Bluesound Pulse Sub+ and Soundbar Pulse 2i, subvolume issue

Stefan Mehre

Hi,

I am wondering if this issue is known?

I got a Soundbar 2i and a Pulse Sub+ for testing. So I setup the system and paired the sub with the soundbar. I was wondering why the sub was so silent, you even didn't notice it.

So I changed the setup and paired the sub with my PowerNode 2i and hello the sub was there...

The strange thing is even the sub audiosettings look different for PowerNode 2i with sub and soundbar 2i with sub. With soundbar you have -10dB to +10dB, with PowerNode 2i you have -50dB to +20dB. So maybe the range is to small with soundbar for the sublevel.

But I also recognized that if you unpair the sub, go to it's own audiosettings and raise the volume of the sub to min. 15dB or even to max. After that I pair it again with the soundbar, it got better but still not close to the PowerNode + Sub combination.

So could you please check if there is a limitation within the firmware at the moment, that you can change so the sub with soundbar gets useable. At the moment in my opinion you can leave the sub, maybe use it with LFE input (didn't check that one), because it's not really noticeable. 

If you have a beta firmware or something, I would be happy to test and help :)

Btw. maybe with PowerNode 2i the range for sublevel is even to high, because I can set it that high that the sub gets overdriven (even it's not on max!!!).

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Comments

6 comments

Date Votes
  • Official comment
    Tony W.
    Product Support Manager

    Hi Stefan

    When pairing to a SOUNDBAR, the SUB defaults to a DOLBY mix while in a POWERNODE defaults to a 2 channel mix. DOLBY is usually mixed 6-12 db lower. 

    See this controversial thread; https://support1.bluesound.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/360049194114

     

  • Stefan Mehre

    Hi Tony,

    thanks for the explanation, but why ? soundbar only means no Dolby Surround this ist still 2 channel in first step. Maybe this should change if it gets a homecinema surround group, but in normal soundbar + sub mode it shouldn't.

     

    And even it does, the range for the sublevel needs to be higher, because that way the sub is too silent. And it's still strange that if I change the volume on the sub only, after pairing again it behaves different but still to low.

     

    Read the mentioned thread, did that some time ago but it was for PowerNode so :). So will we see this change for the soundbar too?

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  • Tony W.
    Product Support Manager

    HI Stefan

    The vast majority of consumers who buy a SOUNDBAR buy it to connect to their TV, not as a music system - the music system is a pleasant secondary experience, unlike the POWERNODE where Home Theatre is the secondary experience.

    Take advantage of 3 listening modes in the SOUNDBAR and when selecting Music, boost the SOUNDBAR output.

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  • Stefan Mehre

    Of course the Soundbar is bought for TV installations, but when you invest in a good and not really cheap soundbar+sub setup most people will not buy a music only setup additionally to the soundbar. So the soundbar + sub should handle music well too.

    The problem with the audio profils music/tv/movie is that you can‘t save different subwoofer levels, only bass from soundbar. So you can‘t get more bass for music.

    But in my opinion bass from sub is too low in both use cases movie/tv and for playing music. There should be a bigger range for the sub so the user can set it up the way he wants it. At the moment soundbar+sub (maybe only the new sub+ ?) is limited and I believe that shouldn‘t be...

     

    1
  • Nie wieder Bluesound

    I can only agree. 850 € for such a weak sub, that's ridiculous. What do you need the 150-200 watts. If there is no update in 30 days, the whole system goes back. I have the sub on 10+, unfortunately more is not possible and there is no action when watching a film. Really embarrassing..

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  • Stefan Mehre

    I am still hoping for a change here too. 
    Let the user decide if he wanna play on higher levels for the sub. 

    For me this setup is not my main movie station, so for TV it‘s OK for me how the sub plays. I can imagine there are users who wanna have more for movies, so...

    For me it‘s still hard to get it „right“ for music. Right in the meaning of, that the sub plays fine in my opinion for TV and music. For TV it seems more bass than for music and here we should get more possibilities to setup the combination.

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