Audio Systems: subwoofer, rca cables, subwoofer amplifier

Question
Hi Jerry,
I have the Sony SA-W3000 Subwoofer, and I liked the idea of the sand-by mode when base isn’t needed. The power light goes from green to red.
I also have the subwoofer in an inconvenient place to reach, so the auto-shut off is a nice feature.

The problem is when I shut off the TV, the DVR and the receiver shut off automatically, go into standby mode. But the subwoofer stays on, the indicator light is green, and sometimes it hums. I thought maybe some time has to go by so I’ve left it like this for an hour and the light stays green instead of switching to red, and it can hum.
It’s getting to be quite a pain to turn it on and off every time we watch TV or a movie.

Please advise. What am I doing incorrectly?
Thank you,
Randy
USA-MA

Answer
Hey Randy.
This is a good one and I fully understand why you ended up here. :P
The SA-W3000 PDF manual does not even mention the auto stand by mode (much less how it functions).
I would suggest contacting Sony Support about this.
You can chat with a technician about the SAW3000 at this link:
http://www.docs.sony.com/startchat.asp?modelnum=SAW3000®ion_id=1&chat=1

Here is the main support page for this product if you would like to choose another method of contact.
http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/support-contacts.pl?mdl=SAW3000

For now you might put a powerstrip where you can more easily get to it and turn the sub on/off.

The hum may be loud enough that it is not letting the subwoofer amplifier go to stand-by mode (that is if the stand by mode feature is actuated by the signal level).
You could turn the gain on the sub down to reduce hum but it is better to try and prevent it from entering the signal. This could be caused by proximity to a TV or the RCA cables being near power cords. If these do not not resolve the noise issue, your only recourse is to turn the subwoofer gain down a bit if you want the 'hum' to not be so easily noticed.

*These are just basic pointers about noise/hum.  You really should speak with or contact Sony about the specific features AND the hum issue.

Wish I could assist you more.
Good luck and thanks for the question.


PS  I would also point out that you may have some bad RCA cables which can cause this noise.