Why am I not hearing anything out of my Subwoofer?

Updated

1. Network paired PULSE SUB+ (Ethernet/Wireless network connection)

When the PULSE SUB+ is network-paired to another Player, pressing the Function Button once will toggle the Player’s Subwoofer ON/OFF switch in the BluOS Controller App.

092_PULSE SUB+ function button.png

Subwoofer ON: With the switch set to ON, a crossover is engaged, the PULSE SUB+ will handle the low frequency while the paired Player will handle the higher frequency content, as dictated by the crossover level.

Subwoofer OFF: With the switch set to OFF, the crossover is disengaged, and the paired Player handles the full frequency range. The PULSE SUB+ will be silent in this case.

Alternatively, you can engage or disengage the crossover for a network-paired PULSE SUB+ using the BluOS Controller App:

Android/iOS - Enable/disable Subwoofer:

  1. In the BluOS Controller App, select the Players tab 001_Playerstab_button.png.
  2. Select the PULSE SUB+ network-paired player’s context menu (3 dots) and select Audio Settings. The Audio Settings screen is displayed.
  3. Select the Subwoofer toggle button to enable/disable the subwoofer.

Windows/macOS - Enable/disable Subwoofer:

  1. In the BluOS Controller App, select the Player Drawer.
  2. Select the PULSE SUB+ network-paired player’s context menu (3 dots) and select Audio Settings. The Audio Settings screen is displayed.
  3. Select the Subwoofer toggle button to enable/disable the subwoofer.

Note that using this toggle does not unpair the PULSE SUB+ from a Player.

If the wireless connection is poor or has been severed, the subwoofer may not make a sound.

2. Analog Low/Line Level Wired Connection using SUBW OUT

The following players include a subwoofer (SUBW OUT) output port that provides RCA analog output to a powered subwoofer:

Subwoofer (On/Off) – turning this setting ON will apply a high pass filter to the RCA and Speaker Out (where applicable) based on the crossover set. Leaving this in the OFF position will send the full range out of the RCA and Speaker Outs.

Note that the SUBW OUT output will not be affected by this (this output will always be active) nor will it set a filter on the Digital Outputs (applicable to NODE and VAULT only).

Crossover: this will allow you to adjust the crossover between 40Hz and 200Hz; anything below your set crossover will be sent out of the SUBW OUT of your player. If the Subwoofer switch is set to ON (as mentioned above), everything above this crossover will be filtered out and sent to the RCA and Speaker Outputs.

Troubleshoot:

  • Ensure the power cord is connected to the subwoofer and plugged into a live AC outlet.
  • The PULSE SUB+ utilizes signal sensing auto on/off circuitry. If no signal is sent to the subwoofer, it will not power up. When using the subwoofer output of a receiver or processor, no signal may be immediately present in this output. The subwoofer will only power up when a bass signal appears at the subwoofer input.
  • If the low-level cable is severed, the subwoofer may not make a sound.

Note: Generation 1 - NODE [2012] and VAULT [2012] do not have a SUBW OUT port.

3. Bluesound DUO

POWERNODE (Gen1 only) can be connected to Bluesound DUO (2.1 subwoofer and satellite speaker system). This specific tuning set is custom-designed for the response of the Bluesound DUO Satellite speakers and powered subwoofer.

The default settings to configure Bluesound DUO are as follows:

  • VOLUME = 5
  • CROSSOVER = 120
  • PHASE = 0°
  • POWER = AUTO

Related articles