Hey doods!

I had an interesting experience last night that I thought I would share.

One of my clients has purchased 3 Harbinger V2218S subs. They're active subs that cost like $400/each...amazingly cheap and actually sound decent for 400 bucks.

Worth noting, the band owns the entire P.A. and they set it up. I just show up and mix. That said...

It's not uncommon for them set up something incorrectly. So, in the interest of due diligence, in addition to line checks, I check all the speaker connections. So I'm checking the subs, and I notice that the subs sound "funny." My first instinct was to check phase, which was all correct...hmmmm... So, using the volume knobs in the built-in processors, I started isolating the subs. #1 sub in the chain sounded fine. Second sub had like half the gain and bottom rolled out. Third sub's gain was half-again. Bad cable? Bad settings? So I check the settings. Sure enough, all the subs are set to "Crossover" @ 120Hz. Hmmm.... So I changed out the XLR jumper cables for known-to-be-working cables (I always bring a bag of assorted cables just in case). Same result. Hmmm... So I move the primary feeder cable from the bottom sub to the middle sub (the subs were stacked vertically). The middle sub came to life! Okay...so then I move the feeder cable to the top sub. The top sub comes to life. So I jumper from the top to middle sub. Middle sub now has half the gain and has lost all bottom.

To summarize: All subs sound fine as the primary sub, all subsequent subs lose gain and bottom end. Maddening.

It's show time, so I just turn them all up and go.

After the gig, the first thing I do is Google the manual. To my shock and horror, it seems these POS subs are DESIGNED to operate this way on purpose! If you check the manual...

http://harbingerproaudio.com/wp-cont...ers-Manual.pdf

....page 6, you'll see in typical Chinenglish fashion, instructions regarding the "Link/Crossover" switch are vague. It seems that the "parallel XLR jacks" aren't parallel at all. It seems the user is given a CHOICE of EITHER internal processing OR linking (parallel). If you link, you don't get processing. If you process, you don't get parallel. If one wishes to LINK the subs, you have to put them in "Link mode," which turns off the crossover. In crossover mode, the parallel (output) port is HIGH-PASSED. Yes, you read that right, HIGH-PASSED. Idiotic!! THIS is why the subsequent subs in the chain sounded like crap.

I can only assume that I'll now have to handle the subwoofer processing through the digital console...which is fine. But what a weird way for an active subwoofer to handle internal processing.

I told the guys that, from now on, when they buy new gear, they either have to RTFM, or at least BRING a manual to the gig so *I* can read it. At least the subs aren't broken and I learned that I can no longer take it for granted that parallel port are indeed, parallel. Maddening. Lesson learned.