Please help with connection of subwoofer!!

[misty123]

I bought an av receiver that does not have typical speaker hookup for sub. All other speaker connections are very typical but for subwoofer the receiver has a Pre Out and no other way to connect.

My sub is a cheapy with only standard speaker wires coming out the back of it. No rca-type purple plug or anything like that.

Is there some sort of adapter I can get to connect sub? If not--how horrible would it be to deal without having a sub temporarily (till I get a sub with a purple cord hanging off it)?

 

[Adam]

Welcome to the forum, misty!

First, it's not the end of the world to be without a sub.

Second, your description makes me think that your sub is not a powered sub (i.e. it doesn't have an internal amplifier). Before giving you more advice, I'd like to verify that. Do you know if it's a powered sub? If you don't know, does your sub have an on/off switch on it? Can you tell us the make and model of the sub?

Thanks.

Adam

 

[misty123]

*embarassed* It's actually the sub out of a home theater-in-a-box RCA brand Don't get me started on those box-jobs! Ech! I spent too much $ between receiver, dvd player & husband told me "Stop!" so I need to wait on speakers if I can

 

[Adam]

No need to be embarrassed! I figured that it came from a HTIB set-up.

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I'm going to assume that it is a passive sub - so, it's not powered. Your new receiver is set up to send a low level signal to a powered sub. The signal that gets sent over the cable that has the RCA-type plug doesn't have nearly enough power to produce sound in your sub. You would need to amplify that signal, either with an external amp or another receiver. So, yeah, it's almost certainly not worth it! However, if you already have an older receiver or an amp sitting around, let us know and we'll help you get that all set up.

Whenever you're ready to start shopping for a sub, come on back - we love to give our opinions of subs. Good luck with getting your system all built up the way that you want it - it sounds like you're off to a good start. I gotta say, it's unusual to hear that a husband is the one to put the breaks on a home theater set-up!

EDIT: BTW, as an example of running a passive sub using an older receiver, you can check out this thread that I started last year when I tried it out myself.

 

[misty123]

Correct, it's a non-powered sub. I don't have an old receiver or amp lying around. So...just for now, will it sound absolutley horrible if we listen to movies without the sub? At this point, I hate to redo everything & I haven't even hooked up everything to it yet!

Second question: will I need an amplifier or subwoofer? Or are those the same thing? Keep in mind all other speakers are cheapy HTIB. I can't afford a totally new speaker set up now.
Might talk husband into a sub, though if prices are reasonable. In the meantime, can we manage till I can order something?

 

[misty123]

Oh, and will using these cheapy speakers possibly damage the receiver? I posted a similar question about this on another thread but I get the feeling the dude is simply trying to get me to buy some massively impressive speaker set up thru their store

 

[Adam]

Correct, it's a non-powered sub. I don't have an old receiver or amp lying around. So...just for now, will it sound absolutley horrible if we listen to movies without the sub? At this point, I hate to redo everything & I haven't even hooked up everything to it yet!

Second question: will I need an amplifier or subwoofer? Or are those the same thing? Keep in mind all other speakers are cheapy HTIB. I can't afford a totally new speaker set up now.
Might talk husband into a sub, though if prices are reasonable. In the meantime, can we manage till I can order something?

Nah, it won't sound horrible. A subwoofer is a really nice addition, especially if you have smaller speakers, but it's not critical.

You'll need an amp and a subwoofer, but a lot of subwoofers come with built-in amps. That's why receivers these days come with those pre-amp outputs (RCA-type connectors) for a sub instead of sending a powered signal to one.

What size of a room do you have your system in? The bigger the room, the more capable of a sub you'll want. That said, there are some good ones out there in the $200 range.

Just curious, did your HTIB system have a receiver in it that you aren't using any more? If so, did it have any audio inputs (RCA-type connectors)? If so again, you could use it to power the sub.

Oh, and will using these cheapy speakers possibly damage the receiver? I posted a similar question about this on another thread but I get the feeling the dude is simply trying to get me to buy some massively impressive speaker set up thru their store

I seriously doubt that the speakers will hurt your new receiver. Just curious, which receiver did you get?

 

[misty123]

The room is probably about 10x12 or so.
The receiver I got is Onkyo 505
I also have a DVD player that I ordered on July 10th (circuit city) & still not here!

Can you recommend a brand of sub that is reasonably priced (less than $200)

 

[misty123]

Oh yeah, husband says he might be able to somehow put speaker wires from cheap subwoofer into an rca-style plug so we can plug it into Pre Out. Is that do-able?

 

[Midcow2]

need a power amp to drive passive sub from LFE

Oh yeah, husband says he might be able to somehow put speaker wires from cheap subwoofer into an rca-style plug so we can plug it into Pre Out. Is that do-able?

It won't work the subwoofer output is too low of level it is a pre-amplifier level because most subwoofers are power.

If you want to use you current passive sub ( not powered) you will need to buy an inexpensive amplifier, but even thay will cost at leats $100. You would connect the LFE(low frequenct effect) output to the amplifier and then the amplifier to the subwoofer

Here is an example at $104: http://www.amazon.com/AudioSource-Amp-100-2-Channel-Amplifier/dp/B00026BQJ6/ref=sr_1_2/103-8520845-3805423?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1216504920&sr=1-2

However, since the subwoofer is not powered, it is basically like any other speaker and you could connect it to one of your nomal speaker outputs on your Onkyo 505, example rear surround. the only negative here is that you will probably not be receiving the LFE ( low frequency) sounds.

 

[Adam]

Oh yeah, husband says he might be able to somehow put speaker wires from cheap subwoofer into an rca-style plug so we can plug it into Pre Out. Is that do-able?

Like Midcow2 said - no. Well, you can do it, but it won't play any audible sound. That's what I was trying to get at in my second post.

As for $200 subs, there are a few recommended around here. Hopefully the usual crowd will chime in here and give their recommendations. I'll do a quick search and see what I find. What I recall is a Dayton sub (I'll find the model number) and an X-ls sub (from av123.com).

This Velodyne is $101 at circuitcity.com (add it to your cart to see the price). Seems like a darn good price.

EDIT: Nice choice on the Onkyo, by the way.

 

[misty123]

I just finished plugging in everything minus the DVD player (arrrggg!!) But hey, I REALLY APPRECIATE everything thoroghly. I can't remember the last time someone was so helpful in this area. Gonna go try to hook up sub to rear connect (for now till I find something suitable) & get this puppy cranked up. Thank you again for all your help.

 

[Adam]

I just finished plugging in everything minus the DVD player (arrrggg!!) But hey, I REALLY APPRECIATE everything thoroghly. I can't remember the last time someone was so helpful in this area. Gonna go try to hook up sub to rear connect (for now till I find something suitable) & get this puppy cranked up. Thank you again for all your help.

Hey, we're here to help!

I do NOT recommend that you hook the sub up to the rear connection. That will only play sound when there is something being sent to that rear channel, and it will be full-range (not just in the low frequencies). I suspect that you will get very little benefit from doing that.

The Dayton sub that I was referring to is this one at Parts Express. I gotta say, I'm thinking more and more that you might want to go check out that Velodyne if Circuit City is close by.

 

[misty123]

I might consider that. I was at Circuit City earlier today & they didn't have anything under $150 in store. Then again, husband likes his explosions. Might be shopping around quite a bit.

 

[Midcow2]

Adam is right

Hey, we're here to help!

I do NOT recommend that you hook the sub up to the rear connection. That will only play sound when there is something being sent to that rear channel, and it will be full-range (not just in the low frequencies). I suspect that you will get very little benefit from doing that.

The Dayton sub that I was referring to is this one at Parts Express. I gotta say, I'm thinking more and more that you might want to go check out that Velodyne if Circuit City is close by.

you could hook up the sub to a rear speaker port but it probably wouldn't sound good. The sub is designed for low frequencies 250 Hz or less and if you hook up to rear it will try to play midrange and won't sound real good. I agree with Adam not to do it.

 

[Midcow2]

wait and save up for a good sub!

I might consider that. I was at Circuit City earlier today & they didn't have anything under $150 in store. Then again, husband likes his explosions. Might be shopping around quite a bit.

Please wait and save up for a good sub. My favorite barnd is SVS but their cheapest is $429
http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-box-10nsd.cfm

Hsu makes good subs also, and some are a little less expensive. $299
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-1.html

If you buy a cheap sub, it will sound like a cheap sub. Please save and buy a Hsu or SVS

 

[Adam]

Midcow2 makes an excellent suggestion. It's better to get what you want then to rush into it. SVS and Hsu get good reviews and are well liked around here. I have an SVS and am extremely happy with it - but my model costs $1400 and isn't in your current price range. That said, there are a number of brands out there that have happy customers.

One thing that I really like about Circuit City (as well as other stores) is that you can generally buy stuff there and, if you don't like it, return it without a restocking fee. Some things have that fee, but I don't think that subwoofers do (be sure to check, though!). If you try out that Velodyne, or a Polk, or an Infinity, or whatever - and you don't like it, then no worries. You just take it back. I know a number of people that are happy with their subs that didn't cost much. A friend of mine has a Polk that I think cost about $150, and I think that it sounds good in his system (and his family room is pretty large).

Have fun shopping! For a first sub (well, second for you, I'm guessing), you certainly don't need to get the best thing out there to really think that you got something special. Everything is relative. To go from no bass, or bass from a HTIB, to something decent is a nice change that should make you and your husband happy. You can always upgrade in the future if the desire hits you and you have the funds.