Basic home audio stuffs (mbm and co.)

**shaina** · 02-06-2016, 07:45 AM

Originally Posted by Skiz

I was thinking IKEA as well. I showed the gf one from the website and she liked it. Could it really be that easy? First one I find and she likes it? Feels like a trap.

Really the only place i could think of for a reasonably priced good looking white cabinet/unit

, most places have wood or wood colors (solid wood, particle board or printed wood

), unless you go to a real fancy furniture store and pay through the nose for a white cabinet

Plus.. It is fun to walk around IKEA and see what else they got

, let the better half buy a few more things and you might get lucky that night Skiz

I buy a few things there and it may not be the best quality, but it does look good once you figure out how to build the dam things

PS. They have a cordless drill set made for building there crap (the middle one i bought), it works pretty good

, and for odd jobs around the house

Plus... You do know that Best Buy does price match and give 10% of the difference?? Even Internet pricing... I have used Newegg site for that

..
For high end cables and stuff i go to a whole seller(plus they make custom cables if you need them), but for smaller stuff i go to a place called "Canada Computers", not sure what you guys have there to compare

I see you are a big fan on buying things online

, i prefer not too unless it is the only place i can get what i am looking for, It would be my last resort for purchasing electronics..I like to see what i am buying and know if there is a problem it goes back in my truck , and replaced

Good luck Skiz

Originally Posted by Skiz

Haven't tinkered with the sub any further. I'll just see how things go once everything is hooked up and go from there.

**Skiz** · 02-09-2016, 11:56 PM

Been getting super frustrated with setting up some basics.

Question 1:
Sub "auto-on" still doesn't function correctly. It never turns on by itself regardless of what I'm watching. BluRay, Roku, TV, anything at all. I have to go turn it to the "On" position to get anything from it at all, at which time it seems to work just fine. Why is this? It's connected to the receiver via RCA cables to the receivers "subwoofer pre-out" port. I've tried a different RCA cable and I've tried playing different types of audio.

Question 2: Is the sub supposed to kick on with music playing bc I can't figure out how to get it to turn work at all when playing music from my iPhone. I'm using a 3.5mm (from iPhone) to RCA and plugging that RCA connection into the "Audio 1" port in the back of the receiver. Right now everything just plays through the 75T front towers.

Question 3: Speaking of the 75T towers...um... they suck. Unless I'm doing something wrong. Everywhere I read people are talking about the deep bass, but I'm not getting anything I would consider remotely in the ballpark of "deep bass". From 1-10 they're like a 3. The 45B's I had plugged in before buying these have more bass. I've checked the on-screen setup for the Yamaha receiver and I believe I have everything setup correctly. I have the sub enabled. The "front" speakers are set to "Large" (choices are large and small). I've tinkered with the crossover setting and turned it up to around 80-100, but anything higher than that starts to make everything sound really bad. I had high expectations for these from reading 5-star reviews on essentially every website imaginable but they've been nothing but a pile of disappointment from my end.

**shaina** · 02-10-2016, 02:37 AM

Originally Posted by Skiz

Been getting super frustrated with setting up some basics.

Question 1:
Sub "auto-on" still doesn't function correctly. It never turns on by itself regardless of what I'm watching. BluRay, Roku, TV, anything at all. I have to go turn it to the "On" position to get anything from it at all, at which time it seems to work just fine. Why is this? It's connected to the receiver via RCA cables to the receivers "subwoofer pre-out" port. I've tried a different RCA cable and I've tried playing different types of audio.

Question 2: Is the sub supposed to kick on with music playing bc I can't figure out how to get it to turn work at all when playing music from my iPhone. I'm using a 3.5mm (from iPhone) to RCA and plugging that RCA connection into the "Audio 1" port in the back of the receiver. Right now everything just plays through the 75T front towers.

Question 3: Speaking of the 75T towers...um... they suck. Unless I'm doing something wrong. Everywhere I read people are talking about the deep bass, but I'm not getting anything I would consider remotely in the ballpark of "deep bass". From 1-10 they're like a 3. The 45B's I had plugged in before buying these have more bass. I've checked the on-screen setup for the Yamaha receiver and I believe I have everything setup correctly. I have the sub enabled. The "front" speakers are set to "Large" (choices are large and small). I've tinkered with the crossover setting and turned it up to around 80-100, but anything higher than that starts to make everything sound really bad. I had high expectations for these from reading 5-star reviews on essentially every website imaginable but they've been nothing but a pile of disappointment from my end.

Ok Skiz...Patience and i will try to go through this step by step if you want??

(and you have connected all 5 speakers, don't care where you have positioned them at this point just make sure you have done that k (plus sub)... And do the Fuzz test (static test that sound is coming through all the speakers(each separate channel k), this is important

)

What is the mode/setting on the Amp Reading?? (what movie show are you testing it with and what format is it?? MKV AVI MP4???)
The switch/toggle on the back of the Sub you always should have it in the "on" position k
Lets start with these questions

PS. If Meg is using them they are good Skiz, so something in the settings on the Amp or format you are watching is not decoding right..
Be it HDMI connection or may need to use Optical connection to correct the issue.....
Patience my friend and it will get solved.... (If Meg or myself was there in person it is a bit easier

), plus to speed up things if you have any spare speaker wire around have that ready k

Regards
Shay

**megabyteme** · 02-10-2016, 03:45 AM

I suspect the bass is being bypassed FROM the 75's. Take the sub out of the equation for now. We can add it back in later. Right now, they are being treated like bookshelf speakers. Let's run them full range, then reinforce the bottom end by running the sub separate (later).

**shaina** · 02-10-2016, 04:05 AM

Originally Posted by megabyteme

I suspect the bass is being bypassed FROM the 75's. Take the sub out of the equation for now. We can add it back in later. Right now, they are being treated like bookshelf speakers. Let's run them full range, then reinforce the bottom end by running the sub separate (later).

which means turn the settings to front speakers "large" on the Amp and turn the Sub off as well??

That is what you are asking Skiz to do right??

If not?? Try to explain in details

Even doing that Meg it makes the Bass (Boom Boom) directional, not the same as running a sub

But for test purposes.... Sure why not

Being honest... I would like a yes or no answer to the speaker connection test before anything else...(make sure all the channels are working and no wires are crossed or touching

, not sure if the amp he has shuts down automatically for that...??).
Plus what he is using to test the sound?? eg. Blu-ray, streaming box, cable etc. and what format??
Easy questions to answer

Plus going from the TV .... did he change the settings that he is using an outside sound source not the TV itself??

Try what you said first then sound test on all speaker channels

PS. did you check your sub connections Meg?? And not having the problem in front of you can be a pain in the ass!!!!

**megabyteme** · 02-10-2016, 04:50 AM

I'm addressing his concern for lack of bass in the 75's. Since the sub is on the small side anyway, it won't hurt to run the fronts full-range, then send the full signal to the sub. We want to bypass all of the crossovers in the way of the Polks. I would unplug the sub completely from the system for now. No RCA cables; nothing connected. Front channels set to full range/large. Internal (on the receiver) frequency cutoffs disabled.

I agree that doing the 'all channels' test is important. As well as having a good source, but I suspect skiz would have picked something with bass to test his sub. There are some good system test dvds that can be downloaded for setup purposes. One of those is certainly recommended here. They have tests for various frequency ranges, channel tests, as well as sub setup.

Also, putting a sub in a corner will reinforce its sound greatly. Placement really helps.

Are the speaker connections bi-wired? If so, make sure (since you are only running one set of leads) the proper shunts are across the set of four screws in the back of the 75's. This could be why nothing is getting to the low end.

But I do think it is best to get the 75's running properly before adding in the complexity of the other channels. Turn it to 2-channel, with nothing interfering.

**shaina** · 02-10-2016, 05:11 AM

Originally Posted by megabyteme

I'm addressing his concern for lack of bass in the 75's. Since the sub is on the small side anyway, it won't hurt to run the fronts full-range, then send the full signal to the sub. We want to bypass all of the crossovers in the way of the Polks. I would unplug the sub completely from the system for now. No RCA cables; nothing connected. Front channels set to full range/large. Internal (on the receiver) frequency cutoffs disabled.

I agree that doing the 'all channels' test is important. As well as having a good source, but I suspect skiz would have picked something with bass to test his sub. There are some good system test dvds that can be downloaded for setup purposes. One of those is certainly recommended here. They have tests for various frequency ranges, channel tests, as well as sub setup.
Also, putting a sub in a corner will reinforce its sound greatly. Placement really helps.

The sub being a non directional sound does not have to be placed in a corner and that my cause vibrations from the wall stud or door, but trial and error sure why not

As for test dvd's/Blu-rays and stuff?? Who cares at this point?? Getting all the speakers working first would take priority over that..
The Amp has a speaker test on it to test the channels that is first priority in my opinion and the settings for sound quality after.
As for testing for bass sound?? Settings on the amp can fix that and depending what he is broadcasting and what format (True Dolby or Pro Logic etc.) is going to change the reactions of the speaker sound and where the sound is directed (eg. i test with certain movies to test sound once i know the speakers are connected and each channel is recognized if that makes sense?? Blade BD rip is really good!!

or give him a suggestion and on proper formatted copy/original as well )....

Your idea of removing the sub to test the bass and sound of his front speakers is fine but not the solution for getting the sound to come out of the fronts , if you understand what i am saying...

The settings on the amp and what signals he is sending will change all of that and that should be mentioned, that is all i am saying

Meg... You know the speakers are good sound wise and i trust your judgement/opinion, so trying to prove that is not needed, but getting all the speakers working and then adjusting the sound quality is a better solution to me, small sub or not

, plus that is what he owns now

I think it is enough for my help being i want everything connected properly before i worry about what sound quality is coming out of them or even placement??

Good Luck Meg...

Regards
Shay