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Speakers connected to JVC AX-R97 get quiet when you turn on Rear (aka B or Remote Set)

Audio Noob

Audio Noob

New Member
Long story short(ish), as soon as you turn on the secondary set of speakers on my JVC reciever, the primary speakers lose almost all mids and treble (sound muddy). I discovered this issue when attempting to add a sub with an integrated amp, but if you press the button to turn on the secondary output the sub works, but it makes the primary speakers sound muddy, even after I disconnected the sub. The button for the secondary output toggles the muddiness. If you think you could help I have more info below. New to audio, any tips would be appreciated!



As the username suggests I'm not very well versed in the audio world. My first and current setup is a JVC AX-R97 powering a pair of Pioneer CS-G403s. They sound great IMO but I'm sure my standards are a bit lower than most, but one of the speakers has a slight cone rattle when I really crank them. So to prolong the speakers quickly shortening lifespan I bought a small 10" sub with an integrated amp to give me the base that I crave at lower volumes. Looked up a YouTube video beforehand and was able to get the sub to work, but the reciever has 2 pairs of high level outputs so I have had the Pioneers on the #1 output so I left those and had to wire the sub to the #2 set, I wired both the left and right channels to the sub and when I finally figured out where the button to turn on the #2 set of speakers was, the sub started to work, but the Pioneers mids and treble drops dramatically and just sounds muddy. I then disconnected the sub from the reciever completely so the JVC was only powering the Pioneers, and it still sounded muddy, just without the bass from the sub. The wierd thing is even if nothing is hooked up to the #2 set and I turn them on, the #1 set sounds like garbage but as soon as I turn off the #2 output they sound perfectly normal. I'm lost and can't find hardly any info on my reciever online. I would like to think the speakers are not the issue because they sound fine when only they are on. I have a fair bit of electrical experience in the home and auto industries, but audio is my newest venture and I have alot to learn. Any help, advice, experience, or referrals to other threads with info regarding this issue that I missed would be greatly appreciated! Will give free car advice if you can help!

Edit:I misspelled quiet in the title and can't fix it which is frustrating

Pics below to provide more info.20200627_032050_capture.jpg 20200627_032237.jpg 20200627_031940.jpg 20200627_031703.jpg 20200627_032035.jpg 20200627_025807_capture.jpg 20200627_031154.jpg
 
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First thing I’d do is turn off the loudness button. Cranking the system with that switched on is probably going to lead to the strange noises you describe.
Have you tried connecting the sub to the primary speaker output and the speakers to the “speaker out” on the sub? That should enable you to have everything working without having to use the secondary speaker output at all.
Could be worth checking that you don’t have anything out of phase but given that your speaker cables are colour coded, that’s not likely to be an issue. Just throwing it into the pot, though.
 
I think this amp is connecting the speakers in series. With amp OFF... Disconnect anything from SPEAKER 2 connections and connect the Pioneer speakers to SPEAKER 1. Play at low volume with SPEAKER 1 switched on. Music should play. Now turn on SPEAKER 2. Does the music stop playing? If so, I would not run a subwoofer that is powered by the amp. Either use a powered sub or just don't use one.

I'm surprised this amp is built this way because my JVC receivers CAN play 2 speakers at one time in parallel.

I think this amp may have been part of one of those rack systems and built to a price point. It can't drive a 4 Ohm speaker load so it connects the speakers in series instead of parallel. On the back of my receiver it says something like Speaker A or B 4-16 Ohms. Speakers A + B 8 - 16 Ohms. Yours just says 8-16 Ohms.
 
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You didn't have it connected right anyway I believe the sub should be connected to the receiver and the speakers to the sub.
 
redk9258 said:
I think this amp is connecting the speakers in series. With amp OFF... Disconnect anything from SPEAKER 2 connections and connect the Pioneer speakers to SPEAKER 1. Play at low volume with SPEAKER 1 switched on. Music should play. Now turn on SPEAKER 2. Does the music stop playing? If so, I would not run a subwoofer that is powered by the amp. Either use a powered sub or just don't use one.

I'm surprised this amp is built this way because my JVC receivers CAN play 2 speakers at one time in parallel.

I think this amp may have been part of one of those rack systems and built to a price point. It can't drive a 4 Ohm speaker load so it connects the speakers in series instead of parallel. On the back of my receiver it says something like Speaker A or B 4-16 Ohms. Speakers A + B 8 - 16 Ohms. Yours just says 8-16 Ohms.
Click to expand...

Uhhh...he is using a powered sub. See pics.
 
Audionoob - do try connecting the subwoofer to the A speaker terminals of the JVC amp, and then connecting the Pioneer speakers to the subwoofer. In this way, you can avoid using the B terminals. The subwoofer is clearly marked for this arrangement.

It should work as you currently have it wired, but something is clearly amiss in your amp. Give this a shot as an immediate solution. Good luck.
 
spark1 said:
Uhhh...he is using a powered sub. See pics.
Click to expand...
But if the amp puts the sub in series with the speakers it will likely alter the sound. That's why I mentioned connecting the Pioneer speakers to the sub. In other words, nothing should be connected to the amps SPEAKER 2 terminals.
 
Sure, but no need to take my word for it. You can make your own. Start searching for powered subs, then look at specs. You will find that a very large share of them do not have high pass filters.
:rolleyes:
 
redk9258 said:
But if the amp puts the sub in series with the speakers it will likely alter the sound. That's why I mentioned connecting the Pioneer speakers to the sub. In other words, nothing should be connected to the amps SPEAKER 2 terminals.
Click to expand...

He gets the same problem regardless of having anything connected to B or not.
 
spark1 said:
Sure, but no need to take my word for it. You can make your own. Start searching for powered subs, then look at specs. You will find that a very large share of them do not have high pass filters.
:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I know that many do not.
Why waste my time trying to find out. :crazy:
 
KevinJS said:
First thing I’d do is turn off the loudness button. Cranking the system with that switched on is probably going to lead to the strange noises you describe.
Have you tried connecting the sub to the primary speaker output and the speakers to the “speaker out” on the sub? That should enable you to have everything working without having to use the secondary speaker output at all.
Could be worth checking that you don’t have anything out of phase but given that your speaker cables are colour coded, that’s not likely to be an issue. Just throwing it into the pot, though.
Click to expand...
That's a great idea and I'm definitely gonna try it after work tomorrow, I just hope the amp in that sub can handle the Pioneers. Also turned off loudness.
 
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