subwoofer to receiver HELP!

[shan777p]

Ok i got the vsx818v-k receiver from pioneer...the receivers got sub pre out....but the problem is my subwoofer (which came with my dvd player in HTIB) has only left and right (red and black) speaker wire connection...just one left and one right.

Now i had a solution, but not sure if this would work and if someone out there knows, i would love to get your view on it.

I plan to take a rca y adapter and connect the single male side to the preout on the receiver....then connect the two male sides to the red and white audio in rca connection on the dvd player (to act as my amp)...then connect my subwoofer to the speaker wire connection on the dvd player (the sub came with the dvd player).

So i am basically using that dvd player as the amplifier for the sub....i know this is a crazy workaround, but i cant afford to dish out 400 bucks on a sub right now. I dont really wanna spend 150 bucks on a cheap one...rather save the money and buy a good sub later.

So the big question...WILL THIS WORK? What are your opinion?

Thanks

Shan

 

[agarwalro]

Hi Shan,

Welcome to AH!

No reason why it will not work. You will need to be careful with the calibration, that is, phase, level matching and crossovers, thats all.

If the DVD player has a crossover control, turn it off or put it at the max setting to effectively take it out of the chain. Use the receiver crossover control as you would for any other sub.

Crank up the DVD player's volume to max and do the level matching via the receiver. This way, you can use the DVD control as the pre-mix. At full volume, you are calibrated, turn the voluem down for night time listening or when you just dont want the bass .

The only tricky piece will be the phase since the added DVD player is bound to introdue additional delay in the signal. This can be controled either from the receiver or the DVD player (if it has this trim) to get the same net effect of having the sub's woofer move in synch with the main speakers.

 

[shan777p]

Hi thanks for the support! I connected it..it works..but your right..there is a slight delay in the sub. You say play with the phase control? Is there a certain setting i should try? Thank you!

Shan

 

[agarwalro]

Speaker distance is the setting that controls the phase. In the receiver you will need to make the sub's distance slightly less than the mains to compensate for the additional delay introduced by the DVD player.

Incrementally reduce the distance for the sub setting till you feel that there is a good match between the mains and the sub.

 

[shan777p]

so i set everything up sub works...i get good base when i am watching movies...but like playing ps3 or watching tv the base is very little...any ideas? like i maxed the volume on the dvd player and still nothing...i dont get that thump..i know the sub can thump..but not getting it with this connection

 

[agarwalro]

If it "thumps" on one source, it should "thump" for all . So, if it works for movies, no reason why it should not work for the others. How do you have these connected when compated to watching movies?

PS3 games have plenty of low end. Are you using a different source for movies? If so, try playing the movie on the PS3. It should sound pretty much the same.

TV is an odd one though. Most channels (even some HD ones) don't send full range audio and the lower frequencies are cut pretty high. I have had times when my sub would not do the auto-on for the TV and I suspected something was wrong, until I realized, it did not turn on because the channel had no audio below the crossover . MTV HD/ Palladia has good low end signal. Try this channel to see if you get the "thunk".

 

[lsiberian]

I wanted to explain this setup to you a bit more. An FYI if you will

What you have is a passive subwoofer.

You need some type of amp to run power to the sub for you. since few receivers have a spot for subwoofers.

The ideal solution for these is an external amp. Thankfully you made us proud in the tech world by rigging it up with your dvd player! I gotta hand it to you for that.

Now about that 400 dollar subwoofer. Does Santa ever visit your house?

 

[agarwalro]

Thankfully you made us proud in the tech world by rigging it up with your dvd player! I gotta hand it to you for that.

From what I gather, the OP has a integrated HTIB deal... he using the DVD player+amp combo from that setup.