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"subwoofer goes to sleep" Topic


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Great War Ace23 Mar 2016 7:22 a.m. PST

Yesterday afternoon I did another YPAO microphone test on my sound system. It did something weird: pumped "bloop" sounds through each speaker at twice the rate as before, and some really growly grunts through the subwoofer. Always before, the subwoofer would emit these very quiet *pant* sounds; this time it sounded like it was being overloaded. But this morning, the radio is emitting very audible basement floor, like nothing I've heard previously. Hmm! Did my subwoofer finally "break in" or what? I have no idea. The reason why I conducted yet another YPAO microphone test and adjustment is because, (wait for iiit…) my subwoofer went to sleep, aaagain. Seriously!? I thought my base tones were a bit anemic and so I looked down at the front of the subwoofer and sure enough the little blue light was off, meaning that the subwoofer was not picking up a signal. *SIGH!* So the test. And the results are very pleasing this morning. I only have the radio turned up to "35" which is quite low, yet the base tones are very pleasingly audible. And that's with the subwoofer volume turned to just past half. If I crank it up all the way, the base is very fine, but dominates. So too much, for the first time. Now, if the danged thing will just not go to sleep on me anymore! I wonder what has been causing that?

Streitax23 Mar 2016 10:04 a.m. PST

Possessed, no doubt. An exorcism is in order.

Personal logo Doctor X Supporting Member of TMP23 Mar 2016 12:07 p.m. PST

It's good to hear that other people have cranky subwoofers. Over the years this component of my systems has always been the most mysteriously troublesome.

Great War Ace23 Mar 2016 12:50 p.m. PST

Yeah, "my Juju is more powerful than your Juju." That is what I frequently tell techie persons online or on the phone, when calling about this, that and the other thing electronic that is plaguing me.

It is also good to know that it isn't a special problem with my stuff, but that subwoofers are "mysteriously troublesome."

Here's another wrinkle: the Pioneer subwoofer (maybe this is a standard feature?) has "Standby", "Auto" and "On" as the power options. I prefer "Auto", that way when I turn on my music and the little blue light pops awake I know that my subwoofer is receiving a signal. If I use "On" I don't get alerted when my subwoofer has stopped receiving a signal. Of course the difference in accentuated low tones should clue me in, right? Not always. You get busy doing other things and don't notice until you walk by the speakers, then you can hear the lack of definition in the bass. Crap! Asleep AGAIN! If the light is on that isn't a guarantee that the subwoofer is in fact putting out. Or, so it seems to me through my experimenting and experience….

Great War Ace23 Mar 2016 12:56 p.m. PST

Oh, I forgot to mention that a few minutes ago I did another YPAO test and "Save", because the subwoofer blue light was OFF. Why would it play as I described in my OP, and then for no reason whatsoever just shut off? Grrr!…

Great War Ace23 Mar 2016 3:43 p.m. PST

And furthermore, I just had to unplug the subwoofer and receiver to get the stupid receiver to recognize the subwoofer. I only unplugged the subwoofer too because that couldn't hurt. I had done three, count 'em, three YPAO microphone tests to get the subwoofer to emit its pleasant little *grunt* noises, and thus produce an "SW" icon on the Yamaha receiver display. It/they refused to communicate: that's a first since I bought these two units last fall. But I suppose I shouldn't complain, if unplugging and plugging back in turns the trick. Things are "woofing" along nicely just around the corner. For how long this time, Oh Lord, for how long?…

Great War Ace24 Mar 2016 5:06 a.m. PST

I came upstairs this morning and saw the TV screen still on, the stereo still on. And the TV dinner tray parked in front of the round couch. My wife had evidently been listening to her audio book, and forgot to turn anything off. The radio did not elicit any response from the subwoofer.

So I pulled out the cable from the back of the unit and held it in place in order to produce a low hum (proving that it is "alive").

Then I turned off the receiver, unplugged it for c. a minute, and plugged it back in, and turned on the radio. The subwoofer's blue light obligingly came on.

So it appears that when the receiver is On for an extended period, especially not when not being used, the connection to the subwoofer will drop. Even turning on the radio or a CD will not wake the connection up; no signal is sent to the subwoofer. But a "reset", by unplugging and plugging back in, will do the trick.

Old Wolfman24 Mar 2016 6:43 a.m. PST

I've periodically had to reboot my cable box by unplugging it ,waiting about a minute,replug in,then wait for the signal to come back on,usually indicated by the box clock reset back to the right time.

Great War Ace24 Mar 2016 8:49 p.m. PST

So, SOP then. Electronic gadgetry is so fickle and annoying. I wonder how much of this reset/reboot crap is because of poor quality hardware (or even software there has to be a ton of complex computer crap built into that Yamaha receiver, right?), and how much of this instability is simply inherent in all systems anymore?

Great War Ace01 Apr 2016 11:22 a.m. PST

Subwoofer annoyance, aaagain. "Auto" turned itself off, aaagain. I switched to "extra bass", and the sub came on again, only to be "off" the next time I suspected diminished volume and checked it. *sigh!* Pulled the plug on the receiver; this time, no change. Got online and searched. Tried "setup", turning the sub volume all the way up; setting the level to +10.0 db! Seriously! Nothing changed a danged thing. Pulled the connection cord from the back of the sub and held it in place: "LIFE!" Pushed it on and raced to turn down the +10.0 db to something more humane! Also turned the sub volume back to half. Man! I will, I suspect, always have this trouble. But at least now I know what maxed out db and sub volume sounds like, for the first time. I won't be going there! So I have set the "crossover" frequency to 160 Hz (was at 80): that, if I understand (now) increases the range that the sub takes over the small speakers' output; i.e. anything under 160 Hz the sub does the output, instead of anything under 80 Hz; of course, the sub's Hz setting is maxed at 150 Hz, so I don't really understand the "interface" between receiver "crossover" setting and sub setting. I've just done what I was recommended by those who seem to know more about it. Heh, that would be practically everybody talking about this, I reckon. Also, playing with the db output of the sub is going to remain interesting. Default has always been -1.0 db. I now have it set at +1.0 db. It sure sounds good right now. Moderate and noticeable. Even on that moderate db setting, if I turn the sub volume all the way up the bass rattles the glass in our bookshelves. :)

Great War Ace03 Apr 2016 6:31 a.m. PST

I noticed that the scientific abbreviation is "dB", not db. Heh, something to do with far more Juju than I want to bother with! :)

Great War Ace03 Apr 2016 3:42 p.m. PST

Sooo! I try this out on Barber's Adagio, organ version (massive bass, a good test track). At -1.0 dB (default) output to the sub, crossover at 100 Hz, sub volume at half, the Center speaker lies quiescent on the TV trolley. If I turn the sub volume up even to "1 o'clock" the speaker cabinet to the Center speaker starts to "hop" on the trolley; the glass in the bookshelves begins to shimmer ever so slightly. Too much! There is so much more where that came from! Hah! This has actually been fun, since the subwoofer is "awake" and playing nicely.

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