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My subwoofer is silent

Tracy Brink

Tracy Brink

Member
I'ver lost the subwoofer in my home theater system. My subwoofer is a Klipsch R-112SW and my receiver is a Yamaha RX-A3030. I've attached photos of my connections. In my receiver setup I've checked that my subwoofer is in "Use" "Normal" mode and my playback is "9 ch sterio". My subwoofer power led is lit and I've tried both "on" and "auto" and phase "0" and "180". I've tried to run the auto speaker setup but no sound emits from the subwoofer when the test signal sounds are to be emitted.

My RCA cable seems to test for continuity and I've tried a second cable as well.

What else can I do at this point?
 

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Did you change anything before it went out? If you unplug the subwoofer cable from the receiver and touch the tips of the plugs with your fingers, can you get it to make any sound?

I can't tell what position the power switch is in. Is there an indicator light on the sub amp that tells you what it's doing? For example, when in auto mode, mine is red when in standby, and green when it detects a signal.
 
whoaru99 said:
It's not in some sort of direct/pure direct mode?

If you disable the DSP functions on some receivers you lose the sub output.
Click to expand...
I'll have to check that out, but I'm getting no sound at all out of this subwoofer. I fear this is not a receiver issue.
 
swechsler said:
Did you change anything before it went out? If you unplug the subwoofer cable from the receiver and touch the tips of the plugs with your fingers, can you get it to make any sound?

I can't tell what position the power switch is in. Is there an indicator light on the sub amp that tells you what it's doing? For example, when in auto mode, mine is red when in standby, and green when it detects a signal.
Click to expand...
The power is set to auto, but I've also tried with the power as auto. I do have a green power led. I get no sound at all from the subwoofer when I touch the plugs.
 
So it worked before and now it doesn't work? I have run a sub off my cell phone before, you just need a cable that runs headphone adapter to rca. If that doesn't work, then the plate amp is probably out.

-Geoff
 
There is a fuse in the Klipsch power connection, a little door covers it beside the female power socket. If that fuse is blown it may mean something amis in the amplifier. But try replacing the fuse and see what happens.
 
Could be a fuse. I picked up a sub off the street that was dead and just needed a fuse. Has been working for over ten years.
 
LWB said:
There is a fuse in the Klipsch power connection, a little door covers it beside the female power socket. If that fuse is blown it may mean something amis in the amplifier. But try replacing the fuse and see what happens.
Click to expand...
I looked at that fuse, the printing is so tiny I couldn't make out what size fuse it is. I'll try to figure it out, thanks.
 
Test the fuse with a multimeter for continuity. A fuse can look good, but be... not good.
 
If it's not the fuse, it may be a problem with the sub amp. in order to fit an amp into a speaker enclosure, they put all the components way too close together. They tend to fail because components get hot and go. If you unscrew the amp and remove it, look for scorching, you can usually find where they failed pretty quickly.
 
LWB said:
There is a fuse in the Klipsch power connection, a little door covers it beside the female power socket. If that fuse is blown it may mean something amis in the amplifier. But try replacing the fuse and see what happens.
Click to expand...
I forgot, my little green led light (power indicater) opperates so I assumed the fuse was ok.
 
Tracy,

I have a similar case, different model though. On my recently-acquired Velodyne sub, the pre-amp powers on fine (thus displaying a "power on" light) but the amplifier itself has blown a fuse (and keeps blowing them, at that.)

So basically, I'm saying there are probably multiple fuses involved; despite your green light, I think checking the amplifier and any / all fuses involved is still in order... Good luck!
 
Test the sub with different source of signal (smartphone etc), watch the volume! Most likely the sub amp is defective.
By the way, why are you picking up the signal for the sub from Front PRE-OUT instead form sub output on the receiver?

I just re-read your post. If you set your receiver to use a sub, (default x-over setting is 80Hz), the mains will get no signal below 80 Hz (well kind of depending of the slope of x-over). The main (L, R) PRE-OUT also gets no signal below 80Hz. Since, it looks like, you plugged your sub to main PRE-OUT it is silent.
Use subwoofer output on the receiver.
 
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bandy1 said:
Test the sub with different source of signal (smartphone etc), watch the volume! Most likely the sub amp is defective.
By the way, why are you picking up the signal for the sub from Front PRE-OUT instead form sub output on the receiver?

I just re-read your post. If you set your receiver to use a sub, (default x-over setting is 80Hz), the mains will get no signal below 80 Hz (well kind of depending of the slope of x-over). The main (L, R) PRE-OUT also gets no signal below 80Hz. Since, it looks like, you plugged your sub to main PRE-OUT it is silent.
Use subwoofer output on the receiver.
Click to expand...

Looking at the pic, it is connected to the sub outputs, 1 and 2.. reading the other suggestions, if touching the rca with the sub on and still no sound, its a fault with the sub(or two bad cables).. if fuse or fuses check ok, maybe check the rca connections internally(bad/broken solder).. anything more than that is above my experience...
 
I had a Klipsch sub for a number of years. I noticed my bass seemed to be lacking compared to the past. So I checked out the sub and it was dead. No power light, no hum, nothing. I hooked up an old Polk sub to see if it could be my AVR. It worked for about 30 seconds, then the Polk died. That probably was the fuse. Cheap fix, but I have no intention of using it again.

So I bought a new Klipsch. I'm back in business and all is well.
 
I just had to register to reply here. I have the SAME Klipsch R112SW, and the SAME problem. Suddenly it went quiet. When I turn it on, there's a 1 second hum, then silence.

I want to thank you very much for your suggestions, and possible issues, as I am a novice. This is also very expensive for me, so it's a big issue if I am able to find a repair, insted of having to buy a new SW.

I must say I am very disappointed, as I have been running my SW very very gently. But if the issue rather is hours powered on, there's been a few, since it's hooked up to the TV, and always active,.

Just curious, is this something that happens across brands, or are some brands known for longer lifespans? In relation to the comment above, about "way too close together", for instance.

Thank you!
 
Klipsch plate amps had a real problem with this. The problem seemed to be heat-related but more in the line of parts being too close together. I had a Klipsch sub 8" little guy that didn't see a ton of use before it too gave up the ghost. I called Klipsch and they said that due to the age of the sub, they no longer carried parts for it (specifically I was looking for a plate amp replacement). However, they gave me a generous gift certificate towards a new one.

Well, I was reluctant to give them another shot, since my SVS sub that I had purchased in the meantime was so nice but I read about the newest RP series, waited for a sale, used the cert, and got a new RP-1400SW 14" sub for $400. That was a $700 sale price plus a $300 certificate. The point is that if you call Klipsch, you might find them willing to spot you a substantial cert and supposedly, the newest RP series subs are completely redesigned. They come with a 5 year warranty, amp included.

Is it as nice as the SVS PB-3000 I wanted? No. It is also $1200 less and still rocks the room. The SVS subs are nicer with the DSP and app and all but very spendy. Call Klipsch - you might get a cert for a substantial portion of a new sub.

PS - the Klipsch sub problem was partly due to design, but partly due to a change a supplier made to a part without going through testing, according to some stuff I've read. The subs got tested with Part A but in production, the supplier changed that out to Part B without testing and there were many failures due to that. Couple this with the normal plate amp issues often encountered and there is a mess.
 
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