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Re-Post: Help? only one subwoofer channel works

What I am wondering, is how much does his matter based on how low bass in mixed in stereo recordings?

Here's what I know...It seems the left channel of my subwoofer isn't working. When I connect it, the whole system starts shutting off and on, when I disconnect the speaker wire from the sub, the problem stops and I still get output from the sub, with no noticeable hum or distortion.

Does this sound like a problem with the sub amp? If so,what effect does is this likely to have on output? When bass frequencies are recorded, I know that both channels are used, but do engineers typically record significantly different bass information for each channel, even though lower bass frequencies are not perceived directionally?

I hope this question makes sense at least. If not, please help me understand what I need to be thinking about.

Thanks as always.
thomp9015

Showing 3 responses by thomp9015

thomp9015 OP
79 posts
 
Thanks for the suggestion, that is what I believe happened as well, when I put too much downward pressure on one of the terminals. I will take out the amp and see.

Does anyone have any info on my questions about the effect on low bass of having only one channel of it, given that low bass is not experienced, but might be recorded, in stereo? I am interested in this apart from my particular problem.

Thanks again.
thomp9015 OP
79 posts
 
My sub is the very cheap, not very good Tube Audio Design Aural Ecstasy unit. I have it hooked up high pass, straight from my Trends Audio t-amp to the sub's speaker terminals. This sub has already had a faulty amp that had to be replaced, which TAD did so even after the warranty passed, so no complaints. Both channels of the sub were working fine, until after I had to disconnect/reconnect it a couple of times, and I think at some point I might have put too much downward pressure on one of the left binding posts, perhaps causing it to touch something internally leading to a short. That's all I really know. It may well be something else.

I'm just wondering what the sonic effects of having only one channel of low bass. I guess it also occurs to me whether it is OK for a differential load being demanded on the amp, since now the right channel is driving both the main speakers (Tekton Design) and the sub, while the left channel is only driving the main speakers. Hopefully, since the sub presents such a small load to the t-amp, this isn't a problem, but I do wonder about the sonic effect on only one channel of low bass, as I put it in my original post.

Thanks to you both for your responses.

thomp9015 OP
79 posts
 
Thanks for the suggestion. The thing is,the sub is so cheap that it is almost not worth the cost of shipping and hassle, though that is a way to go. My main interest is in the effect of having only one channel of deep bass, giving that it is not directional. This would seem to come down to how bass is mixed in stereo recordings, so I guess that is what I'm really try to figure out.
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