Setting up 4 subs with Anthem MRX 1140

[TooManyDaves]

Hi. I’m new here and hoping for some guidance! I have a dedicated theater room (apx. 19x20x8). Anthem MRX1140, B&W 703 S3 L/R, B&W HTM 71 S3 cc, 4 in-ceiling Paradigm Atmos speakers, Paradigm surround and side speakers, and 2 PARADIGM SERVO 15 SUBS. Epson LS12000 projector and 133” Stewart HALR+ 2.40 screen. I‘d like to add two additional Paradigm Servo 15 subs.

The pundits extol the virtues of four subs.

Question: I’m using Anthem ARC Genesis for room calibration. I have two subs. The MRX 1140 has two independent sub outputs. Easy, peasy. How do I integrate the additional two subs into the system (for a total of 4 subs)?

I’ve been looking at Mini DSP but am overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information out there. Not even sure this is the right solution. Would ARC Genesis conflict with the MiniDSP correction? Would I still use the independent sub outputs on the MRX1140? Some posts suggest simply using Y-connectors on the RCA sub outs; that doesn‘t seem to make sense to me.

Your learned advice is most appreciated!

 

[dolynick]

If you want to use LFE (as you should in a home theatre setup), RCA y-splitters are pretty much the choice. You'll have to tune them as two paired sets. You'll probably want to do the splits to pairs that make logical sense (IE, the two at the front as one pair, and the two at the back/sides as another for example) based on how you have them positioned. If you happen to be stacking, I would treat each stack as one sub for the purposes of wiring.

I suppose you could try passing the full 7.1/Atmos/DTS-X signal via an extra HDMI output to another external processor that supports 4 independent subs and has it's own built in room correction/tuning system. But that seems like it might get a bit complicated and messy. I see no point in doing this either if you the external device doesn't support a decent room correction system - as room correction is really the only reason you'd want them fully independent anyways.

Edit:
A third option would be to put a simple miniDSP type device in-line on the LFE channel after the y-split and do independent correction on each of the miniDSPs. So split the two 1140 outputs and each of the four split lines into its own miniDSP then out to the respective sub. You'd skip room correction on the subs in the 1140 and do it via individual setup/programming in each miniDSP. Still a lot of extra work but a better (less prone to issues) solution than the HDMI pass I think.

Personally I would just live with the split into two independent LFE channels on the 1140 or move to another processor/receiver that supports 4 independant LFE channels if I really couldn't live with the 2 channel split. I currently have 3 subs in my HT with the two at the front corners running as one and I think it's fine.

 

[lovinthehd]

The basic concept would be to do the two pairs of subs and within each pair make them equal distances from your seat. Unless you want to change/add some electronics....