Help with Setup

[punkcitykid]

I just received my Onkyo TX-SR608 receiver, Infinity p362 speakers (pair), and Bic V1020 sub.

I am a total noob, so please bear with me. I wired up the p362's to the receiver, but noticed the sub also has inputs for speakers. Should I run the speakers through the sub then to the receiver?

Also, what kind of cable should I use to connect the sub to the receiver? I have 14AWG speaker wire, but the pre-out sub input on the receiver looks like I need a banana plug or different kind of connector. Should I be connecting the sub to another spot on the receiver? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[sholling]

Run the speakers directly from the receiver. 14ga wire will be fine for that. Run the subwoofer off the subwoofer out jack on the receiver. For that you'll need a subwoofer cable. That's a coax cable with RCA connectors. Usually you only need to attach it to one of the sub's two low level inputs, however occasionally you find a sub that get's stubborn about switching from standby to on if you only use one input. If that happens you can buy a Y adapter for about $4 that will adapt the single subwoofer cable to connect to both inputs. Just be sure that all of the subwoofer cables are shielded (i.e. coax).

After you get it connected up run the Audyssey setup to get close to the correct balance. Then use a tape measure to fine tune distances. Finally use a cheap analog radio shack SPL meter and the receiver's setup tones to fine tune the level settings. The rat shack meters read 6-8db low at 20hz so plan on boosting the sub's volume level by about that much higher than the reading for the mains and then fine tune by ear.