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Why aren't my subs turning on?

I have a pair of Von Schweikert VS-3/S subs. Auto-on appears to be the only option, but they do not turn on unless I manually turn them off and then on? They are being fed from the line level (called LFE) outputs of an SMS-1. One to each sub. Both were purchased used from diff owners; hard to believe that they both are independently defective in the same way. They both play when I run the auto-eq frequency sweep. I am sending same question to VS, but your thoughts would help. TIA.
swampwalker
reubent
7,093 posts
 
Sw,

Does it sound correct after you manually force the subwoofers to turn on? If so, then it seems that the subwoofers are not working correctly or they are not receiving enough of a signal to turn them on.

What is the low pass frequency you have set up in the SMS-1? If it is really low, it is possible that the music you are playing does not have any content below that frequency. If that is the case, I think it is very possible that the subwoofer will not be receiving a signal from the SMS-1 and therefore it will not turn on until some content below that frequency is played.

TIC
plato
1,543 posts
 
SW,

Do you have the manual that came with the sub, because it sounds like it may be a problem of not having your settings correct.

When you are playing music you have a stereo line-level source hooked up to the line-level stereo RCA inputs and the switch is set to "Auto-On" with the Red LED (not "stand-by"). Also you have the crossover switch in the position to use the sub's internal crossover and not an external crossover, correct?

Those are my best ideas to check without having the manual for reference...
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker OP
5,138 posts
 
I will look for the nanual. I have the L and R pre-amp output (not stereo, the SMS-1 does not output stereo) going to the SMS-1 which IS an external x-over, so I have the internal crossover OFF. The switch is set to Auto-on with the red LED lit (which is stand-by, I think). It goes to green if I turn it off and on manually, and seems to play correctly after I do that. I turned the SMS-1 output (called volume) up to about 60% and still did not get it to turn on when the CD starts up, but it will come on when cycled off and then back to auto-on.
geared4me's avatar
geared4me
219 posts
 
What happens if you set the SMS-1 output to 100%?
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker OP
5,138 posts
 
I've downloaded the manual and the subs are set up (at least I think they are) the way its recommended. Pre-amp level outputs to SMS-1, equalized output of SMS-1 to sub (there are three equalized (aka LFE) outputs to use so you can run 3 mono subs at once if you desire. No way to run stereo subs without 2 SMS-1s (I asked Velodyne). I will try the 100% output on the SMS-1 and turn the sub volume way down and see what happens.
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