Stupid Subwoofer Wiring Question (1 Viewer)

[Bill Mullin]

My subwoofer is on order, but I thought it would be smart to do a little homework first: I keep reading posts where people are using Y-adapters to wire their receivers to their subwoofers. I have a L & R sub output on my receiver and L & R line inputs on my sub. I could run wire between the receiver and the sub and my guess is that this would work. If I ran two wires, wouldn't this simply give me 3 dB gain? If so, is this the smart way to wire the sub? Additionally, I don't need a Y-adapter with my setup, right?

One more thing - I've read that Monster is now selling THX certified sub cables, a single 16' cable for $79.95. I've seen the same cables on eBay for under $20. Would this cable be a smart purchase?

TIA, Bill

 

[Neil Joseph]

If your receiver has L&R sub out then a L&R audio cable hookup will go directly to your sub and give you a 6dB gain over using only the L or R. You do nt need a Y cable in your setup as that is more for people like me whos receivers have a single sub out (in my case I have 2 sub outs for two subs). Then you need a single male RCA that splits to two RCA males at the other end. In this cae, you can also wire a single RCA cable from the sub out to either the sub's L or R but the sub will be 6dB quieter.

 

[Brian Bunge]

Bill,

It sounds like you are set. You can use a simple 2 channel RCA cable to connect both outputs on your receiver to both inputs on your sub. I cannot imagine any reason to have a THX certified subwoofer cable. Any good quality shielded cable will work fine.

Brian

 

[Bill Mullin]

I cannot imagine any reason to have a THX certified subwoofer cable. Any good quality shielded cable will work fine.

What I have now is a cheap Rat Shack cable, but I do use a 12' cable where 6' would be enough. The excess is wound into a 4" coil, thereby providing some RFI/EMI protection. But, the new subwoofer that I've ordered is an HGS-12, Series II. Because of the higher demands of this unit, I though a better cable (pair of cables) might be a good idea. What's more I seem to read LOTS of posts where HT people are recommending premium cables. Are these people actually going overboard or are the better cables a smart purchase?
Thanks, Bill

 

[Brian Bunge]

The Rat Shack cable should be more than enough. We're only talking subwoofer frequencies here. I think premium cables are overboard for sub duties. But to each his own.

Brian

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

a L&R audio cable hookup will go directly to your sub and give you a 6dB gain over using only the L or R.

To clarify, this will only increase the level of the incoming signal that the sub’s amp sees. It will not affect the sub’s maximum output.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[Bill Mullin]

To clarify, this will only increase the level of the incoming signal that the sub’s amp sees. It will not affect the sub’s maximum output.

I understand this, but is 6 dB right? What little I know about electronics tells me that all other things being equal, it should be 3 dB when 2 sub outputs from the amp are hooked up to 2 inputs on the sub. So I just set up my Rat Shack audio meter and tested with 1 and 2 cables, and even the meter seems to agree with me. Where did that extra gain come from?

- Bill