Melodik problem?

[stewie]

I am a confirmed Linn fan. I own a kisto,unidisk 1.1,akurate ds,akurate and espek speakers all activ with majik and 5120 amps about which I cannot complain. In fact I love them.

I also own a Linn Melodik sub which I call a heap of shit. The sound just never seem right to me. I've had it for 6 years now and always been unhappy with it. My previous sub was an M&K cheapie which was extremely good and wish I had never got rid of.

Let me give and example of what gets me irritates. (I do realise that bass levels will vary between discs). I was playing a concert dvd and thought the sub was'nt working.There was no sound coming from it. Increased sub level on kisto uo to max. No bass still.Went to kisto speaker setup and increased bass level there from 0 to 25.Went back to listening to dvd and still no bass.Finally got bass with further increase in sub level to +10.

Next day played something different got shock my life but did'nt lose any windows.In setup reduced level to 0 and sub level to -10 and lfe to -10 to get bearable bass.

The sound I hear just does'nt seem right.I have to make these adjustments for every different disk, but not as extreme as above. In fact a lot of the time I just don't bother using it.

My dealer thinks all is ok.I had one problem fixed by linn which was a sesitivity issue with the sub switching on and off all the time.Now permanently on except when switched off at mains.

Now what got me started on this letter was reading on the forum about Anti-Mode 8033 Automatic Subwoofer Equalizer.I thought this might improve things but now having second thoughts.

Is there anyone who could shed some light on my Melodik?

Stewart

[Bugi666]

Stop calling it heap of sh**, apologise and maybe - MAYBE, the sound will improve!!!

[Joe Linn Staff]

Hey Stewie

The sub content is determined by the disc you are playing, if there is little or no sub content on the dvd then boosting the levels will only result in the scenario that you have just described. What was the stream type(what did the kisto display) that you were listening to when you started to change your settings?,

The kisto has a calibration setup that you should run to optimise your system . It's a one time setup and shouldn't need to be changed.

What other speakers do you have in your system?

[stewie]

Joe

I have done all the calibration. It's when I play dvd's that I have the main problem. Its the variability in setting the sub and lfe levels to get some quality bass.

This afternoon I sat down with 4 dvds. Just to get bass levels right for each disk took an hour. It's not just a matter of adjusting sub on the kisto,even this can range from -10 to 10. I also have to adjust lfe and go to speaker calibration to increase levels.

If I just had to adjust sub level a few notches I'd be happy.

Stewart

PS I do understand about setup and calibration

[MarkPS]

Hi

What is the frequency response of your melodik set to? If your using the lfe out of the kisto for everything then I would think it should be set for max letting the kisto output filter the signal.

If set to say 40 or 50 you may get patchy playback

Just a thought

[clarets]

(2011-03-17 09:16)stewie Wrote:  Now what got me started on this letter was reading on the forum about Anti-Mode 8033 Automatic Subwoofer Equalizer.I thought this might improve things but now having second thoughts.

My 5150 (essentially a Melodik) improved amazingly with the addition of the Anti-Mode 8033 with all of 10 mins set up!
Due to the sub's size (and beauty) I was restricted to where I could place the sub and my front right corner was adversely affecting certain frequencies.
8033 cleaned this all up.
Have you tried different room positioning for the sub?

joe Wrote:The sub content is determined by the disc you are playing, if there is little or no sub content on the dvd then boosting the levels will only result in the scenario that you have just described. What was the stream type(what did the kisto display) that you were listening to when you started to change your settings?,

I agree with Joe as stated above and have trouble understanding the extremes you describe. Sub is a great piece of kit.
Have you tried borrowing another sub and making a direct comparison?

It took me a little while to adjust to the Melodik as it's involvement is more subtle than the sub it replaced - Sunfire True Subwoofer Mk2, itself no slouch of a sub and in current use in my 2nd system.
In comparisons the Melodik performs far better when low level additions of bass are called for (more musical) and tighter slam (not noise level) is achieved at peaks.
I still add in the Sunfire at an OTT reggae/dance party - it is not a subtle addition!

[linnrd]

If you are running your Espeks full-range, then you should probably cross the sub over at about 26-29 Hz. This means that you send a full-range signal to your Espeks AND a full-range signal to the Melodik. I am not sure if the Kisto will allow you to do this. The second issue it that certain soundtracks have the LFE set about 10dB off and as a result unless you have accounted for that, you will experience what you have.

[stewie]

Thanks guys for your help. I will try the suggestions this week.

One thought that I've had is that the problem only seems to be on the digital out,not analog. I wonder if reinstalling software to kisto may be of benefit

Stewart

[Joe Linn Staff]

(2011-03-21 10:45)stewie Wrote:  Thanks guys for your help. I will try the suggestions this week.

One thought that I've had is that the problem only seems to be on the digital out,not analog. I wonder if reinstalling software to kisto may be of benefit

Stewart

What have you fgot the Unidisk's digital out set to?

Make sure it is set to RAW.

[stewie]

For your information I'd thought I'd let you know how I got on.

After moving the melodik around the room and changing settings for a while I just gave up as nothing seemed to work.'

Next day I changed the setting on the melodik so I could change the gain at the sub itself. Whole new world opened up and I've got beautiful bass. Who knows why that should make a difference?

Stewart

If Aaron should read this, I am now relaxed again