How is the bass on the Panasonic XR45/50

kaper · « **on:** 12 Apr 2004, 09:01 pm »

I just picked up the Panasonic XR50 and Im trying to find out how is the bass performance on the XR45. I find the bass output from the XR50 very unacceptable at default settings. I have to raise the BASS to +10db (max) and enable the BASS SYNTHESIZER to get adequate output, am I doing something wrong? I have my two channel system setup as:

Left and Right Main - ON and LARGE
Center, Surround and Sub - OFF
Filter/Crossover - 200hz

Since I have floorstanders, I assumed that if I set it to large, the crossover should not matter? But it does.. and setting it at 200hz provides deeper bass than at 100hz. Any tips you guys can give me on how to set this thing up would be appreciated.

pjchappy · « **Reply #1 on:** 12 Apr 2004, 09:30 pm »

What are your speakers? What is their frequency response, sensitivity, etc.?

Are you just used to overemphasized (what's not on the recording) bass?

Also, the xr50 is NOT the replacement for the xr45, the xr70 is. Also, many said the xr45 is NOT a giant killer, but just wonderful at its price point. Some are modding this unit b/c of its lack of an A/D/A, etc. Boldercables.com's mod is supposed to be great.

p

Tyson · « **Reply #2 on:** 12 Apr 2004, 09:44 pm »

The bass on my Bolder modded XR45 is pretty insane. Never heard punchier bass, except for maybe a big ass krell amp I heard at a local audio store a while back. On your setup, make sure you have the sub set to off, and your speakers set to large.

pjchappy · « **Reply #3 on:** 12 Apr 2004, 10:26 pm »

That, too. . .

sunshinedawg · « **Reply #4 on:** 13 Apr 2004, 04:00 am »

Bass on the modded 45 is excellent from what I heard at the original 45 listening session at Tyson's. I just received my modded 45 and will post a review when my unit is fully broken in. Should take a couple more weeks.

Tyson · « **Reply #5 on:** 13 Apr 2004, 03:28 pm »

sunshinedawg, is your modded unit sounding like crap right out of the box? Man, mine sure did. Very thin in the mids and just plain unmusical. Wayne said it needs about a month of burn in before it will be really opened up. I've been running it in 24x7 for a few days and already noticed a fair amount of improvement.

azryan · « **Reply #6 on:** 13 Apr 2004, 05:48 pm »

"-I assumed that if I set it to large, the crossover should not matter? But it does.. and setting it at 200hz provides deeper bass than at 100hz.-"

That shouldn't be right. And if anything -backwards.

Either you don't have the unit set the way you said it's set, or there's a terribly goofy programing mistake in the XR50.

Having the XR25 and XR45 I can also say the bass is not a weak point to the units, and there should be no need to boost it w/ bass e.q. unless your speakers just roll off the bottom too much and you're bringing that roll off up.

Shouldn't matter either if you have floorstanders or monitors for any of this. Only a matter of how deep/flat your speakers play.

kaper · « **Reply #7 on:** 14 Apr 2004, 04:58 am »

Quote from: azryan

"That shouldn't be right. And if anything -backwards.

That was exactly my thought, thanks for confirming. I was not expecting insane bass because the Rotel and Marantz integrated amps I had prior to the Panny drove my speakers like they were supposed to sound - down to 40hz. Ive had these speakers for a long time and used many different amps/receivers and know exactly what they are capable of. I expected a little weaker performance from the Panny but at default setting, it was not even acceptable. There was no midrange or bass completely until dialing the knob to +10db. There actually isnt much to setup on this receiver and I confirmed over and over again that it was setup correctly, so I just gave up and returned the unit.

At the +10db setting it actually sounded pretty good, whatever bass I did get was nice and clear but the midrange was still not there. Highs and the separation/positioning(especially) were VERY good. Ultimately the main reason I returned it was because of the dropouts I was experiencing through the digital connection, about 10 times under only 8 hours. Something just dosent seem quite right with this unit with all the problems I was experiencing.

After a little searching, I found the specs for my speakers (old Infinity reference 2000.5 towers), anymore input would be appreciated since I might give the XR70 a try when it is out. Also hoping to hear from others who have just ordered the XR50, just to see if you got similar or different results as me.

Frequency Response: 38Hz - 20kHz
Sensitivity: 90dB (2.83 volts/1 meter)
Impedance: 8 ohms
Output Level: MAX - 111dB spl
Recommended Power Amplifier Range: 15 - 175 watts
Woofer: 6.5" (160mm) co-injected
Tweeter: 1" (25mm) neodymium magnet soft dome
Crossover Frequency(ies): 2.8kHz

sunshinedawg · « **Reply #8 on:** 14 Apr 2004, 07:15 am »

Quote from: Tyson

sunshinedawg, is your modded unit sounding like crap right out of the box? Man, mine sure did. Very thin in the mids and just plain unmusical. Wayne said it needs about a month of burn in before it will be really opened up. I've been running it in 24x7 for a few days and already noticed a fair amount of improvement.

Yeah, mine was pretty bad. I was really worried that I made a big mistake by not getting the bybees, but I really can't afford them right now. However, the sound has really improved every time I have listened to it. Mine has been running straight for 10 days now, the bass is the biggest problem but has tightened up a considerable amount. I'm not gonna make any judgements until the period Wayne recommended for burn in has expired. I would love to hear an a/b with your inline bybees after my unit is broken in.

azryan · « **Reply #9 on:** 14 Apr 2004, 11:08 pm »

kaper,

You should try the XR70 when it comes out. I think John M. of Newform Research (who discovered these Pannies) said the 70 might even have a better power supply than the 45.

The XR50 is the replacement for the 25 and the 25 isn't as good as the 45 so I'd try the 70 -somewhere that you can take it back if you have the same weak bass prob (that I've never heard anyone else having).
Maybe they got the programming wrong in the 50?

Might wait till someone else gets the 70 too and see if it's working right.

The 25 (which I have back in my system having sent out my 45 to be modded) makes faint clicking noises when scaling the volume. The 45 never did that.
The 25 mostly sounds like the 45 but it does seem a bit less refined.

I'm guessing the 50 and 70 will pretty much be the same. Seems like some features and case design are the main diff. from the previous 25 and 45.

fredgarvin · « **Reply #10 on:** 16 Apr 2004, 12:23 am »

I would think it very strange to have weak bass in these units. I use a 25 and the bass response is one of its strengths. One would hope this was a defective unit rather than a poorly designed model. One would also think that Panasonic would want to capitalize on the sudden popularity of their recievers rather than jeopardize it.