Help with subwoofer boominess (Polk HTS-12)

[Sanchitpkl]

Hi fellow FMs,

I have a Polk HTS-12 connected with Denon 2600H and Dali Spektor 2 LR and Zensor Vokal in a Living room (Approx size 18 x 16 feet)

In most of the music tracks (played via Youtube or Spotify) and movies (OTT mostly), I'm getting very boomy bass, I crave for that proper thumping bass.

Is the issue due to my subwoofer, AVR settings or the placement?

Can someone please help me out..

 

[liverpool_for_life]

Can someone please help me out..

The easiest way to figure this out is to get a UMIK-1 and use it with Room EQ Wizard.

 

[pkhammu2005]

Keep experimenting with different positions in ur room. Sometimes even a feet here and there will also make a huge difference.

 

[efernand1]

Hi fellow FMs,

I have a Polk HTS-12 connected with Denon 2600H and Dali Spektor 2 LR and Zensor Vokal in a Living room (Approx size 18 x 16 feet)

In most of the music tracks (played via Youtube or Spotify) and movies (OTT mostly), I'm getting very boomy bass, I crave for that proper thumping bass.

Is the issue due to my subwoofer, AVR settings or the placement?

Can someone please help me out..

Subwoofer Crawl technique helps in appropriate placement and also optimal performance. You can check settings...the AVR has Multi EQ XT and you should get optimal quality.....check subwoofer cable too....does this happen for all kinds of sources?

 

[revolty]

Hi fellow FMs,

I have a Polk HTS-12 connected with Denon 2600H and Dali Spektor 2 LR and Zensor Vokal in a Living room (Approx size 18 x 16 feet)

In most of the music tracks (played via Youtube or Spotify) and movies (OTT mostly), I'm getting very boomy bass, I crave for that proper thumping bass.

Is the issue due to my subwoofer, AVR settings or the placement?

Can someone please help me out..

Hello,

You can try one method. Try increasing the level of LCR channels manually & decrease the level of Sub. The sub level should be in "-3 dB" range. Also, play around with the EQ patterns of the speakers.
Then try playing the movies.

 

[jarneevan]

I have HTS12, it sounds quite nice and gives punchy and tight bass as long as I keep the volume below 50% range (i.e. 12 o'clock position). Bass notes start sounding bloated and windows start shaking when the volume nob moves past 2 o'clock.

As others said, your Sub's position and room acoustics can have big influence on how it sounds. Are you using LFE input? It could be down to quality of cable too.

Also experiment with Subwoofer volume level in your AVR by keeping the volume nob on the HTS12 between 12 - 2 o'clock positions (position ref. when you stand in front of the Sub).

 

[girishtd8262]

Try to reduce subwoofer volume to between 30-35, not 50%as routinely mentioned andlevel around -6to8 db even -10 sometimes .
Use good amount of isolation like sound foundation vibra costs around 2.4 k .this gives excellent improvement

 

[Sanchitpkl]

Subwoofer Crawl technique helps in appropriate placement and also optimal performance. You can check settings...the AVR has Multi EQ XT and you should get optimal quality.....check subwoofer cable too....does this happen for all kinds of sources?

Yes mostly for all sources. I’ve an Amazon Basics Subwoofer RCA cable. Should I change that? If yes, please recommend options.

 

[Sanchitpkl]

Hello,

You can try one method. Try increasing the level of LCR channels manually & decrease the level of Sub. The sub level should be in "-3 dB" range. Also, play around with the EQ patterns of the speakers.
Then try playing the movies.

Sure will try that. I’ve already increased the levels of my LCR but subwoofer at 0db. I’ll try lowering it down.

 

[Sanchitpkl]

I have HTS12, it sounds quite nice and gives punchy and tight bass as long as I keep the volume below 50% range (i.e. 12 o'clock position). Bass notes start sounding bloated and windows start shaking when the volume nob moves past 2 o'clock.

As others said, your Sub's position and room acoustics can have big influence on how it sounds. Are you using LFE input? It could be down to quality of cable too.

Also experiment with Subwoofer volume level in your AVR by keeping the volume nob on the HTS12 between 12 - 2 o'clock positions (position ref. when you stand in front of the Sub).

I usually keep it at 50%. When I increase it bass becomes even more boomy and less of a tight punch.
Yes, I’m using LFE and Amazon basics RCA cable.

 

[Sanchitpkl]

I have HTS12, it sounds quite nice and gives punchy and tight bass as long as I keep the volume below 50% range (i.e. 12 o'clock position). Bass notes start sounding bloated and windows start shaking when the volume nob moves past 2 o'clock.

As others said, your Sub's position and room acoustics can have big influence on how it sounds. Are you using LFE input? It could be down to quality of cable too.

Also experiment with Subwoofer volume level in your AVR by keeping the volume nob on the HTS12 between 12 - 2 o'clock positions (position ref. when you stand in front of the Sub).

Can you please suggest the crossover frequencies for Sub and LCR. Also, please mention your LCR speakers if you’re comfortable.

 

[Sanchitpkl]

Try to reduce subwoofer volume to between 30-35, not 50%as routinely mentioned andlevel around -6to8 db even -10 sometimes .
Use good amount of isolation like sound foundation vibra costs around 2.4 k .this gives excellent improvement

Sure will try these settings. What’s the ‘sound foundation vibra’? Can you please share the link.

 

[girishtd8262]

On Google search sound foundation speaker stands 9892585152.
Talk to them about subwoofer isolation.they will guide you about vibra isolation.2.3 k worth atry .I had them with 90 percentage reduction in vibration rattling and booming

 

[efernand1]

Yes mostly for all sources. I’ve an Amazon Basics Subwoofer RCA cable. Should I change that? If yes, please recommend options.

Amazon basics should be fine...I use Blue Rigger shielded one...change only once you try different placements

 

[jarneevan]

Can you please suggest the crossover frequencies for Sub and LCR. Also, please mention your LCR speakers if you’re comfortable.

Speakers are Focal Aria 926. My stereo receiver doesn't allow crossover setting. The cut off is fixed at 90Hz. But the speakers are fed full range.

I also have Polk S60/S35 connected to a Pioneer AVR in my living where the Sub is also located. I haven't tried the Sub with this setup yet. The AVR allows sub management. Will try it tomorrow and update you.

 

[DB1989]

Hello,

You can try one method. Try increasing the level of LCR channels manually & decrease the level of Sub. The sub level should be in "-3 dB" range. Also, play around with the EQ patterns of the speakers.
Then try playing the movies.

Interesting suggestion. How does one know that the sub level is at -3db from that of the speakers? Also, Why does one need to increase the volume of LCRs manually? Won't decreasing the sub level achieve the same?

Also, when the bass sounds weak and feeble, the boominess will go away but so will the satisfaction. For reference, my bass is dialed in at a slightly ascending curve which increases from 80hz to 25hz by 6db. And the bass is anything but boomy.

Bass is like salt - apply as per taste.

 

[DB1989]

Speakers are Focal Aria 926. My stereo receiver doesn't allow crossover setting. The cut off is fixed at 90Hz. But the speakers are fed full range.

I also have Polk S60/S35 connected to a Pioneer AVR in my living where the Sub is also located. I haven't tried the Sub with this setup yet. The AVR allows sub management. Will try it tomorrow and update you.

I'm sure You can manually adjust the crossover at the sub? Once you figure out where the speakers bass starts dropping off, set the subwoofer crossover at that point.

 

[jarneevan]

I'm sure You can manually adjust the crossover at the sub? Once you figure out where the speakers bass starts dropping off, set the subwoofer crossover at that point.

I thought the crossover control on Sub has no effect if LFE input is used. The Spec for HTS12 has this,
"Connect via LFE (unfiltered / low pass disabled) or stereo line level RCA inputs."

Is it possible to connect LFE from Receiver to one of the RCA jacks of line level RCA input on the Sub? The reason I need this is I want to share the Sub with two receivers (Stereo and AVR) with both having LFE inputs but only one LFE on the Sub.

 

[DB1989]

I thought the crossover control on Sub has no effect if LFE input is used. The Spec for HTS12 has this,
"Connect via LFE (unfiltered / low pass disabled) or stereo line level RCA inputs."

Is it possible to connect LFE from Receiver to one of the RCA jacks of line level RCA input on the Sub? The reason I need this is I want to share the Sub with two receivers (Stereo and AVR) with both having LFE inputs but only one LFE on the Sub.

It should ideally unless there's something I'm missing. In fact, some subs such as the JL Audio E110 use the same RCA input for both LFE and line level.

For reference, i have the LFE of my Amp connected to the line level input of my REL T9i which allows me to set the crossover.

 

[revolty]

Interesting suggestion. How does one know that the sub level is at -3db from that of the speakers? Also, Why does one need to increase the volume of LCRs manually? Won't decreasing the sub level achieve the same?

Also, when the bass sounds weak and feeble, the boominess will go away but so will the satisfaction. For reference, my bass is dialed in at a slightly ascending curve which increases from 80hz to 25hz by 6db. And the bass is anything but boomy.

Bass is like salt - apply as per taste.

Hello,

The above suggestion was based on my experience. In the earlier stages, even i was finding my sub to be boomy & dialogues to be low. For e.g., while watching any Hollywood movie, all of a sudden the sound will become very high during action scenes & bass will be very thumping just like DJ ones. Rest of the times, the voice/dialogues will be low at the same volume. Maybe, boominess of the bass became prominent during action scenes. Rest of the time, it didn't bother me.
In pioneer AVR, there is manual MCACC option. I manually increased the LCR level & decreased the sub level. After few trials, i was able to solve this problem. I didn't have to look for remote now to change the volume every 15-20 mints during a movie. I could hear the dialogues clearly & the explosions, gunfights etc. didn't give me headache.
Yes, i totally agree with your phrase: Bass is like salt.
Plz excuse my written english skills as I am not good at it.