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“Large”. Selecting the size accordingly will ensure bass goes to most ap-
propriate speakers, and use the subwoofer correctly too. Also, is your sub-
woofer turned “ON”? We don’t mean “is your subwoofer
amplifier
on?” (that’ll be important later too) but rather,
is your receiver sending a
bass signal to your sub amp
? This can only happen if you say “Yes” (or
“ON”) in the “Subwoofer” selection during the setup of any typical Dolby
Digital/DTS capable receiver (you’ll need to enter your receiver’s setup
“menu” to check these critical choices).
•
Is your receiver connected to the sub amp?
Use a well-shielded “RCA”
cable (sometimes called a “patch cord”) to connect the subwoofer output of your
DD/DTS receiver to
either
input jack of your subwoofer’s dedicated amp. Again,
you’ll need to “split” the bass signal with a “Y Cable” if you have a pair of subs.
But you only need feed
one
of the two inputs (it doesn’t matter
either Right or Left) of any SVS Powered Box sub.
•
Is your Radio Shack
®
sound pressure level (SPL) me-
ter ready?
This tool is absolutely essential to proper home
theater audio setup. It’s akin to a tire pressure gauge for your car
(you don’t set tires by “feel” right?). Set the meter to “Slow” and
“C-weighting” (and turn the dial to 70 or 80dB depending on your
test tone source). Haven’t got the meter yet? Order one from
your SVS Dealer. We prefer the analog instead of the digital
display model to ease visual notes of the levels being played.
Getting ready to start now: Make sure your receiver or processor’s master volume is
set to “00 dB” or some other easy to remember “reference level”. Then, ensure your
sub’s volume/gain control is set no more than 1/4 to 1/3rd up, for now, leaving plenty of
adjustment “up”. It’s also critical to check the subwoofer output level control of your
surround receiver before you begin the test tones. Set the receiver’s subwoofer output
to about 1/3rd up too. Your receiver’s LFE “trim” or “peak limiter”, if you have one,
should be set to 0dB (with the least effect). Turn off any sound-field processing schemes,
“Mid-night Mode”, “DRC” (dynamic range control), “Movie Mode” etc. If it is an op-
tion in your system, route your LFE to the “subwoofer only”, not “mains + sub”.
Now play your receiver's internal test noise “tones” so you have something to meas-
ure with your SPL meter. Or, better yet, buy a test DVD such as Ovation’s Avia. A
test disk’s tones ensure your entire signal path, from the DVD player to your speakers, is
set correctly. Whatever you use, when the tones start alternating from speaker to speaker
(watch your sound meter now), set each speaker’s volume to about 75 dB (or 85dB if
using Avia) by using the receiver’s dedicated channel level controls (leaving receiver’s
master volume the same). We recommend you turn down the receiver’s subwoofer
channel output level before you significantly lower your sub’s volume/gain control. This
helps keep distortion sent to your SVS at a minimum. Note: You should not set this
control much lower than the first 1/4th of the receiver’s control range however, since
some downward adjustment may be needed to fine tune levels later. If your subwoofer’s
SPL meter reading is still too high, then turn down the sub’s amp volume a little with
each run of the test noise signal, as it cycles from speaker to speaker and the subwoofer.
SV Sound
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