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Using Subwoofer from 5.1 Setup without Satellites (1 Viewer)

Jackson Delahunt

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Apr 7, 2014
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Hi Guys,
I'm currently looking at buying the following setup to augment my existing setup:
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/newington/audio/jbl-5-1-home-theatre-speaker-set/1043309557
I have a 200W amp at home that has only digital inputs, and only left and right analogue outputs for speakers. I currently have a pair of circa 1970s JBL 100W speakers hooked up to the amp, but they do not provide enough bass extension, so I want to get a sub. The one listed above looks attractive, and seems powerful enough for my needs.
My questions are as follows:
1. I have heard that using a sub without the satellites plugged in can cause the amp to break if you do not connect the satellite speakers. Is this true? Could I expect to damage/cause the sub to fail if I only use it as a sub with no satellite speakers?
2. I will be taking a line off both the left and right speakers and feeding it to the analogue inputs of the sub. The sub expects line level, but my amp does not have a pre-out. Given that the amp is 200W and it is driving two 100W speakers, I would expect there to be little signal left over, hopefully enough to provide a line level for the sub. Should this work? Is this too hacky, or a reasonable approach? Remember, I have no other way of getting a line level out of my system.
Any further information you could provide for assistance with this project would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
 

Al.Anderson

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1. I have heard that using a sub without the satellites plugged in can cause the amp to break if you do not connect the satellite speakers. Is this true? Could I expect to damage/cause the sub to fail if I only use it as a sub with no satellite speakers?
Completely false. Maybe someone had a "proprietary sub", probably from a HTiB, and for that model it couldn't be used alone. For any standard sub meant to be used with a home theater this is false.
2. I will be taking a line off both the left and right speakers and feeding it to the analogue inputs of the sub. The sub expects line level, but my amp does not have a pre-out. Given that the amp is 200W and it is driving two 100W speakers, I would expect there to be little signal left over, hopefully enough to provide a line level for the sub. Should this work? Is this too hacky, or a reasonable approach? Remember, I have no other way of getting a line level out of my system.
I'll jump to the end - you shouldn't get that sub.

First, it's a low end sub. Not a rip-off by any means, but it's probably best for a dorm room. Since you want bass extension, this is not your sub.

Second, you can't run an amplified signal into a line level sub. At the very least you will distort the signal, and probably blow the sub's internal amp.

Also, the receiver will not be taxed, it's the sub's amp that will have the problem. The wattage on the amp and the wattage spec for the speakers are not the same thing, so the 200w amp = 2 x 100w speaker equation is meaningless. (It doesn't help you any in this case, but when you go to buy main speakers again come back and ask about this.)

What you need is a sub with speaker level input. Here's one that would work:

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-2.html

(I like Hsu, so I picked them, but if you look at other posts on the form, you'll see some recos in the 200-250 range, which is the lowest you'll get for a decent sub new.)
 

schan1269

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I'm trying to figure out what "amp" this is that only has digital inputs.There has never been, nor will there ever be, "an amp" with digital inputs.
 

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