Need help with 6.1 hookup

[weapuh]

I've replaced "Http" with "hxxp", I couldn't find anything I could post 5 useful posts in. Didn't want to be the guy that goes "LOL" "So cool" for posts, sorry for inconvenience.

Hi, I've had a sound system lying in my (very small) apartment in boxes for years, now that I've moved into a larger apartment I'd really like to set it up. I'll try and give as much detail as possible to not make helping me a chore.

The things I've had in boxes are:

Yamaha RX-V450 receiver

Acoustic Research 5.1 system (Manual)
(hxxp://audiovox2.info/docs/common/HC4/HC4_OM.pdf)

2 decent loudspeakers
______________________

What I want to do is set up a 6.1 system (max of my receiver) using the 2 loudspeakers (6 ohms) as front speakers, and set up the satellites (8 ohms) in standard 6.1.

Firstly I'm pretty sure my receiver has a setting for this difference in impedance

(from manual) hxxp://img824.imageshack.us/img824/3917/impedancel.jpg

Where the real problem arises is from my subwoofer. This is the back of my subwoofer,
hxxp://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9359/img20111107015230.jpg

and this is kind of where I am confused. It's a powered subwoofer and I'm not exactly why there are inputs and outputs (other than just for the subwoofer). Does this mean I can plug my front speakers into the subwoofer through "Speaker level in" and then to my receiver through "line-out." Do i just plug in my subwoofer via the "line-out" and plug front speakers directly into the receiver? Why is there a L/R out but receiver only has 1 "Line-in"

Yamaha receiver backpanel:

hxxp://img710.imageshack.us/img710/3515/img20111107015441.jpg

Thanks so much for any help you can offer.

~Matt

 

[markw]

Didn't these things come with manuals?

You really should read them.

I didn't follow your links but your manuals should clear up your issues.

As for the subwoofer question, simply feed the subwoofer output on the receiver to one of the line-level inputs on the subwoofer. No speakers are hooked up to the sub. They are all connected to the receiver.

Any more wuestions can be answerd in your manuals.

 

[weapuh]

I did read the manuals, I even link to one, and I didn't find them clear enough. If it were as simple as one output to one input I wouldn't be here.

 

[markw]

I did read the manuals, I even link to one, and I didn't find them clear enough. If it were as simple as one output to one input I wouldn't be here.

It is. Look at the pretty pictures.

 

[Adam]

Welcome to the forum, Matt!

To address your questions:
1. Don't worry about the impedance difference. The usual recommendation is not to use the impedance switch on a receiver. Those just limit the max current, but as long as your receiver doesn't overheat and go into protection mode, you don't need to worry about it.

2. The subwoofer has various inputs to allow for flexibility of connections. It won't, however, power any of your other speakers. I'm happy to answer any questions that you have about those connections, but here's the short of it - connect the RCA subwoofer output jack on your receiver to the LINE IN on the subwoofer. The manual for the sub might say if you connect a mono input to one or the other of the left/right jacks. If it doesn't, you could use an inexpensive RCA y-splitter to connect the receiver's sub output to both the left/right inputs on the sub. Connect the speakers to the speaker outputs on the receiver.

 

[weapuh]

Thanks for the actual help Adam, so I should leave the impedance switch on the 8 ohm setting regardless of the 6 ohm speakers?

 

[Adam]

Happy to help if I can!

Yes, based on what I've read on Audioholics, I recommend leaving the impedance set to 8 ohms. If you run into an issue where the receiver goes into protection mode, then you'll want to reconsider that, but I doubt that you have an issue with 6 ohm speakers.