Subwoofer Hookup

The foam rubber on my old Phase Tech passive sub finally deteriorated after 10+ yrs. Needed to go with a powered one anyway due to wife's new config of room which is not conducive to lots of speaker wire running to and from sub since it has to be several feet away from rest of system and cabinet and I have a tile floor so no carpetto hide it all under. My receiver (Sherwood - yeah I know) has a pre-amp out (1 line) for a sub. Question is do I just hook this up to either the left or right RCA input on the sub? Do "newer" subs have a single input source (not L & R channels) that I need to look for in my new sub that I have yet to buy? I'm a little out of touch with the latest technology, though I used to be somewhat of an audiophile back when I had my Onkyo receiver and Magnepan MGIIa speakers which I sorely hated to part with (wife again - hey, good s&x is a little more important than sound - usually) Anyway I did get to replace them with the Phase Tech's which are very good though certainly NOT in the same league in my opinion. (Would loved to have had the MGIIa's with a nice sub!)

As long as I'm at it, any recs on an inexpensive powered sub (<$200)? Reading thru the reviews now and checking eBay which has been "berry, berry good to me" so far.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mhester

Question is do I just hook this up to either the left or right RCA input on the sub?

---

Yes you can do that or you can gain some extra output (some believe) by putting a "Y" splitter on the single sub output and running the line into both.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mhester

Do "newer" subs have a single input source (not L & R channels) that I need to look for in my new sub that I have yet to buy?

---

I don't understand this question. Most subs I've seen or worked with and that makes about 7 or so have left and right inputs. You can either do what I mentioned above or just use the red input.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mhester

I'm a little out of touch with the latest technology, though I used to be somewhat of an audiophile back when I had my Onkyo receiver and Magnepan MGIIa speakers which I sorely hated to part with (wife again - hey, good s&x is a little more important than sound - usually)

---

Absolute blasphemy!!!!! MUSIC WILL GET YOU THROUGH TIMES OF NO SEX, BETTER THAN SEX WILL GET YOU THROUGH TIMES OF NO MUSIC!!!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mhester

As long as I'm at it, any recs on an inexpensive powered sub (<$200)? Reading thru the reviews now and checking eBay which has been "berry, berry good to me" so far.

---

Ebay is schweet. Most good subs will not fall into that price range even used. You'll be able to find a used Polk or JBL in that price range but not a Rava, SVS or HSU. You're gonna have to up that price range a little.

Hope this helps...

Da Worfster

Thanks for the reply. I since found some good info on crutchfield's site. http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-...ss.html?page=3
Apparently the newer subs do have a single "LFE" input which bypasses the sub's crossover. This apparently is mainly a home theater thing that works with the A/V receiver for the ".1" of 5.1, 6.1 and now 7.1 sound. But it looks like even if the sub doesn't have the LFE input you can get around it by doing as you said.

Wish I could devote more $$ to a sub, but sitting around the house listening to music doesn't happen a whole lot any more. Most of that is happening in the car where I'm sinking some $ now. Looking at BIC's and Cerwin Vega's powered subs for the house. Not audiophile quality, but for around $200 they have to do for now, until kids are gone... Damn I miss those Magnepan's (and the time I used to spend listening to them)

As far as hook-ups, yep, some of the newer ones only have a single input. If you buy one with a dual input, you can either buy a "y" connector, or turn the gain up 3dB. They both accomplish the same thing, only the second is cheaper, and I like cheap.

$200 is a tough price point. I only know of one woofer in the range I could even get myself to recommend. That is the Yamaha. Can't recall the model, but it's now like a 215. The Cerwin or anything else you are likely to find will be "one note wonders" that will be mediocre for movies, and awful for music. Play some music on them before you choose. Something with a varying bass line. You will find most will only play one or two notes really well, the rest just seem to go away. There are a ton that even do that at $500. Crap, foisted on an ignorant public.

If you can find another $100, API (Energy, Mirage, Athena) have some good options, and again, the new $300 Yamaha is pretty impressive for the money. More output since it is a 10", but not as musical as some of the more expensive 8" offerings. Go forth and play.