Velodyne Digital Drive Series - Manual (Page 17)

www.velodyne.com Digital Drive Series User’s Manual - 11
NOTE: when a dd subwoofer detects an incoming RS-232 command, it reverts to “Slave mode.” This means
that the subwoofer will no longer accept IR commands. To reestablish normal operations, remove the RS-232
cable and power cycle the unit.
note that the daisy chain connection Only allows the woofers to communicate basic “run-time” commands
such as volume and preset. we recommend the following sequence when setting up daisy-chained subs.
1. First, connect only the master sub to the system. do not connect the thru or serial cables at this
time.
2. establish the crossover, phase, and other settings eXcePT the eQ on the master sub (see setup
steps 1 – 17 starting on page 17). note the low pass crossover, phase and polarity settings, then
save.
3. connect the video out of the slave subwoofer, go to the settings screen, establish the low pass
crossover, slope, phase, polarity, and night mode settings from the master subwoofer, then save
settings. Repeat for each slave subwoofer in your system.
4. connect the microphone to the slave subwoofer and use the “self-eQ” feature (described on page
12) to establish room eQ for that subwoofer.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each slave subwoofer in your system.
6. Reconnect the video out to the master subwoofer, and reconnect the thru and serial cables so that
the master and slave subwoofer(s) are daisy chained.
7. eQ the primary subwoofer (see steps 8-25 starting on page 20). Self-eQ is nOT recommended for
the primary subwoofer.
8. Setup is complete!
A Word About Setting Up Your Receiver/Processor For Optimal Subwoofer Performance
It is important that your receiver/processor (from now on we’ll refer to this as your “receiver” for simplicity) be
set up correctly to work in concert with your dd subwoofer. In the receiver’s “speaker set up” menu you will
enter the number of speakers and indicate whether or not you have a subwoofer. In addition you will enter the
speaker size, usually “large” or “small.” It is almost always advantageous to use the “small” setting. most full-
range speakers use smaller woofers for the bass section and typically do much better in the upper bass and
lower midrange if relieved of deep bass duties. Your DD subwoofer, with its 1250 Watt RMS amplifier, large
magnet and voice coil, and servo control, can play 80Hz and below more accurately, with more power and with
lower distortion than a full range loudspeaker can. This is often referred to as “bi-amping” a system. Setting
your speakers to “small” in your receiver also means the receiver’s bass management will send bass to the
subwoofer in all playback modes, 2-channel or surround.
When you choose “small” you activate the receiver’s crossover. Some receivers will offer crossover choices.
In this case a good rule of thumb is double the low number of the stated frequency response of your main
speakers. So if a speaker’s response is rated from 40Hz –18KHz, then doubling the 40Hz low frequency number
equals 80Hz. In this example 80Hz would be a good crossover point. When in doubt, 80Hz is always a good
starting point. Those that do not offer choices normally crossover at 80Hz, which is an excellent crossover
point, and is also the THX™ standard.
If you use this “small” speaker set up recommendation go into the DD’s “SYSTEM SETTINGS” screen and turn
the dd’s crossover “OFF” (see page 26).