Hi all, first time post, im not what you would consider an audiophile, so please be gentle.
I bought this setup refurbished direct from Onkyo and I absolutely love it, but I have one problem...
The subwoofer is not working right. All other speakers work great. The sub volume is all the way up, crossover at 100.
The sub will not go out of standby *unless* I play a Dolby Digital source, or play the test tone.
When using Dolby IIx, the sub does not work at all when listing to FM stereo or tv (Comcast HDTV) piped in through optical. The TV pipes fine to all other speakers with Dolby IIx.
If i fiddle with the reciever settings (put double bass on, etc.), i do get some bass but its far too much for me, and seems like its more responding to static than any thing in the audio signal--it seems to be just noise.
Is this normal with Dolby IIx and this unit? Could it just be a defective unit, or can anyone suggest a further path of diagnosis? If it is defective, what are the words I can tell the service shop so they understand what I'm trying to describe?
Possible receiver sub setting is too low. Go into receiver menu and adjust (raise) sub volume. Otherwise, sub may be defective. If system is warranted and you can not correct, arrange for replacement during warranty period.
1. Check the configuration by pressing <setup> and "1. SP Config" SUBWOOFER:YES
2. Check the connections. (I know its obvious, but that reciever has sooo many jacks on the back that it is easy to miss the right one in a dimly lit room.)
3. Change the cable, try a different cable to the Sub.
4. Check the polarity of your other speakers. Matching colored terminals to like color on the receiver.(reversing will suck the bass out of any system.)
5. Try any of your audio sources on Stereo or All Stereo (basic I know) With your tone settings at 12:00 this should pound the room with most sources and a decent volume setting. Most of what comes from the sub is unintelligible anyway since is only the low freqs from the source.
Note on the Dolby, if the source isn't encoded in IIx then you may hear faint wierd noises in the surrounds when this mode is selected. (reason for stereo trial)
All else fails, go the route of warranty return, its possible a refurb unit could still have an issue.