Subwoofer output at low volume intermittent. Gate / Threshold?

slartibartfast said:
Yes Youtube
Click to expand...

I tried 75 Hz on the same channel and, oddly enough, still no sound from the Sub. The cone is not moving at all.

Also, when I change the crossover from 120Hz ->250Hz, the 75Hz volume heard from the main speakers is the same, so it seems that the signal that should be going to the Sub is going to the main speakers.

Strange...
 
Wiimer said:
If anything, I am a clumsy goofy 😂
Click to expand...

Appreciate the attempt to reproduce the problem I am facing.

To exacerbate the problem, turn the sub volume via the Wiim right down, and the volume on your wubwoofer right up and use a high crossover on the wiim. (has to be using the wiims crossover)

If this doesnt reproduce the issue I will have to investigate the possibility of a fault elsewhere. thanks.
 
I think my issue was similar.. When I first got my Ultra, I had the sub cutting out at low volumes. I too have an SVS, but a 3000 Micro.

I opened a support ticket and even posted here a year ago about it. In my troubleshooting I was able to route just the sub audio to an old but trusty Alesis Masterlink ML-9600 hard disk recorder and proved the Ultra was not the issue. The Masterlink saw and recorded the faint audio while getting nothing thru the sub. The SVS, not on "standby", seemingly cuts out when the signal is too low, or has that "gate" as was mentioned. When sending full audio to the sub and using only the sub's crossover, I think this sends enough voltage to get past the gate and it's a non-issue.

My only workaround was to output higher volume from the Ultra and reduce the volume on the SVS sub. When doing this, I also had to reduce the volume on my mains' amps (and ruined my ability to use Fosi V3 Monos as they don't have a volume POT.) I have not poked around SVS forums to see how common this issue is, but this thread anecdotally confirms what I have suspected for a year now with SVS subs.
 
SoFluffy said:
I think my issue was similar.. When I first got my Ultra, I had the sub cutting out at low volumes. I too have an SVS, but a 3000 Micro.

I opened a support ticket and even posted here a year ago about it. In my troubleshooting I was able to route just the sub audio to an old but trusty Alesis Masterlink ML-9600 hard disk recorder and proved the Ultra was not the issue. The Masterlink saw and recorded the faint audio while getting nothing thru the sub. The SVS, not on "standby", seemingly cuts out when the signal is too low, or has that "gate" as was mentioned. When sending full audio to the sub and using only the sub's crossover, I think this sends enough voltage to get past the gate and it's a non-issue.

My only workaround was to output higher volume from the Ultra and reduce the volume on the SVS sub. When doing this, I also had to reduce the volume on my mains' amps (and ruined my ability to use Fosi V3 Monos as they don't have a volume POT.) I have not poked around SVS forums to see how common this issue is, but this thread anecdotally confirms what I have suspected for a year now with SVS subs.
Click to expand...
How does the sub act if auto standby IS enabled? Maybe it doesn't really get disabled.
 
SoFluffy said:
I think my issue was similar.. When I first got my Ultra, I had the sub cutting out at low volumes. I too have an SVS, but a 3000 Micro.

I opened a support ticket and even posted here a year ago about it. In my troubleshooting I was able to route just the sub audio to an old but trusty Alesis Masterlink ML-9600 hard disk recorder and proved the Ultra was not the issue. The Masterlink saw and recorded the faint audio while getting nothing thru the sub. The SVS, not on "standby", seemingly cuts out when the signal is too low, or has that "gate" as was mentioned. When sending full audio to the sub and using only the sub's crossover, I think this sends enough voltage to get past the gate and it's a non-issue.

My only workaround was to output higher volume from the Ultra and reduce the volume on the SVS sub. When doing this, I also had to reduce the volume on my mains' amps (and ruined my ability to use Fosi V3 Monos as they don't have a volume POT.) I have not poked around SVS forums to see how common this issue is, but this thread anecdotally confirms what I have suspected for a year now with SVS subs.
Click to expand...

Interesting..

Might be worth contacting SVS and asking if their subs have a gate on the input then, they have a very good customer service.

EDIT:
Found this thread at ASR
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s-sb-3000-can‘t-handle-low-input-signal.20834

And this Reddit Thread
https://www.reddit.com/r/hometheater/comments/1i4bfk2/subwoofer_experience_svs_and_hsu_research

Seems like all SVS subs have a noise gate / minimum voltage to play. This is not to be confused with the auto on/off feature.
 
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Ha, @mattzildjian - good find! I hadn't actually dug deeper once I knew the issue wasn't caused by the Wiim.

Feature request: Wiim should output a fixed loud 19.9khz tone to the sub output all the time. That would allow the gate to be opened and we wouldn't hear it because a) we're too old, and b) the sub can't reproduce such a high frequency.

Edit: There is irony here as I had been debating between the Kef kc62 and SVS 3000 Micro. The reason I went with the SVS (other than price) was because I read the Kef only has Standby mode and people complained about it when using at low volumes. /sigh
 
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SoFluffy said:
Ha, @mattzildjian - good find! I hadn't actually dug deeper once I knew the issue wasn't caused by the Wiim.

Feature request: Wiim should output a fixed loud 19.9khz tone to the sub output all the time. That would allow the gate to be opened and we wouldn't hear it because a) we're too old, and b) the sub can't reproduce such a high frequency.
Click to expand...

Ideally SVS should just allow the noise gate to be turned off.. According to that reddit post SVS are considering removing the noise gate.

Next best solution is for Wiim to increase the sub output level, but I don't think Wiim should be responsible for fixing the issues of another manufacturer.

Interestingly my Loxjie A30 must have a much stronger sub output because the issue isnt present there, I can turn the volume down to 1 and still get clean bass output through the sub. This makes sense to me because when using the Loxjie I need to turn the sub down an extra -10db vs when using the wiim.
 
This is a very strange problem to have. I did not have issues with WiiM Ultra sub output and any of the SVS subs that I've used with it (SB-3000, 3000 Micro, and PC-2000 Pro).

-Ed
 
I've found that I need the SVS volume to be at least -20dB, if not closer to -26dB, then with the mains adjusted accordingly for the gating issue to be moot. With my current settings, I had not even noticed or thought about this problem again until this thread. At the max volume I listen to, this hasn't created any perceived issues with overall dynamic range for me. I don't want to disparage SVS publicly as I love love love this little 3000 Micro. Not just for the size - it is ridonkulously good and holds its own. I do wish SVS were more upfront about the gating though so consumers can make a more educated decision before buying, and hope they'd allow a way to disable the gating altogether.
 
I've confirmed with SVS directly (Thanks Ed Mullen!) via email that their subs (at least the SB1000 Pro) do indeed have a noise gate on the input and that any signal around 5mv or lower will be gated.

Suggestions from Wiim are as follows:
  • Increase Wiim Subwoofer output level
  • Increase Wiim Subwoofer crossover and lower crossover on the sub, or set both crossovers the same. (I think this is just to bypass LFE mode on the sub and/or send more signal to the sub)

Wiim support also confirmed that increasing subwoofer gain is reducing overall headroom.​

Suggestions from SVS are as follows:
  • Make use of a Y-splitter cable. Splitting the Wiim subwoofer signal and then inputting both signals as L and R into the SVS sub will provide an additional 6db of input gain.
  • Send the SVS sub a full range signal and use the crossover on the sub instead.
  • Use a gain booster in between Wiim and Sub.
 
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