Blown Subwoofer input on receiver - is there any hope?

Caroline_B · 12-27-2003, 03:46 PM

I have lovingly put together our home theater system a few years ago. To make a long story short, my husband attached a troubled subwoofer to my beloved receiver. A loud pop is the last sound I have heard come from the subwoofer channel (the subwoofer was working fine previously). I am fairly positive, the channel was "blown". The receiver is an Onkyo TX-DS575X, definitely not state of the art at this time. We hooked up the subwoofer to speaker B, but when speaker B is turned on surround sound mode cannot be used. What to do? Is there any way to salvage the situation or should I start reading posts in preparation of the purchase of a new receiver (not a bad thing in my book - although the husband does not I understand my need for electronics). Sorry for the rambling - I am new, go easy on me.
THANK YOU.

Paul S · 12-27-2003, 06:43 PM

If you are using a powered subwoofer, you can feed it the signal from your headphone jack. It will work perfectly fine this way and has the advantage of turning up/down the volume of the subwoofer with your receiver master volume control. Simply plug a jack into the headphone jack and run it over to your subwoofer.

Caroline_B · 12-27-2003, 08:35 PM

I was thrilled with your solution. However, when I pulled out my Onkyo manual it said that "If you connect headphones, the unit will enter STEREO mode automatically, and no sound will be produced from the speakers. If you have selected MULTI CH INPUT, you will hear sound only from the FRONT L and R channels". That's similar to the problem I encountered when I hooked up the sub to Speakers B. I am still open to suggestions.
Thank You.

Michael Mohrmann · 12-27-2003, 09:04 PM

Caroline,

Are you certain that the subwoofer is still working properly? You could use the receiver's front L/R preamp outputs to the subwoofer as a test, unless you think this "troubled" subwoofer might short those outputs too.

Michael

Caroline_B · 12-27-2003, 09:22 PM

Michael,
The 'troubled' subwoofer is now allowed anywhere close to the receiver (it is slotted for the garbage). We purchased a new subwoofer and when plugged in the subwoofer input, it does not work. But the new sub works fine in Speaker B. Actually it is rumbling now as my husband and friend are watching Lord of the Rings (in stereo mode!)

**HTF Ads**

Paul S · 12-28-2003, 05:36 AM

Caroline, you might be able to run the full power from your receiver (via speaker cables) over to the sub and then run your speaker cables from the sub to your main speakers. Many subs accept full output from a receiver. Check the owners manual for the sub. You would most likely then set your receiver to play as if it had no sub attached so all frequencies reach your sub. Set crossover frequency on the sub somewhere around 80 or 90 hz. Hopefully your sub is designed to work in this manner.

Sorry the headhphone jack idea didn't work out. On my receiver it makes no difference to the rest of the system whether a jack is plugged into the head phone jack or not.

Jeff W. · 12-28-2003, 01:58 PM

Are you sure you have the subwoofer plugged into the right jack?

It should NOT be plugged into the "subwoofer" INPUT in the "multi channel input" block.

It should be plugged into the "subwoofer pre-out", just to the left of that.

Signal path:
Receiver (OUT) --> (IN) Subwoofer

You might have blown that channel if you did it backwards

In that case, you could try using speaker wires as above - just make sure you set your Front to "Large" and Subwoofer to "None".

You could also use one of the Tape outputs to feed the sub but that is less than ideal. Also make SURE you use the OUTPUT from the receiver to the INPUT on the subwoofer.

Caroline_B · 12-29-2003, 10:02 PM

Thank you everybody for you advice. I was able to get the subwoofer working by wiring it into the left and right front speakers on the receiver. I was actually able to watch a movie in surround mode with a working subwoofer. Life is good again. However, even though I told my husband there was not an immediate need to purchase a new receiver, I will be on the prowl for a deal on a new receiver.

Paul S · 12-30-2003, 05:32 AM

Glad to hear that your system is working again. If you are looking for a new receiver, the biggest bang for your buck would be the Panasonic SA-HE200 available at J&R Music for under $300.00, you might be able to find it cheaper elsewhere. You get 130 watts a channel times 6 and all the bells and whistles you could possibly want. Panasonic makes a very solid receiver and it will last you for years. I don't believe you could get more power or value for your dollar.