New DB Series Subwoofers

[mike175gr]

Miner, you are much more patient than I would be especially after spending so much time and money on this issue! What is your ultimate plan for resolution?

[miner]

I have reached out to B&W for the final time - awaiting a response to CS emails and vmail. I have it dialed in where it is performing well with the 805D3 but I feel the DB1 should mate well without maxing out most of the settings. B&W CS is beyond bad and I have been treated as an anomaly.

[ariess]

I have had very good results from a new pair of B&W DB1Ds. I too find the best results with settings towards the high end (crossover set to integrate with 800D3, mode set to stereo, music and level at +6-7 dB where max allowed is +10 dB). Is your main complaint that it sounds great but you shouldn’t have to use such a high gain setting ?

[miner]

Yes Ariess that is my gripe, and no one at B&W cares. Are you running RCA connection? When mating with and choosing a speaker model in there line up all “pieces should fall into place” for an enjoyable experience without having to set settings to >80% of their max value. Those current settings should be the default when I choose the 805D3 as my main speaker. Call me grumpy....

[ariess]

I am using XLR connection. I understand your wish to have the right setting be 0 dB, not +5 or +8 dB, but if you like what you hear and it’s integrated well, it’s still a win.

[miner]

I am surprised with the XLR connection that your settings are so high. B&W told me my issue was the RCA connection and if I used the XLR (which I don't have an XLR out on my MA8900) all my settings would be flat with a load of bass output. My gripe is the software is poorly designed and B&W will not take any user input to try to improve it.

[SMC23]

Went to my Bros place to calibrate his new DB2D, and via RCA on the LFE input we had to decrease the gain to -5db to achieve 75db reference volume from his Arcam AV processor. The 805D2 main channels had to be adjusted to -6db to achieve the same reference level. We haven't tried the stereo inputs.

Having a pair of JL F113, the DB2D is quite nice and comparable musically.

[bscottmahler]

Recently added a pair of DB2D subs to 802D3 speakers. They're connected to a McIntosh C47 preamp via XLR (speakers on output one and subs on output two). Initial impressions are that they're great subs in a smaller than average package. They sound great and blend well with the main speakers, soundwise and visually. The app-based DSP is great to have, especially in a difficult room like ours.

The passions on this post seem to run high :-) so I was expecting to find that the concerns about the default levels were overblown. That said, the default leveling on the subs even via XLR is... surprising.

In order to achieve a sound that I think is balanced, I've had to increase the input gain for each sub by +6-8db. At the default 0db gain, the subs are almost inaudible. Playing music through them with 0db input gain set in the app with the mains off (ouput one off), this proves true. The Brits may like lighter base, but I'm hard pressed to call the default settings anything but an engineering issue. If I want to hear a gutteral kick drum or shake the walls so my 5-year-old can "Shake Your Rump" with the Beastie Boys, I need to go further and create a custom EQ with the lower frequencies boosted by a further 3-5db.

In the end, because of the great sound quality, our limited space, the great integrated DSP, and (I'm shallow) the visual appeal, we'll be keeping the subs. I'd also say, that boosting everything to the max - the input gain and custom EQ - would result in badly unbalanced sound quality, so the subs have adequate "room for play". That said, I definitely agree that B&W needs to revisit the default calibration settings, even if just to add an American mode or "Wall Shaker" EQ setting. :-)

[miner]

Thank you for your user input bscottmahler - nice to know others experienced my dissatisfaction with the default setting. As you have stated, once setup correctly, a nice sub.

[PeterMusic]

Thanks, bscott. Glad to see you're happy. With respect to gain though, as your post implies,--when you look to shake the walls, you aren't really looking for an audiophile setting. (I do not mean that to be pejorative.) Even with my humble 805s, the difference of adding a subwoofer is subtle--more a feeling than a sound. To your much more awesome 802s, I would expect the difference to be less.

I am at -3db. (Interestingly, and similar to your experience and miner's, this is most of the way up the curve for 805s, which goes from -30db to +5) If I went to -1, I'd have very obvious distortion; if I went above zero, it would be unpleasant.