Subwoofer on Phillips DVD/home entertainment system 1055 D

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I just purchased a phillips home entertainment system (1055 D) w/ DVD player and am having a couple of problems.

(1) my subwoofer does not seem to work. now this may just be a misunderstanding on my part re: subwoofers, but it seems to me that it should vibrate or something. i do not hear hardly any bass and it just seems to sit there doing nothing, not even vibrating. should I return it? the green light comes on indicating that it is connected correctly, but changing the phase amount from 0 to 180 degrees and vice versa and messing with the volume amount seems to do no good. when i set the level on the subwoofer all i heard was some static, and not much of that. plus the static seemed to come from the center speaker, so I'm confused. Question

(2) there does not seem to be a hookup for a game system. there are inputs for the folowing: TV, VCR, and CDR [which is currently being used by my DirectTV receiver]. I do not have the VCR hooked up through the input, although the VCR is connected through the Direct TV receiver.

(3) when i hooked the PS2 up through the VCR connection, I got sound, but no picture. oh yeah, the S video cord is connected from the TV to the h/e receiver. the old a/v connection directly from the PS2 to the TV is now taken up with the a/v connection from the h/e receiver to the TV. I cannot figure out why the picture is not coming on for the ps2 game, although I am receiving sound. switching the tv from cable source to video source also results in no picture.

I sent these questions to Phillips through their support/email system, but have heard nothing yet. I really need to know what I should do about that subwoofer, because maybe they all perform like this (i.e. i'm not supposed to hear anything b/c the tone is too low or something)

confused.

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update
The Phillips people were less than helpful. First, they tell me that the subwoofer is not connected properly and then suggest that I "buy" a new connector wire, as opposed to them replacing the one I purchased with the system. Second, they tell me that they do not "support" game systems b/c they may burn out the tv screen. WHAT?? so when I finally got him to respond to my question about the game systems, he tells me that a PS2 cannot be connected through the receiver. this is weird b/c you can hear the game when you connect it through the VCR input. so I am simply trying to figure out how to get the picture.

anyone have any ideas?

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Oy, no ideas but I can offer sympathy. How the heck can an electronics company in good conscience sell you a system that doesn't support gaming without, I presume, telling you? Don't they all realize that that's a current, major use of these systems? And even if it wasn't, the dang subwoofer should still work.

Of course this system cost you a lot of $$ and they're being picky about a wire? How about telling them you want your money back - all of it - and you're going off to their competitor down the street? Oh, and that you're also going to tell 20 of your friends that they didn't help you with a simple problem that was very likely their fault or at least partly their fault?

Those kinds of statements terrify retailers, as well they should. The loss of your business is bad enough, but when it's coupled with you (a) giving $$ to a competitor and (b) spreading the word about their lack of competence in fixing what should be a simple problem, they should be having conniptions. And if they're not, you're not talking to a person who's high up enough. One saleskid may not care, but the sales manager or the store manager should, as complaints like these make it harder for them to meet sales quotas. Particularly in a bad economy such as we're in right now, with people not spending their discretionary income on luxury items (like electronics equipment), it must be very hard to meet quota, particularly with a dissatisfied customer such as yourself.

By the way, welcome to Able2Know, Telperion! :-D

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Did you go through the set-up phase on your home entertainment receiver and turn the sub-woofer on? It's designated in the part of set-up that deals with what kind of speakers you are using (large, small) and where your rear speakers are located (back, middle, etc). "SW" on or off may be how it is appearon your LCD on the unit or on-screen, there should be an audio menu where you configure your speakers system.

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Many home entertainment receivers do not have game system inputs depending on the cost.

There is also likely a level setting in the set-up for the sub-woofer. If all this is missing from the manual, I'm not sure what to tell you except go to the salesman at the store you bought the unit from and trying to pick his brain. You may have to exchange your unit.

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A subwoofer can be placed anywhere in the room , since bass-tones are monophonic, and not stereophonic. And since these tones are very low, you "feel" them more than you hear them. Pop in a good funky CD, or rent a scary movie, turn up the volume, and I'm pretty sure that you'll notice the bass! If that doesn't work, bring it back for a full refund!

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Make sure you have it wired correctly. Subwoofers for 5.1 systems typically are wired in series with the front left and right speakers. Here's an example in PDF format for a Yamaha system. They're all pretty similar though.

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/customer/manuals/NSP420_f.pdf

Go to page 2, figure 2.

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After you make sure it's wired correctly, get some music with some kickin bass (like No Doubt's Rock Steady) and crank it up a bit. Take the aperature grill off of the subwoofer - you should be able to see the driver moving, but not necessarily hear it. You don't want it to vibrate and rattle, rather, it should make the fillings in the back of your teeth rattle.

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As far as your PS/2 goes, try connecting the sound output to the H/E receiver and the video output directly to the TV, then tell your TV to use the other video input. If you don't have any more connections on your TV, try connecting to your VCR, if you have one. That's what I do as I ran out of connections on the back of my TV long ago. I've got a Gamecube and a PlayTV device connected through my VCR.

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If his receiver has no sub-woofer output, it can't be very up-to-date. Wiring in sub-woofers in series can cause problems, even distort the video! Mismatched resistance would also cause distortion. Sub-woofers typically handle everything below 100 Hz so if your hearing in this range is good, you will hear the sound -- you'd have to have a bass over 100 DB to make it "flutter your clothing." Some like to wire the sub-woofer into the floor for that "Sensurround Sound," typical in 70's movies like "Earthquake."
If you receiver doesn't have a sub-woofer output, I'd upgrade. Is this a powered sub-woofer is also a good question. Most older amps and receivers don't produce enough power to run a sub-woofer that doesn't have its own power.

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How would it distort the video? It's only wired into the front L/R speaker out wiring? Curious.

I've seen this wiring setup at every visit to my local Circuit City, with the less expensive all-in-one systems.

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I can cause a "loop" if it's a powered sub-woofer and send a reverse signal back through the system and through the wiring which can be picked up in the video as line pulse. It's like one turned their TV into a crude graphic sound analyzer. If it's a unpowered sub-woofer, you're also unlikely to get the extremely low bass which is the whole idea. I have an IMAX DVD called "Stormwatchers" and the storm sounds are great on my Bose system with a seperate powered Yamaha subwoofer. It also may be that Talperion is playing back something will very little sub-woofer information in it. Something with thunder or a train going by would be more likely a test. My Yamaha only kicks in on extremely low 60 to 80 Hz signals. The Bose sub-woofer included with their system surprisingly will pick up more than I imagined (both are located in a corner of the room, using the room as a sound baffle. Location of the sub-woofer is important in that regard. It sounds like Talperion has an already to plug in system and what some call a sub-woofer will not pick up much unless one plays back some of the Hollywood films that love to introduce those explosive bass sounds. There are Telarc recordings, especially their "1812" that are spectacular bass showpieces.

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Thanks LW. I have a Harman Kardon AVR 210 at home that I am currently (pun intended) only using as a stereo system.

The reason I recommended the No Doubt CD is because I have an Infiniti 10 sound system in our van, with multiple subs, and that CD really gives 'em a workout, without sounding like you're being lectured by a 16-year old.

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I went through the set up - I was to designate whether the front speakers were large or small, but the subwoofer did not have a designation (or the left or right surround speakers or center speaker). I know that it is connected properly - and I set the level at the highest it can be at, and still can only hear a slight static noise during set up. It "thumps" when I change the "phase" setting in the back from 0degrees to 180, but that is about it.

I am wondering whether I should just return it, since I cannot seem to hook up my game system through it. I am sure I asked that before I purchased it though. I just think there has to be a way to do it, because I do get the sound, I just have to figure out how to get the picture.

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cjhsa wrote:

As far as your PS/2 goes, try connecting the sound output to the H/E receiver and the video output directly to the TV, then tell your TV to use the other video input. If you don't have any more connections on your TV, try connecting to your VCR, if you have one. That's what I do as I ran out of connections on the back of my TV long ago. I've got a Gamecube and a PlayTV device connected through my VCR.

maybe I should try that (connecting through the VCR) - the TV is so far away from the PS2 and h/e that i don't think I can make the cord reach to both (tv and h/e - since the cords are connected).
Let's see, so I connect the audio connector to the h/e, the video etc. to the VCR (then do I connect the VCR to the h/e as well?) or, connect the PS2 directly to the VCR and then connect the VCR to the h/e? The TV has the regular a/v connection, S-video and then alternate audio connections (I guess to install speakers?) - I have the h/e connected to one complete input on the TV.

Should the S-video line be connected b/t the TV and the h/e or the TV and the Direct TV receiver?

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LW - the subwoofer is powered separately. I think I will play a 2pac CD tonight and see if the bass comes through. Laughing

that ought to do it. I don't think my Audioslave CD will pump enuff bass for this challenge.

I guess if the subwoofer does not work correctly I have an even better reason to return it. I can't believe how pathetic Phillips "support" dept. is. I don't recommend Phillips to anyone just based on that.

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Many support departments have been virtually gutted in the last few years in cut-backs. Makes one wonder how these companies think the consumer will support their products! Phillips should be one of the better ones, considering their reputation for innovation.
Audioslave probably doesn't have much true sub-bass signal nor, curiously enough, does most rock music! You'd likely hear some difference if you disconnected it despite not being able to detect much air movement coming directly from the driver. An action movie or a classical recording like "Also Sprach Zarathrustra" ("2001: A Space Odyssey) would pump it up. Telarc specialized in recordings with a full sub-bass impact of a full orchestra. Much of this information is in harmonics of various bass instruments which would sound shallow without the added bass below 100 Hz. Like I said, a DVD of one of the IMAX films has lots of sub-bass. "Blue Planet" is hair raising, especially the lighting and thunder storm.

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BTW, that's troublesome that there is no set-up for the "sub-woofer." Look in your manual to see if they quote what frequencies the speaker is designed to handle.

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A solution! Laughing

Well I have arranged to return the Phillips System in exchange for a Panasonic System. We'll see if this turns out better. The only problem isI just found out that I have to send the system back in its original packaging and I can't find the box - I think it was thrown out. Any ideas on how to get a box?? Shocked

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Subwoofer on Phillips DVD/home entertainment system 1055 D

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