Subwoofer connection question

Shaun Graham · 07-19-2003, 09:04 PM

I was wondering if it is possible or feasible or both to connect a new subwoofer with only a subwoofer cable connection to an older reciever without a dedicated subwoofer connection; it only has inputs for 2 fronts, a center, and 2 surrounds. I've read something about connecting the subwoofer in parallel to one of the speaker connections but this sounds a bit fishy... Any help is, as always, greatly appreciated.

RickMo · 07-19-2003, 10:04 PM

Yes, Shaun, it's feasible. From your post, it sounds like your receiver has no LFE or SUB out ... very similar to my original setup using an old Sony ProLogic receiver. Not a problem. From the receiver, run a pair of wires from the front L/R outputs to the sub's L/R input. Then from the sub, run wires from the L/R outputs to the Mains. Basically, you're putting the sub "in-between" the receiver's output and your mains. (Connecting in this fashion is NOT a parallel connection.)

Shaun Graham · 07-20-2003, 03:13 PM

That would work...except the sub doesn't have L/R inputs; it only has a single subwoofer cable connection, one that would be connected by an RCA male to male cable. Is there another option?

RickMo · 07-20-2003, 04:17 PM

Ooops. Ahhh ... You maybe able to connect the sub via the receiver's "tape out" or "tape record" line out RCA jack. The output will be unaffected by the receiver's volume control, so you would have to use the sub's volume control. The problem I see with this method is that the info going to the sub will be "full-spectrummed" (not just the bass/low freq. but everything). There maybe other forum members who have tried this -- successfully or unsuccessfully -- who can comment on this solution.

Wayne A. Pflughaupt · 07-21-2003, 02:13 PM

I think at Radio Shack you can find a gizmo that converts speaker level to a line-level signal – probably in the car audio section. The only thing is that your old receiver will have much more power than a car head unit, so you will probably have to keep the sub’s input level pretty low.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

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