Sub not working- PSW 250

[jmurray732]

Hello,

Please forgive me as I am a stereo novice and don't know the correct terms to use. I have a Polk PSW 250 subwoofer hooked up to a Pioneer receiver. The cable is connected to the "subwoofer" output on the receiver, and then I have a splitter for "L" and "R" that goes into the input slots on the back of the subwoofer.

For the life of me, I can't get it to work. The receiver indicates that the subwoofer is on, and its always worked with the exact same cables that I used before. I think the setup is the same but Im not exactly sure because my old roommate is the one who was the expert. I have recently moved, so I had to hook it up this time, and from everything I can tell it seems to be hooked up correctly.

If there is anything you can do to help, I would be appreciative.

Thanks,

Jon

[danger boy]

Jon,

Call your friend over and tell him you have cold beer in the fridge.. and kindly mention that your subwoofer isn't working right. :p

Kidding aside. It sounds like the problem may not be with the subwoofer.. but some kind of setting or switch that isn't "ON".

Subwoofer have a "off, standby, and on" swtiches on their amps. check to see if that is off or the unit is unplugged from the wall outlet. I know those are basic things to check.. but sometimes the most simple thing will bite you in the ass. Put it in the "ON" position...

On your Pioneer receiver.. check the subwoofer level in the menu.. if it's set at say.. - 9 or something.. it may not be putting out enough of a signal for your subwoofer to show that it's working.. raise the subwoofer volume to about 0

Other than that... recheck your connections. I once had my subwoofer connected wrong coming out of the rear of the recevier.. there are tons of inputs and outputs on the back of receiver.. so check those again. and let us know if things work out or not.

good luck, Al

[jmurray732]

check. check. and check. still not working.

Is there anyway that I can determine whether its the subwoofer itself or if its the way I hooked it up? Any other suggestions?

All help is greatly appreciated!

[Kenneth Swauger]

Hello,
Here's a fool proof way to test to see if the sub-woofer is the cause:
1). turn the volume all of the way down on the sub-woofer and remove all of the connecting cables/wires except the AC power cord.
2). find the right and left RCA cables that go from your DVD player to the receiver and remove them at the back of the receiver.
3). bring the DVD player over to the sub-woofer and provide AC power for the DVD player, then connect the right and left RCA cables from the DVD player to the corresponding right and left inputs on the sub-woofer.
4). begin playing any CD (not a DVD, but a CD) and turn the volume up slightly on the sub-woofer. There should be plenty of clean sounding bass with no bad noises. Let the CD play completely through and try stopping and starting the player.
Let me know the results.
Regards, Ken, Polk

[jmurray732]

ok, so I finally got around to hooking up the subwoofer directly to my DVD player and its a no go. At one point I heard music very faintly, but it came in and out. and the bass kicked in pretty randomly and only once or twice.

Whats the next step? IS there a next step?

Thanks again for the help!

[Kenneth Swauger]

Hello,
Now we need to determine if the problem is with the bass amplifier or the 8" woofer. To do this you would:
1). remove the grille cover and look at the the screws holding the woofer into the cabinet. Take out these screws and remove the 8" woofer from the cabinet and disconnect the two wires that come from the bass amplifier to the woofer. The wires disconnect at the woofer's terminals.
2). turn the woofer upside down on a section of carpet and, at a very low volume, try playing the woofer directly powered by your receiver. Resist the temptation to turn the voume up on the receiver if you don't hear anything at lower volumes. The woofer should make sound at any moderate volume.
3). if there's no sound or very low sound send the woofer to Polk Audio, 2550 Britannia Blvd., Suite A, San Diego, CA. 92154. Please include a short note giving us your name, address and a copy of your sales receipt.
4). if, on the other hand, the woofer works fine then the problem is with the bass amplifier. You would do the same thing, remove the amplifier from the other end of the sub-woofer and send it to the same address.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Regards, Ken

[jmurray732]

1) How would I hook up the woofer directly to the dvd player after Ive already taken it out?
2) What if I dont have the receipt? I bought it from a friend.