Node: subwoofer off setting doesn't work
Answered
Today I connected a subwoofer to my new Node, firmware 3.14.26, Android app 3.14.1:2566.
I made sure the subwoofer setting was 'off'. I was surprised the sub started playing as soon as I powered it up!?
I then switched the subwoofer setting to 'on'. The sub volume lowered and a cutoff frequency bar appeared, which was at 40 Hz, which explained the lower volume. I was able to change the cutoff frequency and the result sounded alright. On a side note: it would be helpful to display the cutoff frequency setting, right now only a blue bar is shown and one needs to guess the number or touch and move the bar to get a reading.
The issue is that when I change the subwoofer setting to 'off' the subwoofer still receives a signal and this appears to be the whole frequency spectrum. I would expect 'subwoofer off' to mean that no signal is sent to the sub?
Am I alone in this, or can others confirm the situation? And can Bluesound shine some light on this?
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Official comment
Hm, I had updated this article https://support.bluos.net/hc/en-us/articles/360036429314-Adjusting-Audio-Settings with the correct subwoofer setting explanation but I didn't realise we had another one that needed updating. I will correct this, my apologies.
And thank you all for your feedback, I'll pass it forward.
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Subwoofer "on/off" is for the filter.
Off will, as you figured out, be a full frequency signal meaning all adjustments has to be done at your subwoofer.
On means hi/low pass filter on analog and sub output.0 -
Thanks for the replies.
Seppi Evans I just tried again after having been off power for an hour. Unfortunately that didn't change a thing.
Bjørn Ulvik If that is the case it's A. not very intuitive and B. not according to the text in the link Seppi provided, where it says: Subwoofer disabled - All sound signals are transmitted through the main player’s analog outputs only.
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@Bjørn Ulvik Well ... that is interesting. This means that the official support documentation is not correct and not in line with their replies on the forum.
If there's no intention to change how this subwoofer switch works then I like to suggest:
- to change the text in the article to represent the actual situation
- to change the text in the app to make clear that the cutoff filter is being switched, not the subwoofer output as a whole as the current text suggests.
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I agree on both :-)
To sum up:
Subwoofer out is always active regardless of "On/Off".
When "On", lowpass and higpass filter (12dB) are active on Sub Out and RCA out, or "Mains out" on Powernode. Digital output(s) are unaffected.0 -
What I actually like to suggest is to have it do what it says ... switch the sub output on/off and of course at the same time switch the filter off. That's more logical and also more convenient. If I want to switch my sub off, as it is now I have to physically power off the sub AND change this setting to get the full frequency spectrum back ... not very convenient.
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"Logic" for me is that the text in the app/controller should reflect what actually is done; toggling a filter:
Sub on/off switch is not needed, or could be done by adding another "toggle".
I believe filtering, when using a Node is best done with the subs own gain/crossover control.
In earlier firmware (I could be wrong) the crossover was only highpass, and sub was set at 80Hz.
If using a Powernode, a hig/low-pass filter could "make sense" if you have "small" speakers.0 -
Not sure about solely using the sub's filter ... without taking away those same frequencies from the main speakers this could become too much bass and/or 'boomy'.
Let's settle on an extra toggle ... sub on/off ... which in this case really does what it says. :)
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I like and understand the functionality of the subwoofer toggle as it is described. It is just mislabeled. It needs to be ‘Crossover’ or something of the sort
Switched OFF or OUT = full audio spectrum to sub and mains outputs.
Switched ON or IN = crossover on or inserted and the slider setting determines at what frequency the upper point the sub output is rolled off and the frequency of lower point at which the mains are rolled off.
With the current BluOS 3.16.3 on a Node 2i I am finding the sub on position to work as described. It is a crossover between main out and sub out. What I observe when selected to off is unrestricted output to the mains and no output from the sub. Well, almost no output. There is a very low volume output but not off and not unrestricted full spectrum as described in various posts. It acts like the off position sets the crossover to 40Hz so you still get output below 40Hz when the sub switch is set to off.0 -
I can also confirm my surprise when "subwoofer off" didn't turn off the output signal from the Powernode sub connection.
The label "Sub frequency filter on/off" is perhaps too long?0
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