# Where's the bass? 20-39pc+



## lancemp3 (Mar 9, 2009)

This week I bought a used 20-39pc+ for $500.

I thought it was a good deal. The guy had it hooked up and it sounded fairly loud ... not earth shattering ... but it was enough for my house.

So I hooked it up, and ... nothing. Sure, the sub is on, but its muddy, and above all - low volume.


**This is the setup so far.
1. Hooked up sub. Gain at 1/3.
2. Run Audyssey on Onkyo 805.
3. Audyssey sets sub at -15, all others at +/-4.
4. I adjust sub to 0 for more bass. (on Audyssey)
5. I turn up gain knob slightly past halfway. For more bass.
6. I watch depth charges explode. Kind of.


The room is about 15x15, not big. The sub is sort of in the corner, as you can see in the picture. But i think I've got bigger problems than sub placement.









I know the sub is good - it sounded fine on a different setup. But I also don't know what his settings were. Maybe he had the sub cranked up all the way. If so, I'm a little disappointed. I've got two $49 car subwoofers that will murder this sub.

Any ideas?


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

Have you tried the sub without Audyssey? Also try moving the sub to a different location just to see if it's a room issue.


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## Jason_Nolan (Jul 4, 2008)

I think the key word here is that he's used to bloated boomy extremely loud bass in comparison to the mids and highs. Audyessy is trying to balance it so that the bass is natural and you wont get that huge bass energy you're used to in a small metal cabin of your car.

I think you're right, Mike, that he could be missing some bass due to intereference. I'm curious where he's sitting as well. Are you seated in the exact middle of your room? Usually the worst place for bass.

If you want the car bass sit the sub in a corner and sit yourself against the rear wall. Not the smoothest bass, but it'll increase perceived loudness.


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## lancemp3 (Mar 9, 2009)

No nasty car bass here. I always used WinISD for nice frequency curves.

But seriously, I turned off Audyssey's equalizer, and *WOW* what a difference! I actually had to adjust the bass back down to match my mains.

Now I know why everyone recommends SVS.

Thanks Mike!


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Ice, try placing the sub over into the right corner where your guitars are, you will probably get some more gain over in that spot more to your liking.


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## recruit (May 9, 2009)

It sounds like a room issue and like Tony and Mike says try moving it further away from the speakers and try different locations and then re run Audyssey to see if it helps...the 20-39pc+ is a very capable sub and I'm sure you will get it sorted.


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## DougMac (Jan 24, 2008)

I suggest you move your seating and place the sub where you normally sit. Then do "placement by crawling around" test, starting where you have the sub placed now. See if there is a better sounding location.

Remember Audyssey and other systems try to flatten out the curve by pushing everything else down towards dips. That would explain the big volume difference. I'm betting you've got a big suckout somewhere in your sub frequency range.


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## lsiberian (Mar 24, 2009)

My suggestion is you turn Auddysey off and manually setup the system with your ears. 

You will need to crawl test to find the correct spot too.


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## lancemp3 (Mar 9, 2009)

Hmm... The sub is doing its job well. Special effects are at the correct volume.

But it seems with Audyssey off, theres too much bass in improper scenes. Sometimes even dialogue. Its very "boomy" sounding during music.

Is there any way to even it out?


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

You need to re-run Audyssey and make sure that you take at least 5 measurements with the mic in different positions.


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## recruit (May 9, 2009)

Audyssey IMO is one of the best EQ solutions around but you must take your time when calibrating and measure as many points as you can even if they are located very close to one position, also make sure there is NO ambient noises at all if possible to get the best readings.


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

Agreed, these all seem like room issues. Sub placement & Audyssey will help, but the room is the big player here. I think treatments will help dial it in for you. A lot of useful info in that forum.


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## Derry (Apr 10, 2010)

it took me 8+ locations to finally find the best spot for my 13 ultra,, my best spot in my HT was under the TV, center front,, all corners and sides had nulls and troubles no EQ could resolve,, think I have ran test tones so much that I actually like them now,, pushing that 155lbs around also build strength,,

I'm running a Marantz SR9600 with a LFE out and to really get some *kaboom* from the sub I run the fronts on small,, even in small the Def Tec 7002 fronts still are working down to their 35hz levels,, 

my Marantz has two different settings for the SUB-LFE and I run them both a 0 level,, have the sub at about 11 oclock on its power level knob,,

it does take time to locate the sweet spot but is well worth the time,,


Derry


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## Tufelhundin (Jan 25, 2010)

I see that Audyssey set his sub -15 on his Onkyo which also tells me that it can't adjust any lower. After I set up my subs with the ASEQ then run Audyssey on the Onkyo the sub trim usually is at -12 / -13, I have seen -15 as well.

Strange how two seperate Audyssey systems measure differently. My ASEQ recommends the sub trim set to around -4/-4.5 yet the Onkyo sets it -12/-13. Yet the distances are usually set within .5 of a foot from each other.


Concerning the OP's set up and the Onkyo setting trim level to -15 and the bass seemed week, makes me wonder if the Audyssey wasnt making a flatter response which maybe he prefers a response with a peak, hence the reason he liked it better with Aud off?:huh:


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