Me again - more Sony 1070 enquiries

[craig@rewind]

I have just replaced my Digitheatre and am now using my Sony 1070 amp for my surround sound.

I have moved my Wharfedale Diamond 8.1 speakers from the front left and right and am now using them as the surrounds. I have replaced the fronts with the 8.2.

Now the problem: the surround speakers are VERY quiet. I have set the system to large and put it right up to +10 DB but the test tone and surround sound during movies is very quiet.

Any suggestions?

Cheers.

[lynx]

Craig, now that you've had it for six weeks or so,would you say it meets your expectations. Remember all the arguments etc,etc? ;)

[craig@rewind]

For stereo sound yes but I have only started using it for surround sound as of today! Had to sell my Digitheatre first.

Anyone know the answer to my question yet? The surrounds are quiet. Also, the Test Tone for the surrounds sound quieter and different compared to the rest as well!

Plus, when I press the SURR button on the unit, it says Not In Use. What does this mean?

[Bapapapa]

Have you set the speaker options in the amp's setup menu to REAR SPEAKERS - YES?

[craig@rewind]

Yes I have.

[Just]

It depends what you mean by quiet?

There shouldn't be noticeable amounts of information coming through the rears on your average movie, just now and then something will strike you as loud. What the rears are for is extending the sound stage to the rear of the room, but mainly with 'background' sound. As an example, take The World is Not enough. In this film the Casino scene makes use of the rears to have peoples chatter and the dealers noise in the rears and the fronts. It makes you feel like you are in the casino. However, if you listened to the rears alone, there would not be much sound there. Then when an explosion goes off there will be noticeable sound in the rears.

People often make the mistake that a DD system should be bouncing all around the room from all speakers all of the time. If it does you have actually got it setup all wrong. Some people prefer the rears to be 'noticeable' others for them to blend, this is why you have level controls of the rears, but at no time will they carry anything like the information the fronts or especially the centre do.

[Bapapapa]

Knock them back to 0db and run the test tones again using the main volume. There should be no need whatsoever to up the rears to +10db!! :eek:

Is the speaker A/B button set to just A?

And have you connected the rears to the correct binding posts?

[Bapapapa]

Originally posted by Just
It depends what you mean by quiet?

There shouldn't be noticeable amounts of information coming through the rears on your average movie, just now and then something will strike you as loud. What the rears are for is extending the sound stage to the rear of the room, but mainly with 'background' sound. As an example, take The World is Not enough. In this film the Casino scene makes use of the rears to have peoples chatter and the dealers noise in the rears and the fronts. It makes you feel like you are in the casino. However, if you listened to the rears alone, there would not be much sound there. Then when an explosion goes off there will be noticeable sound in the rears.

People often make the mistake that a DD system should be bouncing all around the room from all speakers all of the time. If it does you have actually got it setup all wrong. Some people prefer the rears to be 'noticeable' others for them to blend, this is why you have level controls of the rears, but at no time will they carry anything like the information the fronts or especially the centre do.

Very true, mate. But craig has said even the test tone rear channels are quieter than the rest - which is not right.

There again, it is craig we're dealing with. :rolleyes:

[craig@rewind]

Why do you even bother to help me?

If you read what I put I said I can hear the test tones from the rears but they sound like a different tone compare to the front. Is there a differen test tone for rears?

If I hadn't have connected them to the right binding posts, surely I would be getting no sound at all no?

[Bapapapa]

First, stop getting your knick-knicks in a twist.

Second, I'm giving up trying to help you, OK?

[craig@rewind]

Fair enough.

Anyone else please?

[Graham]

I have the 8.1's as rears and 8.3's and the 8 centre attached to a 1070. The test tone 'tone' sounds very similar all round and my rears and centre are set to -7 which is plenty loud enough.

If the test tone sounds different you could be biwiring the 8.1's out of phase or not have the cables set properly.

Check that first as the tone 'is' very similar, although the 8.1's as rears are very loud and forceful so need turning down.

Otherwise - brilliant for music and film when set up properly.

Graham

[Just]

Originally posted by craig@rewind
Plus, when I press the SURR button on the unit, it says Not In Use. What does this mean?

Can you give us the menu sequence that leads to this being displayed Craig?

Also, as above, phase sounds like a potential culprit. Also with the 1070 if you are not using banana plugs, it is fairly easy to get a stray strand of wire touching either the back plate, another speaker terminal or the -/+ of the same speaker. The protection circuit will shut down the amp under most of these circumstances though, but may be worth checking that the connections of all speakers are 'clean'.

Also, is it both rears that are quiet/different or one more than the other?

[craig@rewind]

I just press the SURR button on the unit and it says Not In Use.

I am using banana plugs on the 1070 but the wires MAY be touching on the speakers. As the 8.1 are no longer being bi-wired, shall I put the plastic bungs back in? I have connected the black wire to the far left black socket, then miss one on the right, and then connected the red wire to the red socket. This is what it says in the manual.

Both rears are quieter.

[MikeK]

Have you remembered to put the links back in on the 8.1s, as they are no longer biwired.
What type of cable are you using to the rears, and how long is each run? What type of cable are you using to the fronts, and how long is each run?
If you messed around with the equaliser settings, you may need to reset the unit - the instructions are in the manual for doing this.



The Not-in-use message will come up when you aren't using any of the surround programs - ie you have it set to Normal Surround, or AFD or 2 channel.
If you have AFD set, then the amp will not decode prologic from a stereo source, such as a VCR - you have to set it for MODE=Normal surround (or one of the DSP setups such as Cinema Stusio EX B).
In AFD mode, it will however detect a DD or DTS bitstream and decode it.

[Bapapapa]

Have you remembered to put the links back in on the 8.1s, as they are no longer biwired?

I think this is now a one horse race...

[rogeralpine]

Originally posted by Bapapapa
Have you remembered to put the links back in on the 8.1s, as they are no longer biwired?

I think this is now a one horse race...

...either that or the phase is out as has already previously been mentioned - surprisingly easy to do as well, especially if your speaker cable only has 'vague' markers every metre or so!

The test tone though should be audible - as much as the tone from the fronts in any case.

[craig@rewind]

It must be the links. I will do that tonight.

Cheers Just, MikeK and Roger. :D

[Bapapapa]

http://www.bapapapa.btinternet.co.uk/rainfroindiff.gif

[rogeralpine]

Originally posted by Bapapapa
http://www.bapapapa.btinternet.co.uk/rainfroindiff.gif


.....takes ball home in disgust!:p

:D

[craig@rewind]

All sorted now! :D

[Bapapapa]

http://www.bapapapa.btinternet.co.uk/dorky.gif

[APPRIA40WR]

http://members.tripod.co.uk/uploadimages/reading_large.gif

[Just]

Originally posted by craig@rewind
All sorted now! :D

What was it? (I need to know...)

[craig@rewind]

Lack of links and plugs! I didn't put that them back in after they were no longer bi-wired.

This is the first time I have done this so it was an easy mistake to make.

Cheers for your help Just.