Bare wire non-powered sub into a AVR-230?

[turkish621]

Ok, So I am starting my home theater. I picked up an HK AVR-230 and an ok set of free Samsung speakers. I know the speakers arn't that great, but neither is my budget. The problem that I have is that the sub is non powered and has just the clips for bare wire. How do I get this to work with my AVR-230? Thank you.

 

[MDS]

Speaker level (high level) hookup:
Left and right speaker wires from the L/R speaker terminals on the receiver to the sub and then from the sub to the main speakers.

There are also ways to connect an external amp to the sub and send it a line level signal from the receiver, but given you say your budget is limited, it would be better to just save up for a powered sub.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Speaker level (high level) hookup:
Left and right speaker wires from the L/R speaker terminals on the receiver to the sub and then from the sub to the main speakers.

There are also ways to connect an external amp to the sub and send it a line level signal from the receiver, but given you say your budget is limited, it would be better to just save up for a powered sub.

I don't think that sub has a crossover in it so your hookup will not work. The sub will get the full band.

 

[MDS]

I don't think that sub has a crossover in it so your hookup will not work. The sub will get the full band.

Previoulsy you said you were not Sylvia Brown but now you know the sub doesn't have a crossover even though the brand and model of the sub was not mentioned?

All subs have a xover - it may not be adjustable but it is certainly there, probably fixed at 100 Hz or so. Regardless, using the high level hookup is the only choice for a passive sub unless you go the external amp route (or other creative but undesirable hookups like wiring in parallel using the B speaker outputs).

 

[mtrycrafts]

Previoulsy you said you were not Sylvia Brown but now you know the sub doesn't have a crossover even though the brand and model of the sub was not mentioned?

I believe I said "I think" right?

All subs have a xover - it may not be adjustable but it is certainly there, probably fixed at 100 Hz or so. Regardless, using the high level hookup is the only choice for a passive sub unless you go the external amp route (or other creative but undesirable hookups like wiring in parallel using the B speaker outputs).

That is false, guaranteed. I know people who have passive subs that don't have crossovers. Passive subs usually don't have crossovers in them. Why would they??? Not a requirement, is it?
Modern powered subs do for just the reason stated above.

Besides, the way that was mentioned, wire to the sub and then to the mais will half your speaker impedance, guaranteed, and over load the amp.
His only choice is another amp with an sub/LFE out from his current component.

 

[MDS]

Mtrycrafts, you are way off base this time.

If the sub is truly a 'subwoofer' then it only plays low frequencies, correct? Then by definition it will have a xover to filter out frequencies above that it is designed to reproduce. That is no different than a tweeter having a xover to block frequencies below that which it is designed to reproduce. A passive sub is simply one without internal amplification - it has a xover guaranteed.

Second, the high-level hookup I described is a series hookup. The impedance WILL NOT be halved. That is the way subs were hooked up long before we had receivers with dedicated subwoofer pre-outs and powered subs. The impedance would be halved if you wired in parallel.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Mtry, Anon is correct. I have an older passive Design Acoustic sub. It only has line level inputs. It has a very large crossover and is a series hook up. I've had the speaker apart a few times and would be glad to post some photos if anyone cares to see them. These older passive subs are extremely efficient, and surprisingly don't need an external amp. I've hooked my DA to my 40 watt 2 channel Yamaha RX-330 stereo receiver in my audio room, then ran two very large 3-way 15" speakers off the passive DA. I have a separate eq to tailor the bass. The passive DA shakes the entire house.

 

[korgoth]

dont know about the passive hookup, but if you use an amp its easy.. you can get an old vintage 2 channel amp off ebay for 50 bucks. they work pretty well for simple stuff.