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Overwhelmed with subwoofers (1 Viewer)

Radiovolta

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Patrick
So I was looking around and found some advice and tips, but found myself overwhelmed and decided to just ask the question this way.

I just bought a Onkyo TX - SR507 with 5.1 surround sound to replace our aging HTIB system. We are still going to use the speakers from the HTIB however, the sub-woofer that came with that system, has a special wire that connects it directly to the DVD player that came to it. So I am going to need to replace the sub. I was trying to figure out what sub to use, however, i ended up getting more confused. On a tip from this site i went over to partsexpress.com but that was even more overwhelming.

We have an extra subwoofer in the house, but it connects with speaker wire, and this new Onkyo looks like it connects with a different type of cable. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B001VEI290/sr=1-1/qid=1259944067/ref=dp_otherviews_z_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&img=1&qid=1259944067&sr=1-1

thats the back of the Onkyo.

So my question is what type of subwoofer do i need to be able to connect it to this?

I cant find pictures of the back of subwoofers in order to figure out what kind of connections they have so that i can be able to connect them. Also a lot of the speakers over at partsexpress.com also looked to be speaker wire connections. Am i missing something?

if you guys could recommend a few subs so i can start to get an idea of what i should be looking for that would be great. let me know if you need any other information.

Thanks!
 

Jeff Gatie

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The Onkyo requires a self powered sub. With modern subs, the power required to drive them are beyond the capabilities of the amplifiers in a receiver, so you won't find many receivers with a powered subwoofer out. Instead, receivers like your Onkyo have analog RCA subwoofer outs.

So what you are looking for is a self-powered subwoofer. Depending on your budget you can spend as little as $50-100 or as much as 10's of thousands of dollars. For a budget up to around $300, we usually recommend the Dayton 8 or 10" models. You aren't going to find earth shattering bass at that price, but they are the best for the buck. Moving up in price, check out the offerings from SVS or Hsu. SVS is a forum favorite and they offer superior bass at low prices. Buying a sub that equals the performance of an SVS model would cost hundreds, if not thousands, more at traditional audio outlets.
 

Radiovolta

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Thank you so much for your help.

So for this type of sub woofer where would the RCA cables go? http://www.amazon.com/Dayton-SUB-120-Watt-Powered-Subwoofer/dp/B000C9NV78/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1259957087&sr=8-2-spell

I see 4 spots for cables but theres only one on the receiver for a subwoofer.

Sorry for the stupid questions, but i went to bestbuy and they were next to useless when i was asking for help trying to get this all sorted out.
 

Jeff Gatie

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Originally Posted by Radiovolta

Thank you so much for your help.

So for this type of sub woofer where would the RCA cables go? http://www.amazon.com/Dayton-SUB-120-Watt-Powered-Subwoofer/dp/B000C9NV78/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1259957087&sr=8-2-spell

I see 4 spots for cables but theres only one on the receiver for a subwoofer.

Sorry for the stupid questions, but i went to bestbuy and they were next to useless when i was asking for help trying to get this all sorted out.
It looks like the sub has RCA's for L/R input and L/R output. Since a sub is mono, you can either use a single cable and send it to one of the input RCA's (sometimes one of them will be labled "mono", other times it doesn't matter), or you can purchase an RCA 'Y' cable and branch your single cable into two. Me, I just use a single cable plugged into one of the inputs on my SVS. Works fine.
 

Ed Moxley

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You also need to double check the specs for the speakers you're going to use. Sometimes, the small speakers that come with HTIBs are 2-3 ohm, on up to 16 ohm. If you try to use 2 ohm speakers with the new Onkyo receiver, there's a possibility of damaging the receiver, or at least having it go into "Protect" mode, and shut off, and not being able to use it. With the 507, the speakers need to be 8 ohm. It's not even 4 ohm certified. Some of the higher models are. If the speakers aren't 8 ohm, you really need to be looking for more speakers too. 4 ohm speakers will probably work ok, as long as you don't listen at loud volumes, especially for long periods of time. Kinda takes the fun out of a good movie............
Good luck!
 

Radiovolta

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Ahh i didn't even think to consider that. The current speakers we have set up are 6 ohm, 60 watt. The system says 8 ohl 80 watts. Is that going to be a problem? i priced out some speakers and it seems that to get 5 8 ohm 80 watt speakers and a new sub is in our budget. What do you think is a better option... upgrade the speakers? or stick with what we got. Obviously we don't want to spend money where we don't have to, but also don't want to damage our equipment.

You guys have really been helpful during this process and I'm really thankful!
 

Ed Moxley

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Yeah, they'll probably work. A +/-2 ohms shouldn't be a problem.
But, you'll probably be happier in the long run, to get new speakers, if you can afford them. Of course, you can upgrade them anytime.
Your current speakers don't have the proprietary color coded connectors on them, do they? If they do, they won't connect very well with the 507............
Good luck, and enjoy!
 

Radiovolta

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Does anyone know, with the information above, if this subwoofer would be a problem with this system? Do I have to worry about watts and amps the same way that i do with speakers when picking out a sub for this system. I found this Sony SA - W3000 12inch sub and its in my budget, however this is what the product description says.

  • 12" 180-Watt powered subwoofer
  • With 6ohm loads, 20-200Hz frequency response; rated 100 watts, Minimum RMA Power, with no more than 1% THD from 250 Milliwatts to rated output.
Is this not going to be compatible with my receiver? If I'm upgrading my speakers to 8 ohm 80 watt speakers is this subwoofer not compatible with that setup?

Thanks again for all the help here
 

Jeff Gatie

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You do not have to match a sub to your speakers, they operate at different frequencies and (usually) are self-powered. That sub is a good performer for the budget, and many people started out with the Sony as their first sub. You can also look into the Dayton models at partsexpress.com. They are favorites in the budget sub category.
 

Radiovolta

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Which subwoofer do you think would be a better performer?

The Sony SA W3000
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4828705&CatId=4601

or

The Dayton Sub 120 HT
http://www.amazon.com/Dayton-SUB-120-Watt-Powered-Subwoofer/dp/B000C9NV78/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1260848102&sr=8-2

They are both pretty much the same price range. $140 for the sony VS ~$200 with shipping for the dayton. SO it comes down to which one is going to produce the better sound. They both have really good ratings on amazon and partsexpress.com so which will give the better bang for the buck.
 

bigmeanbeast

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It just so happens that I have a JBL PB10 subwoofer for sale right now for nearly half the price of the sony or the dayton. It is, in my opinion, a much better sub than both of those you mentioned. I am not simply trying to blow smoke and sell this thing, but I really do think that you would be happier with the JBL, it is simply stunning for its size, power, and price. The specs on it are:

150W RMS
10" floor-firing woofer
LFE switch and phase switch
goes as low as 27hz
 

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