subwoofer connection question

[adam mcd]

the subwoofer im looking at has only RCA inputs and outputs (one pair of inputs, one pair of outputs). how would i connect the sub to line level? the receiver im getting has preouts but is that all i would plug the sub into, with front speakers wired to front terminals on receiver? the outputs, if needed to be connected, how would i connect those? to the front RCA inputs in the receiver? or would i need some sort of converter? any help would be appreciated. its an amazing sub and it would blend in nice with my fronts, and i dont want to connect the sub with the LFE preout.

pic of receiver

[Luvin Da Blues]

the subwoofer im looking at has only RCA inputs and outputs (one pair of inputs, one pair of outputs). how would i connect the sub to line level? the receiver im getting has preouts but is that all i would plug the sub into, with front speakers wired to front terminals on receiver? the outputs, if needed to be connected, how would i connect those? to the front RCA inputs in the receiver? or would i need some sort of converter? any help would be appreciated. its an amazing sub and it would blend in nice with my fronts, and i dont want to connect the sub with the LFE preout.

pic of receiver

Just use the L&R RCA preouts. The outputs on the sub is to feed other subs if you have them. I don't know why you wouldn't use the LFE tho.

[markw]

The outputs on the sub is to feed other subs if you have them.

Depending on the sub, these sometimes send a "filtered " signal to the power amp. My Velo operates this way.

Unless his unit has power amp inputs, and it doesn't look like it does, he won't be able to avail himelf of this feature.

I don't know why you wouldn't use the LFE tho.

Amen, brother!

[Luvin Da Blues]

Depending on the sub, these sometimes send a "filtered " signal to the power amp. My Velo operates this way.

Unless his unit has power amp inputs, and it doesn't look like it does, he won't be able to avail himelf of this feature.

Amen, brother!

Thanks markw...learning sumtin every day.

[GMichael]

The pre-out just below the center should be the one for the sub. Looks pink or purple in the picture.
I can't read it, (too small) but that's where is usually is.

[markw]

The pre-out just below the center should be the one for the sub. Looks pink or purple in the picture.
I can't read it, (too small) but that's where is usually is.

...but OP said he didn't want to use this. We don't know why, either. It would make his life easier.

[GMichael]

...but OP said he didn't want to use this. We don't know why, either. It would make his life easier.

Whoops. I read that and it just kinda slipped out of my head.

[musicman1999]

Those outputs on the sub are for chaining together a second sub if your reciever only has one sub out.Do not connect that to anything but another sub.The problem with not using the sub -out is that you will lose your LFE(the .1 in 5.1)from movie soundtracks.That is the best way to hook the sub up.What kind of sub is it?

bill

[markw]

Whoops. I read that and it just kinda slipped out of my head.

Get used to it. The older you get, the more it happens.

( edit... Now I know why I don't use smileys on this site...)

[GMichael]

Get used to it. The older you get, the more it happens.

( edit... Now I know why I don't use smileys on this site...)

The more what happens?

[markw]

Those outputs on the sub are for chaining together a second sub if your reciever only has one sub out.Do not connect that to anything but another sub.The problem with not using the sub -out is that you will lose your LFE(the .1 in 5.1)from movie soundtracks.That is the best way to hook the sub up.What kind of sub is it?

bill

Never assume . Particularly that every piece of gear is designed like that you are familiar with.

My sub has two RCA inputs and two RCA outputs. The outputs are for passing the filtered signal to a power amp. They are NOT for daisy cahining another sub. If I were to do that, the second sub would not be receiving any low bass.

Owing to the fact that they could be either, I suggest OP read his manual to determine exactly what that second set of "output" jacks does, But, I've seen more sub outputs that are designed to work like mine than for daisy-chaining.

But, if he's not using then it's a moot point.

You do bring up a good point about the LFE, though.

[E-Stat]

i dont want to connect the sub with the LFE preout.

Why not? That is exactly what it is for. I appreciate the fact that your receiver likely has a switchable frequency low pass filter on the LFE channel. With my layout, I run the subs from those jacks (my NAD receiver has two) with the cut off frequency set high - 200 hz - and use a third octave EQ on the subs to flatten the response caused by the room nodes.

rw

[adam mcd]

because im 95% music, and this is the best way to get the most bass out of your fronts and blend the sub in, with line level. sure i could let the receiver try to set crossover points and have it conflict with the speakers/sub but id rather not.

and i wont lose bass from my movies, all i do is set the fronts to large/full, and all of the bass from center, .1, surrounds, etc will go to the fronts since they are set to take in the full/large range. i hooked it up and it sounds amazing.

thanks for the help, tho

oh, its the kef psw2150, 10'' 250w powered sub. smooth, deep, and clear.

[E-Stat]

because im 95% music, and this is the best way to get the most bass out of your fronts and blend the sub in, with line level. sure i could let the receiver try to set crossover points and have it conflict with the speakers/sub but id rather not.

Not sure what you mean by "conflict" - the fact that I am choosing to limit the low end sent to my mains is a separate question. Why send a three octave sub the full range signal? The LFE channel is a high pass filtered line out.

rw

[markw]

I had two runs from the preamp, both full range.

One to the power amp that drove the maggies full range. The maggies were polite enough to simply ignore anything below their low range.

The other run went to the sub where I used it's internal crossover as a low-pass filter starting about 50 hz.

That way, the sub picked up where the maggies petered out. Smooth, seamless and glorious.

[E-Stat]

That way, the sub picked up where the maggies petered out. Smooth, seamless and glorious.

Presumably, your preamp did not have an LFE out so your approach was pretty much required, right? With my NAD receiver, setting the mains to large sends them the full range signal like you chose with your Maggies. So, now we're down to which output jack to send to the sub(s). Presumably, it (they) will be operating only in the bottom two or three octaves. I guess I'm not understanding why using the receiver's LFE output is less desirable than going to the effort of using additional Y adapters to split the main output. If you want the sub's internal crossover to ultimately set the final cutoff, then simply set the LFE crossover higher.

rw

[canuckle]

because im 95% music, and this is the best way to get the most bass out of your fronts and blend the sub in, with line level. sure i could let the receiver try to set crossover points and have it conflict with the speakers/sub but id rather not.

That's actually the worst way to do it. Now you have no control over crossovers, you're feeding in a full-range signal to a speaker that is only distorted by it, and you've lost all of your LFE information. You're also forcing your mains to do more work than they need to and thereby limiting their ability to provide a nicer midrange.

and i wont lose bass from my movies, all i do is set the fronts to large/full, and all of the bass from center, .1, surrounds, etc will go to the fronts since they are set to take in the full/large range. i hooked it up and it sounds amazing.

Yes, you will lose the bass. LFE does not reroute to the large speakers in the absence of a sub on account of the +10dB allowances that the channel provides... it would not be healthy for a normal speaker.

As everyone has told you, the best option is to connect the sub to the receiver via the subwoofer pre-out.