Sonance Cinema 2 Sub Setup

R1chF

R1chF

Audiophyte
I recently moved into a home with existing, in-wall subwoofers in a media room. They are the Sonance Cinema Two Subwoofer System and I'm at a loss on how these need to be properly connected to a standard home theater receiver. It is my understanding that I will need a separate amp to power these, which will then connect to the receiver. The previous owner did not leave the accompanying Sonamp Cinema 2120 unit or documentation.

Long story short, how do I connect these subs? Do I need a sub amplifier? If so, can someone recommend a good one under $200? I'm not looking to break the bank, just to get everything up and running. From there, how do you recommend connecting all of these units together?
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Seems to have a particular amp, you sure it wasn't also left behind? Here are the instructions/manual, have you gone thru that? Generally your receiver's subwoofer pre-out is connected to the sub's amp, then the amp to the sub. I'll take a further look at the amp to see what the requirements might be. A sub amp for $200 is pretty skinny in general, tho.

ps what receiver do you have?
 
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BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Product manual says you'd need 3ohm steady amp to have 190w rms clean power into 3 ohm.
There are no consumer amps capable of such feat under $200
Crown XLS1502 is one I would recommend, but if money is really tight BEHRINGER iNUKE NU3000 may do a trick, but bear in mind - it has got noisy fans and no consumer level inputs or outputs and you'd have to deal with specially/pro adapters and/or cables.
I'd also check ebay if they have older crown XLS 1500 (or higher) amps for sale
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Seems to have a particular amp, you sure it wasn't also left behind? Here are the instructions/manual, have you gone thru that? Generally your receiver's subwoofer pre-out is connected to the sub's amp, then the amp to the sub. I'll take a further look at the amp to see what the requirements might be. A sub amp for $200 is pretty skinny in general, tho.
Manual is simple pdf download on first link you provided ;-)
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
I know. I just hadn't read it yet, doing so now. Looks like probably something like a Crown XLS 1002 would be sufficient.
In 1st Gen, as cutting cost measure, the THD was worse on 1000 vs 1500 or higher.
I wonder if this continues to be so for 2nd gen, but yeah, power wise 1002 would probably sufficient, but maybe just so, 1502 will have reserve just in case :)
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
It was the SNR that's a bit lower on the 1000/1002, haven't seen the bit about the higher THD (they're all rated the same on that point IIRC). I'd normally also suggest the 1500/1502 to start but since the budget is apparently limited, and they're subs, doubt the SNR difference will matter.

ps As far as I know the amps are the same between first/second gen, second gen has the black face, the adjustable sensitivity, panel light adjustment and a slight change to the crossover dsp.
 
R1chF

R1chF

Audiophyte
Thanks so much for the help here. Amp definitely wasn't left behind, unfortunately. That would've made life easier. I was unable to make heads or tails of the instructions myself. Assuming I went with something like the Crown XLS1002, how would a layman like myself connect this? There is already speaker wire from the subs to where the receiver is going to be.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Thanks so much for the help here. Amp definitely wasn't left behind, unfortunately. That would've made life easier. I was unable to make heads or tails of the instructions myself. Assuming I went with something like the Crown XLS1002, how would a layman like myself connect this? There is already speaker wire from the subs to where the receiver is going to be.
Would something like this work? Dayton Audio SA230 230W Subwoofer Amplifier
Sorry if my complete lack of knowledge is shining through here.
No problem, welcome to the forum, too!

Your avr does have a subwoofer pre-out? Connect an rca cable from the receiver to the amp, then speaker wires to the amp; I assume that's why the speaker wires go to the area where you can place the amp and receiver.

The Dayton amp isn't rated for lower than 4 ohm (subs are spec'd down to 3 ohm), altho it may be able to handle it. The Crown 1002 for a few bucks more on Amazon is quite a bit more powerful, which is nice for subs generally. https://www.amazon.com/Crown-XLS1002-Two-channel-x2126-Amplifier/dp/B011TI97VE?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B011TI97VE

What receiver do you have?
 
R1chF

R1chF

Audiophyte
I actually have not purchased a receiver yet. I was hoping to figure out how everything would connect first, and then make my purchase. I was thinking about a Pioneer Elite as this seems to be in my price range (~$400-500) and have decent specs (from what I understand). I'm definitely open to suggestion there too, if something will work better with my given components.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
What speakers will you be using? That will somewhat dictate the recommendations.

I don't generally recommend Pioneer avrs these days (not just because my last Pioneer receiver crapped out not long after warranty expired plus that division of Pioneer was recently sold to Onkyo/Gibson who were having issues of their own), would generally advise to stick with Yamaha/Denon/Marantz. Try shopping at accessories4less.com for additional savings on refurb units perhaps.

Most avrs will have the required sub pre-out as well as bass management for using a sub.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Would something like this work? Dayton Audio SA230 230W Subwoofer Amplifier
Sorry if my complete lack of knowledge is shining through here.
The key word here, you've mentioned before you have more than subwoofer.
Dayton is a single channel, while amps like Crown are stereo and would be able to handle two subs.
also don't get stuck looking for AVRs with two sub pre-out, most of them are just sending same signal - like Y cable would do, but only mid-top range models would actually provide enough features (Sub EQ HT) to have good reason to have dual sub pre-outs.
 
R1chF

R1chF

Audiophyte
This is all great info. Thank you both very much. So if I went with the Crown XLS1002 and this Denon receiver, these components will all work together properly? And to connect them, I would just run the speaker wire from the subs to the Crown, then rca cables from the Crown to the 2 sub pre-puts on the receiver? I hope I got this correct. Is there anything I should look out for or am getting wrong? Anything I need to do from a setting standpoint (on the Crown, receiver or otherwise) so I don't damage anything? Thanks again for all of the help here.
 
WaynePflughaupt

WaynePflughaupt

Audioholic Samurai

And to connect them, I would just run the speaker wire from the subs to the Crown, then rca cables from the Crown to the 2 sub pre-puts on the receiver?
Yup, hook it up like that and you’re good to go. Just make sure and pay attention to the polarity of the speaker cables.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
Just as an option, I have used plate amplifiers, which are typically built into subwoofer boxes, but I've put them in a box in the wall, and have had really good luck. They tend to be a bit less money, though come in at a ton of price points. They are specifically built for subwoofers, which is a huge plus.

https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-spa500-500w-subwoofer-plate-amplifier--300-807

No, they aren't always listed as 3ohm stable, but if you have additional power in the amp, it is unlikely you will run into any issues.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Just as an option, I have used plate amplifiers, which are typically built into subwoofer boxes, but I've put them in a box in the wall, and have had really good luck. They tend to be a bit less money, though come in at a ton of price points. They are specifically built for subwoofers, which is a huge plus.

https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-spa500-500w-subwoofer-plate-amplifier--300-807

No, they aren't always listed as 3ohm stable, but if you have additional power in the amp, it is unlikely you will run into any issues.
right, but it's single channel amp. OP says subs. pro amps we discussed above, a single unit would power two subs
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Yes, this sub system appears to be a two-sub package (each with dual drivers), assuming the whole thing was installed and left behind....
 
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