Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Hardware › Speakers and Subwoofers › how can i make my sub work?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

how can i make my sub work?

post #1 of 5
3/27/09 at 9:25am
Thread Starter 
Alright, so i probably did a stupid thing. A while back i bought a poorly represented subwoofer, a Behringer 1800X BEHRINGER: B1800X-PRO off ebay. Well i read a couple reviews, they seemed alright, and plus the sub was brand new, so i bought it. One review (which i cant find anymore) mentioned this guy had it hooked up to his home stereo. well stupid me, after reading that i bought it, i read up on it a bit more and it seems like a speaker pretty much exclusive to bands and stuff carrying crap around to gigs. I'd really like to use it in my house. it accepts speakon plugs only, which i have never used. I have a pretty modest stereo setup (which could justify an upgrade) consisting of some cerwin vega DX9's, and an Onkyo receiver (mid 90's era, pretty big). What is the cheapest way i could hook my "stupid big" subwoofer up to my stereo? Any help appreciated!
Reply
post #2 of 5
3/27/09 at 10:17am

Re: how can i make my sub work?

Try using a speakon (male) to banana plug (male) audio cable assuming your receiver accepts banna pugs for the subwoofer output. These are not uncommon and you should be able to find one at any reputable electronics outlet. Cost should be about ten to fiteeen dollars for a 6 foot cable.
Reply
post #3 of 5
3/27/09 at 12:13pm
Thread Starter 

Re: how can i make my sub work?

The sub is not powered, so will i have to buy an amp- then use the cable mentioned above? Should i be able to hook an amp up to my receiver? I dont think my receiver has a sub hookup.
Reply
post #4 of 5
3/27/09 at 3:00pm

Re: how can i make my sub work?

The sub you bought is not designed for HT and/or home music usage, (as you have mentioned) it is a PA or DJ type of passive sub. I am not saying it could not work in an HT/music setup but it is not ideal. The frequency range, box design, output range etc., is designed more for the intended as I mentioned above.

Yes, you will have to amplify this sub with a separate amp to get a kind of output worth the purchase. (you could try to drive it from the reciever but it WILL be dissapointing for various reasons)

Using it for "home stereo" could work but you will need an amp, line output from your reciever either as "sub out" or stereo out that you could input into the amp (most likely with adaptors as RCA to 1/4" jacks to the amp and then bridge the amp to mono). Again, I want to emphasize "line out" because not all recievers provide that option. This is a pre-amplified signal that may be accepted into almost any separate amp. You would then use a cable that adapts to speakon connector or the amp you could choose possibly has speakon output connectors. then you need a cable to the sub from the amp.
As you might be suspecting you will get MUCHO output but it is not the ideal home setup.

I suspect you a reeling after this because you are facing another $200-$500 of additional equipment to drive this beast.

A better option might be to put this back on ebay and cut you losses and then invest in a true "home use" sub.

What did you pay? I suspect around $350.
Reply
post #5 of 5
3/29/09 at 5:04pm
Thread Starter 

Re: how can i make my sub work?

thankyou very much for the help! actually i paid about 200 shipped off ebay, thats why it was sort of an impulse thing. this thing is a BEAST.... I think you are correct that selling it and cutting my losses would probably be in my best interest. I'll try to hit up a local band or something and make them a deal maybe... Might have to upgrade my receiver too, having no sub out is kind of a bummer. I'll have to do some reading on here and find a better setup! thanks to all who have replied!
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Speakers and Subwoofers
Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Hardware › Speakers and Subwoofers › how can i make my sub work?