B&W PV1 Setup

[Nolan B]

Is there anyone who owns a PV1 with FPMs? Since this sub was orginally made for the FPMs I was wondering what the best setting on the sub is as a default.

Thanks

[Briz vegas]

I spent a few days with a PV1 and 705s a couple of months ago. I started with the standard EQ setting and the crossover set at 46hz (B&Ws -3db frequency for the 705s as recommended in the PV1 manual)and 0 degrees phase setting. Of course the crossover on the PV1 only works with the high level (phone line :W ) connection. There is no crossover when using the LFE connection as it relies on your receiver doing that work (avoids unnecessary crossover in the signal path). Neither my dealer or the B&W rep knew this. I found out by emailing B&W direct when I thought the PV1 crossover was faulty.

I found the PV1 a tricky device to set up as the bass was so clean that I always wanted more. If you can borrow a SPL meter (or buy a cheap one) and use a test CD, like the one from stereophile magazine, you can work out the best setting to achieve a relatively flat frequency response with your mains and the PV1 working together. Start off measuring the response of you mains alone as it may tell you something about your rooms response. Have fun !

[Nolan B]

I spent a few days with a PV1 and 705s a couple of months ago. I started with the standard EQ setting and the crossover set at 46hz (B&Ws -3db frequency for the 705s as recommended in the PV1 manual)and 0 degrees phase setting. Of course the crossover on the PV1 only works with the high level (phone line :W ) connection. There is no crossover when using the LFE connection as it relies on your receiver doing that work (avoids unnecessary crossover in the signal path). Neither my dealer or the B&W rep knew this. I found out by emailing B&W direct when I thought the PV1 crossover was faulty.

!

wow interesting. So the dial on the PV1 which lets you choose different corss overs is really useless unless you use the high level (phone line connection)?

I am having some issues right now. Mainly it seems that you cant reallly here the sub in the higher frequenzies, but at the low level (like an explosion in a movie) the doors on my nieghbors door almost blw right off. This is the complete opposite I want from my sub as the FPM speakers need help in the high end of low frequencies. I also dont here much from it when listening to stere music, but when I listen to DVD A its there and very laud.


I have the crossover on the sub and my processor set at 80, the EQ at i, and the phase at +. Any thoughts?

[Briz vegas]

Couple of things come to mind.

I don't know about your Rotel gear, but my Marantz receiver is a purist and is of the opinion that subs are not for stereo listening. As a result the only way I was able to send a signal to my sub for stereo CD listening was to use the high level connection. My REL is hooked up to both high and low level, giving me a sub for stereo (high level signal only) and for movies (both high and low level). REL recommends this with their subs. Nothing in the PV1 manual suggests this sort of connection.

If the sub is getting a signal then it is either your room, or you are used to boomier speakers, or there is a lack of bass on the CDs you are playing. A SPL meter will soon tell you where the peaks and dips are in your room. My room has a dip of around 5db at 63hz which just happens to be where most of the bass "doof" in dance music sits in the frequency range. Bumping my subs crossover up from its current 46hz up to 80hz does little for this dip as the room simply swallows up that part of the sound frequency. I have not gone in for room treatments at this point, partly as I am not that concerned about the dip.

After setting my system up for the flatest possible frequency response I found that on most CDs the sub is very subtle to the point where most people would never know it was even on. It creates a more spacious sound from the 705s and adds a little weight without calling attention to itself - which is just what I wanted to achieve.

[Nolan B]

Couple of things come to mind.

I don't know about your Rotel gear, but my Marantz receiver is a purist and is of the opinion that subs are not for stereo listening. As a result the only way I was able to send a signal to my sub for stereo CD listening was to use the high level connection. My REL is hooked up to both high and low level, giving me a sub for stereo (high level signal only) and for movies (both high and low level). REL recommends this with their subs. Nothing in the PV1 manual suggests this sort of connection.

If the sub is getting a signal then it is either your room, or you are used to boomier speakers, or there is a lack of bass on the CDs you are playing. A SPL meter will soon tell you where the peaks and dips are in your room. My room has a dip of around 5db at 63hz which just happens to be where most of the bass "doof" in dance music sits in the frequency range. Bumping my subs crossover up from its current 46hz up to 80hz does little for this dip as the room simply swallows up that part of the sound frequency. I have not gone in for room treatments at this point, partly as I am not that concerned about the dip.

After setting my system up for the flatest possible frequency response I found that on most CDs the sub is very subtle to the point where most people would never know it was even on. It creates a more spacious sound from the 705s and adds a little weight without calling attention to itself - which is just what I wanted to achieve.

Thanks for taking the time in your response and you ahve given me some things to think about. One questions: When you use both types of connections are signals always going into both inputs? How does the sub know which input to use for movies? or does it matter?

[Briz vegas]

For movies the sub is getting both signals and manages them internally. From my research it would appear that RELs are one of the few subs designed to do this (it even has two volume controls, one for the high level signal and one for the low level signal). You may wish to email B&W and ask if the PV1 can be used in this way.

For stereo listening REL recommend ensuring that there is no low level LFE signal, which is fine as my Marantz only provides a LFE signal in multi-channel modes.

I was really keen to get a PV1 but I went for the Strata 5 in the end because of the setup and forget flexiblity. I still love the bowling balls look, feel and sound. It was hard to resist the urge to roll it round the carpet one more time, just to make sure it did not sound better over there rather than where it was at the time.