Opinion on Sub Setup

[jgido759]

I have a Yamaha RX-V595 A/V receiver and am using a Polk PSW350 for a sub. Which configuration will produce the least amount of distortion at near reference levels, LFE level on the receiver at "0" (-20dB to 0dB) & volume on the sub amp at "9 o'clock" or running the sub amp higher and the LFE output lower.

I would assume that the second option would be more efficient because the receiver LFE level (pre-amp) signal would be lower than the sub amp level (amp), thereby producing less distortion.

[nascarmann]

Will not make any difference. Set at "0" and turn up volume and then ajust sub. This is MO!

[Dr. Spec]

Setting the receiver sub volume at -20dB will result in a signal with a lower Signal/Noise (S/N) ratio, and that is undesirable.

The signal from the receiver will always have a certain amount of background noise, and the difference between it and the strength of the signal itself is what determines the S/N ratio.

You want to send the sub something with a higher S/N as opposed to a lower S/N, so it has the cleanest signal and the highest gain to deal with.

The sub itself will have some background noise too, from the amp. Turn up the sub's volume all the way with no signal input and you will hear an increase in hum and noise.

The stronger the signal from the receiver, the less volume you will need to dial in on the sub, and you will therefore introduce less noise into the music from the receiver's signal and from the sub's amp.

I agree completely with Nascarmann - set your receiver sub volume to 0 dB and adjust at the sub.

Doc

[GuitarheadCA]

What if the Reciever offered more options? Like Onkyos allow one to go from -12 up to +12. I wondered this when first setting my system up because the signal to the sub wasn't near strong enough. So I could either turn my sub to 3/4 with the the pre-out at zero, or turn the sub out to around +6 to +8 with the sub at half. Both seemed pretty extreme. So I didn't know which one was better.

Another question is, as the master volume gets louder or softer, will there be the same amount of sub relative to the speakers whether you boost the pre-out or the sub amp?

Also, In car audio, ther'es a theory to run more power through the cables, because they become less prone to interference. Would this hold true in home audio? Would the sub cable be more resistant to interference if the reciever was pushing more power through it, and the sub was amplifying it less?

GuitarheadCA

[mantis]

Setting the receiver at 0db for sub out is how I like to do it.Then dial in at the sub.You can get very loud performance in this setup with no audio problems.
Don't sweat it.If you screw it up, you'll hear it.