adamhart Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 So I recently upgraded my system and I think it isn't getting enough power (electricity) to properly run. Here is my previous setup that ran fine: Marantz SR5005 Polk LSi-M 703 - Fronts Polk LSiC - Center Polk LSi9 - Rears Bose Acoustimass 10 - Surrounds SVS PB-12 Plus - Sub With that setup everything seemed to run in harmony with now issues. But I'd been saving up for a new system and then Klipsch had that major sell on their reference II line so I decided to upgrade and this is now my current setup: Marantz AV7701 - Preamp 3 Emotiva XPA-1L (Powers fronts) Klipsch RF-7ii - Fronts Klipsch RC-64ii - Center Klipsch RF-82ii - Rears (Currently not even being use bc i needed to have wiring ran to the locations and want to get a dedicated 2 channel amp that i currently don't have.......ran out of money after buying all the above mentioned gear) SVS PB-13 Ultra SVS PB-12 Plus Okay so now lets get to the issue that maybe you guys can shed some light on for me. As i stated above I am not even using the RF-82s currently and will use another amp to power them. Currently the only speakers getting powered are the RF-7s, RC-64, and the two subs. I wasn't satisfied with the output i was getting from the subs at all and I actually had a friend at my house and he told me that his $500 surround bar with sub had more low end then my 2 SVS's and needless to say i agree and it royally pissed me off. However after doing some troubleshooting I decided to watch a movie trailer through my apple tv (mad max) and in the middle of the trailer when its really going nuts (Klipsch's sounded amazing but still no real low end from the subs) I powered off the 3 amps and the subs immediately started going nuts, insane low end and bass, basically exactly how i wanted and expected them to sound. I powered the amps back on and back to the same with no real bass from the subs. So I tweeked the settings and took a lot of the power away that the marantz gave to the speakers and turned the subs up a bit and I can get some decent punch from the subs but the speakers aren't sounding great like they initially were and the bass is overpowering the audio from the speakers but if I go back and add power to the speakers the subs stop producing low end. I can't even imagine how it will sound or what will happen if I connect two more speakers to another amp in the same room. Has anybody else encountered this issue and is there an easy fix or do I need to call an electrician and have him run another power line to my living room? The house is relatively new that i live in, Im the only owner and had it built in 2007 if that provides any helpful info. Please help Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 (edited) Where are you located? Sounds to me like possibly a setup issue? I'm not understanding why turning on your amps would cause issue with your sub. How big is the room? At what level are you listening? And have you ran audyssey on your pre pro? I'm wondering if your mains are set as large and for some reason your subs are out of phase with them. Cause that will destroy bass. I've experienced it first hand when I bought a second pb-13 ultra and it came wired out of phase from Svs. I mean it was like I had no sub when it was on and turn it off poof back to normal. Are your subs both up front? How are they configured? Edited June 12, 2015 by Scrappydue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamhart Posted June 12, 2015 Author Share Posted June 12, 2015 I am located in Summerville, SC. I'd say the room is roughly 16x20 but its wide open into the kitchen with only an island separating the rooms and the kitchen is about 10x20. Yes I did run the audyssey calibration on the preamp and it did by default said the mains to large and the crossover to 40hz but I went in and changed them to small and changed the crossover frequency to 80hz, before I did that I basically got nothing out of the subs. I have the volume around -25 to -15. I attached a screenshot of the current setup. I didn't think the amps being powered off would do anything either and I didn't anticipate any change when I did it but the second they powered off the subs came to life. I am in by no means an electrician and have no idea about any of it so this is just me speculating with no real insight on the subject. That being said thats why I thought it might be a power issue or lack of power getting to the speakers bc with no amps drawing power they sounded amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 (edited) It sounds like something(your monoblocks) are drawing too much current and leaving your subs starving for juice. I would definitely call an electrician. Bill Edited June 12, 2015 by willland 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psg Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 It sounds like something(your monoblocks) are drawing too much current and leaving your subs starving for juice. I would definitely call an electrician. Bill Plug them into different circuits and find out without calling anyone first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 if the monos are drawing that much current you need to get rid of them FAST...................................that said your first step in trouble shooting this is get a decent weight extension cord IE 12-2 and run your subs off that with you amps off the suspected circuit, then as scrappy stated check all your wiring and settings if you were overloading a circuit to the extent it caused a loss of power you describe it should trip the breaker. another usefful troubleshooting tool, take a multimeter set for A/C turn on your mains and check the current at the outlet where the subs are normally connected, it should read north of 110.......................(mine are at 117.3) report progress 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superdave Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 It sounds like something(your monoblocks) are drawing too much current and leaving your subs starving for juice. I would definitely call an electrician. Bill Plug them into different circuits and find out without calling anyone first. Yes, good advice. Just use extension cords. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamhart Posted June 12, 2015 Author Share Posted June 12, 2015 So far the breaker hasn't tripped and I have a power conditioner with a voltage screen on it and it is always over 110, typically 115-118. I'll test your other recommendations when I get home this evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 As mention, the breaker should trip if you are drawing to much power. Seeing that the OP is in a family room, he is most likely on a 15 amp circuit. That is a lot of stuff on a 15 amp circuit. Take the mono blocks and just use the avr and see what happens. I ran into some power issuse when I started adding more subs and now use 2 dedicated 15 amp circuits for the HT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuBXeRo Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 something is funky with your setup. I don't think that things are power starved because if they were, you're breaking would trip or you have a bad breaker and things aren't tripping but you should still be getting the juice the setup needs. Your setup isn't out of the ordinary or outlandish by any means and many of us are running similar setups and usually on the same breaker which helps to eliminate groundloops with your subs. The first thing i would do is as stated above, make sure everything is in phase correctly and ensure that your settings on your subs are exactly the same. The less settings you apply while troubleshooting the better. The next part is to open up the settings on your processor and try not to place restrictions (keep stuff on full range). The point of this is to see if your signals are good to everything and its not some stupid setting that gets tripped because of another setting. Test the setup and if its all kosher, you can start to dial in your settings one at a time and checking. Also, make sure you use the same quality test media that you know is tried and true and you know what things are supposed to sound like. What is the point of swapping media because you aren't comparing apples to apples. This is the best starting place. If you are still having issues, its time to switch circuits and move the whole setup. Yes, its a beotch but its troubleshooting. I spent 3-4 months troubleshooting my first power amp setup to find out that my XPA-5 had floor noise that i didn't like and was the sole culprit of my issue. Sometimes things are just that stupid simple. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 It would be interesting to see a graph and see if the mains are causing a cancellation problem with the subs. Symmetrical subs will reinforce the same peaks and dips. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Did you have these same subs with the old setup? Try just avr powering your front three. I just don't think those amps would kill the power. The Svs sub amps aren't that crazy of a load. They don't weigh anything so I'm guessing they are class d. My whole home theater runs on a single circuit and I had dual svs ultras and dual thx ultra subs xpa-2/5. Even had 7 upa-1's for a while with same quad sub setup never had issues. Then had 350x7 monster amp with 6000 watt sub amp. No issues. And 50 year old house. Also running PS3 projector, sat, and Apple TV on exact same circuit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 So far the breaker hasn't tripped and I have a power conditioner with a voltage screen on it and it is always over 110, typically 115-118. I'll test your other recommendations when I get home this evening. IF YOU TESTED THE OUTLETS AND HAVE 115 TO 118 VAC WITH THE AMPS RUNNING THEN YOU HAVE BAD SETTINGS, CABLING, PHASE, PROCESSOR ETC... AND IT BECOMES A PROCESS OF Elimination (Damn caps key) Seriously doubt a bad breaker they rarely fail and the house was built just 8 years ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gadgtfreek Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 Yeah, Id say its not power. For example, when all my gear is off my power reads about 123. With it all on it reads about 118(today for example and I never have any problems. Running off the same circuit: Dish DVR 65" Plasma VTF15 sub and FV15HP sub Maranatz 7702 preamp Outlaw 7500 amp (200wx5 with dual large torroidal transformers) I can run reference level volumes for 2 hours without issues. If your voltage is fine then it should not be a power issue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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