Where do I hook this sub up??

[boomboomshakeshake]

I have a SONY STR-DE605 receiver
Subwoofer: Sunfire SDS8

I purchased this sub over a year ago and finally brought it to my house to try and hook it up- only I have no idea how/where this is supposed to go in the unit I have, which is quite old. But still... they had CD players so I imagine they had subwoofers!! er not??

It didn't come with any cords other than the power plug. Disappointed to not be able to try this out finally.

My bf has been hounding me to upgrade to small Bose speakers and says I don't need a component stereo and ginormous speakers anymore to have the same, or better, sound. He says the technology has advanced so much that my type of set up is outdated. I don't agree, but that is a different matter. I still don't believe even a great pair of tiny bookshelf speakers can give me the same sound and power and bass that big ones can. I like disco, edm, etc. When I listen to music (crappy thumpy bumpy as he refers to it as) and I really need my sound system to work for me is when I want a night club experience in my room. My speakers ARE old and very worn out and the sound suffers for sure, but I was excited to hear the difference with a subwoofer as opposed to putting all the pressure on them to do it all.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Having a hard time reading the back. What is the model number?

1, you are correct!
2, your BF is mental. Maybe you should upgrade him!!! Lol

 

[boomboomshakeshake]

Having a hard time reading the back. What is the model number?

1, you are correct!
2, your BF is mental. Maybe you should upgrade him!!! Lol

Hahaha He is not into music the way I am- he hates loud stuff. A friend of ours was busting his chops once about how he likes his "pop pop music" and turns my music down when my back is turned lol. This from a guy who used to go to CBGB back in the day.... figures.

Anyway! I added model number above... is that the right number you need?

I have a SONY STR-DE605 receiver
Subwoofer: Sunfire SDS8

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

So from I could find, you’ll connect the “mix out” on the AVR to the right input on the subwoofer. Then you’ll have to use the controls on the sub to set the output level and low pass, since the Sony has no bass management. A modern receiver would connect using the left/lfe input and you’d then use the AVR’s bass management to to set the crossover(which is pretty much a low pass filter too), distance and auto eq etc.
That should get you rolling. Sorry about mr wonderful… I’m sure he has other good qualities lol!!!

 

[boomboomshakeshake]

So from I could find, you’ll connect the “mix out” on the AVR to the right input on the subwoofer. Then you’ll have to use the controls on the sub to set the output level and low pass, since the Sony has no bass management. A modern receiver would connect using the left/lfe input and you’d then use the AVR’s bass management to to set the crossover(which is pretty much a low pass filter too), distance and auto eq etc.
That should get you rolling. Sorry about mr wonderful… I’m sure he has other good qualities lol!!!

Thanks!!!!

What kind of cord should I get for this... I was thinking at first I would need some sort of line level converter or something that connects to speaker jacks with speaker wire type end sort of thing but so I just need a cord then? I could probably find one in the garage maybe depending on what I need.

 

[j_garcia]

Bose is not an "upgrade" from even an average home speaker and I guess your BF is not up to date as he might think. Not only are they not making those tiny crap home speakers anymore, they were never good for music to begin with. Guessing you didn't choose him for his audio gear knowledge

Mix out looks to be your only option, though since the sub does not have speaker level inputs and the receiver doesn't have an actual sub preamp output.

Standard RCA cable that you can get anywhere if you don't have one laying around. The cable used for the CD player is the same thing, if you have one of those.

Amazon.com

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Thanks!!!!

What kind of cord should I get for this... I was thinking at first I would need some sort of line level converter or something that connects to speaker jacks with speaker wire type end sort of thing but so I just need a cord then? I could probably find one in the garage maybe depending on what I need.

Just any old rca cable will do. If you’re anything like the rest of us you’ll probably have a few cables laying around.

 

[Trebdp83]

Yeah, while labeled MIX OUT, the port is meant for an active woofer(powered sub.)

 

[boomboomshakeshake]

Bose is not an "upgrade" from even an average home speaker and I guess your BF is not up to date as he might think. Not only are they not making those tiny crap home speakers anymore, they were never good for music to begin with. Guessing you didn't choose him for his audio gear knowledge

Mix out looks to be your only option, though since the sub does not have speaker level inputs and the receiver doesn't have an actual sub preamp output.

Standard RCA cable that you can get anywhere if you don't have one laying around. The cable used for the CD player is the same thing, if you have one of those.

Amazon.com

LOL Maybe back in his day... his domain is in cybersecurity and that sort of technology now so I just smile. I don't know poop about this stuff--- I WISH I did! But I am not minded for this type of stuff, I am more visual and so things like electrical and audio...I don't have a leg to stand on to argue back with him even slightly educated enough on the matter to have any real useful input to the argument that might convince him otherwise. So.... I will just do what I do and ignore him haha

Thanks for the help! Am going to go look for a cord now.

 

[j_garcia]

Yeah, while labeled MIX OUT, the port is meant for an active woofer(powered sub.)
View attachment 63375

My only question is, is that mix out volume controlled across all inputs? This was from the early prologic days when subs were not quite common yet and that output could be used by a variety of devices. Guessing it will be.

 

[Trebdp83]

That is an older analog receiver with no bass management. I believe the pre out is volume controlled and is just summing the signal which is full range with no means of applying a crossover. So, manual adjustments must be made on the sub for low pass. Without digital ports supporting multichannel signals, there will be no digital processing other than limited Pro Logic processing.

 

[Eppie]

The only thing I would add as that when one of the inputs on the subwoofer is labeled LFE, then you use that connection if using a single cord (Left input in this case). Either will usually work, though, as the L+R will be bridged for mono. It's a high impedance connection so you can also use a stereo cable with a Y-splitter at the receiver.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

The only thing I would add as that when one of the inputs on the subwoofer is labeled LFE, then you use that connection if using a single cord (Left input in this case). Either will usually work, though, as the L+R will be bridged for mono. It's a high impedance connection so you can also use a stereo cable with a Y-splitter at the receiver.

Actually I mentioned above to use the right input. The LFE/right input will bypass the subs internal XO/low pass. So definitely not the case that either will work since she’ll need to use the subs low pass.

 

[lovinthehd]

Wonder if we can give you some bose ammo for a retort to the beau.....only one coming to mind is no highs no lows, must be bose! I know I've seen some others....

You might like to look over this basic article, too https://www.audioholics.com/subwoofer-setup/basic-subwoofer-setup

 

[Eppie]

Actually I mentioned above to use the right input. The LFE/right input will bypass the subs internal XO/low pass. So definitely not the case that either will work since she’ll need to use the subs low pass.

Interesting. I've never come across any material that states that a particular input bypasses the XO/low pass filter but some forums state that some models do. The crossover dial is simply turned all the way up to bypass the filter on most. The Sunfire manual is pretty useless. It doesn't even show or describe how to connect it. The brochure describes the inputs as right and left and "dedicated LFE", so you could be right.

 

[lovinthehd]

Interesting. I've never come across any material that states that a particular input bypasses the XO/low pass filter but some forums state that some models do. The crossover dial is simply turned all the way up to bypass the filter on most. The Sunfire manual is pretty useless. It doesn't even show or describe how to connect it. The brochure describes the inputs as right and left and "dedicated LFE", so you could be right.

FWIW I've run into subs that the "lfe" input does not turn off the low pass filter...I was just looking at the useless start up guide from Sunfire, too. In this case, with the avr not having bass management, to be cautious I'd do like William suggested, tho.

 

[Trebdp83]

When in doubt, hook it up as instructed so a failure cannot be blamed on the user.

 

[Trebdp83]

You know, while the receiver does have volume level functions for the surround and center channels, there is no such feature for the fronts or MIX OUT. I'd err on the side of caution and assume a full range signal is fixed and is always output to the fronts and sub. This could spell doom for the fronts if a boyfriend and or his buddies decide to test the limits of the sub and not realize the fronts will reach their limit before it and be blown because they are getting a full signal equal to that of the sub.

I'd set the sub gain at 50% to start and the crossover at 80Hz. I'd also lower the bass level on the receiver. If at 0, try -2 or even -3. This will take a bit of the heat off of the fronts and lessen any bloat or muddy sounding bass if present. If blend is not quite right, turn things down a bit on the sub, maybe 35% gain and 60Hz crossover. The goal is improved bass at lower and medium volume rather than thunderous bass at very high levels which will ruin the front speakers.

 

[boomboomshakeshake]

WOW thanks all for all the helpful and knowledgeable feedback on this post! Unfortunately I have NO idea what most of this discussion means because I am literally like not in the know at all. Willing to learn, of course, but with no background in this stuff it would take a lot of starting from the ground up.

I did experiment with plugging it in and got pretty crappy results even when trying to adjust the knobs on the sub itself. Again, I have no idea what each of them controls... the speakers themselves still sounded like crap and the sub almost sounded like it had too much power going through it, also.

I had plugged into the mix out and into the right one on the sub. Will need to take some more time to keep reading through these comments and learn what exactly I got and what I am doing. Either way it always sounds like too much power is going through my speakers. Stereo gets hot. Gets crackly and staticy and when the bass is too high.... uh.... I am sure there is a word for it but I don't what exactly it is... I can tell though. The best way I can describe is the bass getting out of control lol

Level 1 total beginner other than adjusting volume and bass.

 

[lovinthehd]

WOW thanks all for all the helpful and knowledgeable feedback on this post! Unfortunately I have NO idea what most of this discussion means because I am literally like not in the know at all. Willing to learn, of course, but with no background in this stuff it would take a lot of starting from the ground up.

I did experiment with plugging it in and got pretty crappy results even when trying to adjust the knobs on the sub itself. Again, I have no idea what each of them controls... the speakers themselves still sounded like crap and the sub almost sounded like it had too much power going through it, also.

I had plugged into the mix out and into the right one on the sub. Will need to take some more time to keep reading through these comments and learn what exactly I got and what I am doing. Either way it always sounds like too much power is going through my speakers. Stereo gets hot. Gets crackly and staticy and when the bass is too high.... uh.... I am sure there is a word for it but I don't what exactly it is... I can tell though. The best way I can describe is the bass getting out of control lol

Level 1 total beginner other than adjusting volume and bass.

Did you read the article on sub setup I linked earlier?

As far as the knobs on the sub go, I'd start with phase at 0 (but refer to the article too to test other settings)

The crossover in your case is just a low pass filter (to control how much frequency range your sub gets). and you basically want to find a balance between your speakers' low end capability and where you want the sub to blend in. What speakers are you using?

Setting levels for your speakers looks like you're limited to using the volume/gain adjustment on the sub to find a good balance of levels between your speakers and sub (at least it seems test tones and level adjustments do not include such for the sub from looking at the manual.....you can join up here and download the manual https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/sony/str-de605.shtml ). Perhaps an spl meter app on your phone might help.

As to the noises/heat, could be these components' old age, or simply playing too loud or somewhere in between....