New to Home Theater - Adding Speakers ????

[FitForever]

I have just connected 2 Polk R15's as presence speakers to my Yamaha HTR5890. I already have connected 6 M&K speakers (sub, center, surrounds, r&L). It sounds really good but I have another set of floor speakers and subwoofer that were given to me last week.

I was told I could create a Y connection that would run from the same subwoofer connectuion cable to run a second sub. I wonder if the bass will be to loud or the vibratuion to much. Has anyone had any experience using 2 subs.

I was also wondering about connecting 2 Polk R50's to my Yamaha. Their are connections for a second set of (B) of floor speakers.

If I add these 3 additional speakers to the 8 I already have my house should rock. I have my system setup in my big (25x25) living room.

 

[Privateer]

More speakers does not mean better sound, I would go for quality over quantity. You should first try to set up a proper HT first before adding speakers just because you can.

 

[mulester7]

More speakers does not mean better sound, I would go for quality over quantity. You should first try to set up a proper HT first before adding speakers just because you can.

.....Privateer, you speak as a more seasoned player, and I agree, but remember back to a time when you just got in the thick middle of things and experimented in an attempt to learn and have fun.....

.....Fitforever, go ahead and have a ball trying different things....sure, two subs can be a very good thing....the volume with 2 can be backed off and the overall effect will be more supporting fullness....Y the signal to both subs and see what you get....I would suggest the front corners for placement.....

.....this is a hobby, guys, which to me says a lot of hands-on experimentation, tweaking, and simply general involvement....and welcome to Audioholics.com, Fitforever......

 

[Snap]

heck ya try it. get the y cable. Set it up and recalibrate your system using both subs. A little more effort will be needed to make sure that they are balanced with the rest of the system. But like it was said in the above post..this is half the fun. Trying new things!

Just take your time and test all your listening spots to make sure that the 2 subs are not killing one section of listening areas. Lots of HT's have to SUBS.

 

[FitForever]

Thanks for the encouragement on trying to add additional speakers. I currently have a 6 foot Monster Sub cable to sub #1. I need a Y cable to connect sub #2 and would like to souce this product in the internet. Any suggestions on a good internet site. I will have these subs 15 ft apart on the floor so I need something long.

 

[majorloser]

Multiple powered subs can give you what seems to be a more "balanced?" bass response in the room. You will have to calibrate after adding any addition to the sound system. As you add more of any type of driver will add more sound. Recalibrating will help you balance this addition.

I have three 12" powered subs in my room. Yeah, I know it's overkill! I calibrated each sub separately to even them out and then calibrate them together adjusting the signal output from the processor the right level for the room. I'm no expert by ANY means, but I have noticed that since I added mulitiple subs the bass response seem more even in the room and there is less strain on the subs when a movie gets real "bassy".

Hey, have fun! If you really want to blow somebody's socks off that's never been in a home theater, crank the subs up and demo a movie with lots of BOOM!!!! There are quite a lot of DTS soundtracks that will impress.

That way you get somebody else hooked and help them blow their money (right Brian?).

 

[FitForever]

Calibrate?? Thanks for the info but my computer knowledge is not helping me at all setting up my HT Spraeker system. Many terms are greek to me right now but I want to study and learn quickly. I have a Yamaha HTR5890 AVR and have read the book many times this past week learning someting new each time. I have been using the small mic and Yamaha's auto setup but to calibrate I need to do more. Any links to learning about audio setups is appreciated.

 

[majorloser]

There is some REALLY good info on the Audioholics "System Set-up" pages that will help out. Maybe way more info than you want. They'll help you work out placement and explain calibration. It's a real "hands on" thing and a good way to learn about your system. As you'll find out, frequencies below 80 Hz are non-directional, but speaker placement (like corners) act as bass enhancement. This can create that "hot spot" effect I was talking about if one sub is in the corner and the other is not.

The main thing you will need to get started is a fairly cheap SPL meter. You can get an analog meter from Radio Shack for about $40. The other thing you need is a DVD or test signal source. There are plenty of good calibration DVD's available for your whole system that can walk you through the whole thing, including video, ie: Digital Video Essentials or Avia: Guide to Home Theater. There is also a fairly simple audio calibration track on any THX Optimized DVD.

Your receiver has an automatic system for calibration, but this will not equalize the individual levels of multiple powered subwoofer, only the line level they are receiving. Multiple powered subwoofers requires a little more playing since you have speakers receiving the same signal that needs to be evened out.

ALRIGHT, THE REST OF YOU GUYS NEED TO PUT IN YOUR TWO CENTS AND GIVE THIS GUY A LITTLE INPUT ABOUT MULTIPLE SUBWOOFERS

 

[jcPanny]

Yamaha B speaker connections

The Yamaha B speaker connections use the same Amp as the A speaker connections. They are designed to be used to power speakers in a remote zone or to select a different type of speaker for your fronts (A or B).
According to the manual, to run both sets of fronts at the same time (A and B) the impedence must be >= 16 ohms. I am confident that your Polks are <= 8 ohms.

 

[majorloser]

The Yamaha B speaker connections use the same Amp as the A speaker connections. They are designed to be used to power speakers in a remote zone or to select a different type of speaker for your fronts (A or B).
According to the manual, to run both sets of fronts at the same time (A and B) the impedence must be >= 16 ohms. I am confident that your Polks are <= 8 ohms.

WOW, that's wierd! That means Yamaha runs the speakers in parallel, dividing the current between them (Two 16 ohm speakers in parallel would still be the same 8 ohm load). Usually receivers run the "B" set in series which adds the loads together. THAT SUCKS

 

[FitForever]

I received a Y RCA cable, a 25 foot sub cable and a 12" Dakoda Sub from Parts Express tis week and now have 2 subs in the 2 front corners of my large living room (25x25). The music CD's, DVD's and HBO's HD Comcast audio all sound awsome and very loud. For only a $183 (cables and sub) investment I have made a big improvement in my HT system. I am now considering spending another $183 to add one more sub behind our listening couch. Do I hook this 3rd sub using another Y cable connected to one of the existing Y cables.

I also have an extra Denon AVR2600 and 2 Polk r50's all in my garage. I was wondering if I could use the right and left preamp out's on my Yamaha HTR5x90 to drive these 2 Polks using the Denon. This way I would not be over loading the Yamaha to run both the A and B channels.