hi all

you can see what setup im running in my signature. now i've noticed that when i play songs off an mp3 cd, at high volumes, either my front splits or my woofer starts to lose its/their bass and make a higher sound... im not sure how exactly to describe it except that it almost sounds a bit woofy and pops a little bit (not extreme popping but it doesn't sound healthy).

now when i run something like my ipod through the auxiliary, i can run it at higher volumes without any of this occurring. can someone please explain to me why this is happening? and if so how to get rid of it via my eq settings (if this is a source of the problem)

cheers

it may be that the iPod input has different eq settings to the CD section - I'd go look at the manual, and maybe do a factory reset to see if the problem's still happening.

if you turn it down, does it still make the bad sounds? if the popping/etc. stops at lower volumes, then you are exceeding the capabilities of your system, and shouldn't turn it up so loud.

no at lower volumes it doesn't do that.... i'll try resetting the eq to see what that does. but exceeding the capabilities? how can I turn the ipod up louder without having that problem? is it to do with an active source?

the ipod going louder will also be likely to do with the iPod having in-built compression (and EQ) settings of its own.

not much you can do about it, as it maybe goes louder, but at the cost of losing even more quality of the sound.

sounds like your poling your gear, possibly needs a retune or stop turning it up so loud...

poling?

yer i know im reaching the limits of my system... but there doesn't seem to be a noticeable lack of quality at that level. ill have to audition each speaker individually

ok, so what are you using as a reference for 'quality'?? it's possible that the sound you are hearing is not very high quality to start with (i.e. lots of distortion and compression), and so when it gets louder, it still sounds the 'same' but in reality, the real poorness of the sound is hiding the symptoms of over-exerting the system.

Sounds like mids bottoming out

Check your high pass filter on your sony amp. If you are running the front splits down to 50hz for example then they will probably distort at high volume given that they are not like $1000 speakers. Maybe change your high pass to around 65 - 80hz and adjust your sub amp accordingly. (i.e. low pass cut off at same freq as high pass for splits). I haven't checked the stats on the sony amp but there may be a very small possibility that you are clipping your amp. Hope this may help.