I know that it won't upconvert to HDMI but I figure that composite to s-video shouldn't be that hard since it's analog. Also, this is a stretch but I wonder if it would upconvert to component as well since it's analog too? I know that many of the Yamaha receivers do this but it's not clear in the HK manual if this HK does. Thanks, Rob.

My 5 RC52s arrived today and I'm all excited about my purchase... they look great and I can't wait to hear them... the magnetic covers are a nice touch too. I still need to buy a sub and a receiver. I don't really have a budget but I don't want to spend too much... the room is less than 1500 cubic feet. Some of the receivers that I'm considering are: HK AVR147 - I'm a little concerned about the 40W per channel power but otherwise I think it does everything that I'd need HK AVR645 - Seems like a very good value now that it's on sale everywhere for under $700 USD. In the future when I get a Bluray or HDDVD player I'll be able to hear uncompressed audio via HDMI if I understand correctly. 75W per channel seems like a good fit. Yamaha HTR6060 - several of my friends have the HTR5960 and highly recommend it (they don't have Klipsch speakers though)... this one is the next revision with HDMI. I'm just concerned about coupling Yamaha with Klipsch because of the brightness rumours. Any comments about the above would be appreciated as would other suggestions. Thanks, Rob.

Sorry, my comment won't help you but I just wanted to say that I'm in the same situation as you. I'm sort of leaning towards the lowest end SVS sub just because it seems easier to get in Canada than HSU. Please let me know if any other places in Canada carry HSU besides electronicsforless.ca. The lower end ones on that site are all sold out. I'm also waiting and hoping that sonicboomaudio.com lower their prices slightly to reflect the recent drop in the US dollar vs the CDN dollar. If this doesn't happen soon then I'll probably go with a Klipsch SUB12 at bestbuy. By the way, you can get a brand new Klipsch RW-12d for about $720 CAD if you're in the Ottawa, Ontario area.

Thanks Mike! Yup, I'd have to go with a more traditional setup and try to re-sell four of the RC52s... but I'm sure I wouldn't have a problem finding buyers in my area at such a good price. I just checked the specs and it does say "Tapered Array design for maximum dialogue clarity". Sorry, I don't know much about speakers. I thought that Klipsch speakers had cones and a horn while most other brands had cones and a tweeter. Is my understanding way off? I'm guessing that I would have to open them up to do such rotating... I wonder if that would void the warranty. If I go vertical for the fronts, should the bottom face the center or does it matter? ie. Say I have three RC52s sitting beside each other in front of me. For the right hand one, rotate it clockwise to make its bottom face the center and stand vertically. For the left hand one, rotate it counter-clockwise to make its bottom face the center and stand vertically. Thanks again, Rob.

Thanks for the replies! If I kept them oriented horizontally then would the dispersion be okay?

I live in Canada and here it's impossible to find a complete Synergy F3 package (F3x2 C3 S3x2) since nobody carries the S3s. The reference line is overpriced (compared to the U.S.) but I managed to find a deal on the RC52 for $200 CDN so I pounced. I just ordered 5 of these speakers and will use them as a center, fronts, and rears to form a 5.0 setup. I haven't decided on a subwoofer yet but will most likely get the Synergy SUB12 once it goes on sale again at bestbuy. I was just wondering if going with all centers is a good idea? Has anyone had good/bad experiences with this kind of setup? Any advice on placement and orientation? ie. center horizontal, floors vertical, and rears vertical. Thanks in advance, Rob.

I'm also deciding which receiver to buy (upto a certain price limit) and I'm going based on the features that I think I want. You'll just have to decide what features are important to you and go with that. An example of receiver features that I want are: 1. HDMI inputs and an output 2. upsampling all the way upto and including HDMI which means that I only have to have one connection to the TV and my receiver acts as a hub for all of my devices 3. auto-calibration setup using a microphone (because this is going to be my 1st receiver ever and I wouldn't know how to calibrate it manually) This makes me lean towards the Yamaha RXV1600 or Denon AVR2307CI. I'm not sure if the Denon does upsampling though so I'll have to look into it. The HK in this price range seems to have HDMI pass-thru only so it won't upsample to HDMI. Also, a separate digital audio cable is required for audio since the HK doesn't look inside the HDMI signal but simply passes it on. Anyways, hopefully peoples' advice in this thread will help both of us decide what to get. -Rob.

Thank you all for your replies! Just another question regarding circuit noise. Are all of the circuits that run from the circuit breaker separated from each other in terms of electrical noise? The reason I ask is because I can plug in the receiver on a different circuit than my computer for instance, but since they're both coming from the same circuit breaker then they're still linked. It's a different loop though so I see what you're saying but I just want to confirm. Is it correct to think of it as series circuits coming from the circuit breaker?

Just wondering what people think of the Belkin isolator F9A1033-12? http://catalog.belkin.com/PureAV_detail.process?Product_Id=163009 I read other posts in this forum that recommended the F5C980-TEL so I'm hoping that the above is just a newer version. Anybody have good/bad experiences with the Belkin Isolator line? The F9A1033-12 is rated at 4720 Joules of protection so I'm sure that it will be sufficient for my receiver, subwoofer, TV, DVD player, etc... but I am curious as to how one would calculate the required value. The sales guy at the store simply said that he would recommend at least 2000 Joule protection. Also, is it better to plug the subwoofer into a different outlet or power bar? If I look at the back of a typical receiver I see a spec section which reads: 120 VOLTS, 500 WATTS, 630 VA (volt amps), 60 Hz Can I use some of this information from my various components to calculate the sum of Joules? I found somewhere that: 1 watt = 1 joule/second Also, in my house there is a single 15 AMP circuit that powers all of the wall plugs and lights in the room that I plan on using for the HT. Is this sufficient for a typical HT? I do notice that the lights dim when I turn on the vacuum. I was thinking that if I sum up the amperage of everything on the circuit and it's lower than 15 then I should be okay. Thanks, Rob.

Thanks JetJockey! I will let you know if I'm ever in the area.