trueblue

Well, the final resolution to this shaggy dog story is at hand. I suspect this would not have been a problem for more seasoned practitioners, but for a newby? ... well. I made the statement earlier that, "I think the fact that I was able to get sound from the speaker by sending a signal to its line-in ports directly from my DVD pretty well proves that the problem is not in the speaker, the cable, or the Y splitter. That only leaves the receivers subwoofer-pre out port or the set-up values that the receiver is operating on." Well, pretty well is not conclusively, and this statement turned out to be NOT TRUE!! It seems the 'nose' on the RCA plug into the Onkyo's subwoofer pre-out was a bit short of making the connection. The 'collar' of the RCA plug fit okay but the 'nose' wasn't getting in far enough. While it worked fine in the DVD it did not work in the receiver. Replacing that wire with one with a longer 'nose' has resolved the problem. Thank you, everyone, for helping me think this through! Bruce

Doc thanks for posting a response to my problem. My reason (blind faith in a still new receiver) is different than yours but the end result is the same ... I cant believe that something I have never used is broken. Like you, I want to believe that I have something set incorrectly in my receivers set-up parameters. I think the fact that I was able to get sound from the speaker by sending a signal to its line-in ports directly from my DVD pretty well proves that the problem is not in the speaker, the cable, or the Y splitter. That only leaves the receivers subwoofer-pre out port or the set-up values that the receiver is operating on. About the set-up parameters, I have set the subwoofer to on. I have set the level of the speakers using the receiver-generated test tone. (I even blindly set the level of the subwoofer, even though I couldnt hear the test tone coming from it.) I set the distance from each speaker to reflect my usual listening position. I set the volume to 'absolute'. There were no other speaker parameters. Specifically there was no 'delay time' parameter for me to do anything with. The only guidance my owners manual provides for use of the receivers memory is to use it to store up to 30 radio pre-sets there, and to recall them from there. There is no mention in my manual about storing the state of the speakers in the receivers memory. You suggest using a VOM meter to "check the sub woofer pre out when it is turned out and see if it sends any power out." Was that a typo? Did you mean, "when it is turned on"? By VOM do you mean a Volt-Ohm-Meter? (Sorry, Im not all that familiar with the lingo.) I have an analog multimeter that measures Volts (AC and DC) and Ohms. It has small black and red probes, but neither of them will fit snugly in the subwooferpre out RCA port. What should I touch with each probe to measure the output of the port, and what output reading should I expect to see if it is functioning properly? I have an appointment with a receiver technician in about four weeks that is likely to cost be somewhere between $50 and $100 dollars. I would sure like to have it fixed before then, and I appreciate very much all the help I am getting on this forum!

Thanks for the pointer to the article on 'small' vs 'large'. That article (and the conversation which followed it) makes it seem like even the 'experts' don't always agree what's 'best'. For me, a non-audiophile, I just want what sounds good to me ... and I ain't too picky. I would like a set and forget arrangement and I'm convinced that I will find a suitable arrangement whose sound I will be willing to accept rather than get up and change the set-up based on what sort of sound I'm listening to. Keep in mind that I have listened to everything ... TV, AM/FM, CD's, DVDs, music and video with just the two Royals for years, so just adding a center (any center, I'll bet) and adding a sub (probably any sub) is a real awakening for me. You have been very helpful. Thanks again!!

Oops! I meant to say that the Royal 5 mains responded from 35Hz (not 135Hz) to 18,000.

THANK YOU, Dustin, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! That was a very clever idea to test the sub from the DVD, and it gave be just the results I needed (not the results I wanted, though). The sub is good (and so is the cable and the 'Y' connector). The Onkyo's sub-pre out is apparently not good. My local authorized dealer is backed up about four weeks, but they agreed to let a piece of paper with my name on it wait in line so I don't have to be without my system for all that time. The Onkyo owner's mannual does not give very much information about the results of setting certain parameters one way or another. I have my fronts (an old pair of Royal 5 speakers each with a 10" and a 3" responding to 135Hz to 18,000 with a 1,500 Hz crossover) set to large. But what is large? Large relative to what? What is the impact of seting the fronts to Large vs setting them to small. How is this value used in determining other things? I didn't find those answers in the owner's guide. Based on your comments, though, I set the fronts to Small and tried 2-ch, pro logic, aand 5.1. It didn't make a difference I still didn't get signal out of the receiver's sub-pre out. I have set the value for the Fronts back to Large as they are larger than the Klipsch Quintet surrounds and center channel speaker. I am using the extra two Klipsch Quintets as my channel 'B' fronts, but they are almost never engaged. Thanks again for the extremely helpful diagnostic tip!

I have just received my Klipsch Home Theater speakers (2-fronts, 1-center, 2-surrounds, and a KSW-10 powered subwoofer). I am using a three-year old Onkyo TX-DS575 receiver to drive them. All the speakers perform as expected except the sub. When I connect the sub to the receiver's subwoofer pre-out port I get no sound. The sub and receiver are both powered on. The receiver has a set-up mode, and I have used it to tell the Onkyo that I have a subwoofer attached. The receiver's test tone is reproduced at all my attached speakers EXCEPT at the subwoofer which remains silent. When I connect the sub to the main speaker terminals I get sound ... good strong bass sound from the sub as expected. However, without being able to use the pre-amp connection, I cannot adjust the receiver's output level for the sub independently of the mains. I have concluded that one of the following four conditions exist and I need help figuring out how to determine which is the real problem: 1) the line-in ports (or the amplifyer for them) in the new sub are not working 2) the subwoofer pre-out port on the receiver is not working (i have never had a sub before so I don't know that this port ever worked even when the Onkyo was new. 3) the new connector wire is not working 4) the new 'Y' connector which delivers the receiver's single sub pre-out port signal to the two line-in LFE ports is not working. I do not have (and do not know anyone who has) another powered sub I could plug into my receiver to see if I am getting signal out of it. I also don't have (or know anyone who has) another receiver with a subwoofer pre-out port so I could try my sub on that receiver. I have called local repair shops and no one will admit to being able to test the line-in side of the sub. The guy I bouht the speakers from is not local but he is willing to replace the sub. But if the receiver is the problem then what's the point of replacing the sub? How can I determine (at not to great an expense) which is the failing component?