Subwoofer Questions

[coo1asice]

When I turn up my speakers while playing mp3s or movies that have long periods of high bass levels the bass on my sub proceeds to diminish, as if it was losing power, but after i turn it down and back up it's normal then diminishes again, is there a problem with my sub? it hardly sounds like it's putting out the bass everyone is talking about? HELP

[Seb]

another case of high expectations...

don't worry, everything is normal.

there is a compression system in the subwoofer that diminishes the sound level when too much bass is sent to it so that

1) you get ideal, undistorted sound all the time and

2) you don't harm the sub

from what I read in reviews and in posts here, I was expecting my sub to shake the whole house also, but it's not the case. might rattle a few objects here and there, but nothing as dramatic as i thought. i was expecting the level of performance I'm now getting with my big ht sub.

to cure yourself, do the following:

plug back in your previous PC speakers,

turn up the sound and the bass most especially,

listen (or at least try to for as long as you can),

repeat "thank God I'm richer than the majority of people on this planet and I can spoil myself with such bass!" 10 times really fast.

[Sam_D]

It also helps where you put the sub. I noticed a huge difference when I got my new desk in and I put the sub behind a cabinet with a glass cover aimed at my chest.

Or you could just turn down the bass a little (or don't use winamp's equalizer on full bass )

[scoggy]

This is the way my sub is set up in the corner of my room under my desk. It seems to sound pretty good this this. I've heard people say they get better bass if it's turned around with wires facing out but that just looks damn bad!

[coo1asice]

i understand it's not what it's supposed to be, but even my roommates DTS 3500 sub puts out more bass then my klipsch?

[Dan F]

That definitely indicates something is wrong. What sound card?

Could also be the sub is located in an acoustic "black hole". Try moving it a few feet in one direction or the other.

[coo1asice]

it's a soundblaster live mp3+ soundcard and the sub is directly at my feet, i've tried moving it around and it doesn't seem to get any better.

[hex21cc]

Try and go into the surround mixer for the sblive. FAD. TRE, and BAS have bars that you can move and whatever. Try and move the bass bar up. Hope this help.

[Dman155]

Try pluggin the pros into a walkman or cd player of some sort and seeing if that changes anything.

[Paragon]

quote:

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Originally posted by coo1asice:

i understand it's not what it's supposed to be, but even my roommates DTS 3500 sub puts out more bass then my klipsch?

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From where are you listening to his bass? Your desk or his? His bass might be amplified at your desk due to a sweet spot. Make sure the setting are the same in software before comparing

[coo1asice]

my friend has the same soundblaster as me and we both use the same sound settings, his sub is at his feet too and his can actually make bass feel like bass. i just don't see it happening, i've tried adjusting levels and all that good stuff and still after i go past the 1:00 position the sub seems to die off.

[LoW_KeY]

Hmm odd.. well my roomies have 250 watt speakers and I swear my sub does a darn nice job of stickin with it

Now if I brough my 15' 150 watt rated sharp speakers I'd tear those 250 watt ones apart... but I've had like 12 people come in here those are your computers speakers?!

How high are you turning the volume up? if you have the bass setting high and volume high the bass does die out thats when you adjust the bass

[Seb]

it's either a problem with the sub, or an accoustical problem with the room.

try putting your sub in his sub's spot.

ideally, put your sub in your listening position, then walk around the room and the sub should go where you hear the most bass.

[Movie Freak]

That sounds like a position problem for sure. Search for Home Theater Positioning sites, they all share similar views on sub positioning. Always away from you, since you should be in the center of the satellites sweet spot, the sub should be outside that sweet spot off in a corner. If the sub is in conflict with the center of your mid and high sweet spot, you are going to kill the majority of your low frequency sounds. If you don't have an area that is suited to 4 satellites and a sub, find a better room or move your desk to get better positioning for your pro's. I have put my pro's up against an old roomates 400wt HT system and like everyone has said, it came pretty damn close. Always keep in mind these speakers have a specific purpose, to supply clean, powerful and crisp sound... for a computer at computer listening distances, not supply music for an arena party.

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