Subwoofer Connection (1 Viewer)

[AllenSu]

I just purchased an AR active sub to replace the passive sub that came with my Kenwood 705dv HTIB. The AV reciever is a 616 model. It does not have a pre-out for my active sub.
Should I connect directly from the sub speaker level output of my receiver to the new sub, leaving my speaker settings at normal and sub output on, or should I connect from the L/R main speaker outs then back to the L/R speakers, turning off my sub output in the receiver?

 

[John Garcia]

I would go with the second option. You will not have a separate LFE channel in this configuration however. You will turn the sub off, and check to make sure there are no other settings that might not direct the LFE to the mains in DD/DTS.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Allen,

I know this is expensive advice, but you really ought to seriously consider upgrading to a new reciever with a sub out terminal. The hook-up you proposed will work, however as John stated, you'll be completely missing the dedicated LFE channel encoded on DD 5.1 (the .1 in 5.1) soundtracks, that's where all of the really thrillng and deep low end lies.

 

[Sean Conklin]

Exactly! I can't believe that the 616 doesn't have a subwoofer out, I thought all the Kenwoods had a subwoofer out. Are you sure theres not one hidden back there somewhere? I agree with John, if in fact you don't have a sub out, it is worth the couple hundred bucks to get a new receiver with sub out, dedicated LFE is awesome and quite necessary, IMO.

Whats up John?

 

[Sean Conklin]

Here is what I found, I can't imagine a setup that does all this doesn't have a sub out, it must pass some kind of LFE info, through the 6th channel, but not an unpowered signal, hmmmm.

It's everything you need for great home theater: a receiver, five speakers, a subwoofer, and a DVD changer. The system's 5-disc DVD changer features Progressive Scan, delivering twice the image quality of regular television (with a compatible monitor), and also plays your MP3-encoded discs and conventional CDs. A powerful receiver (100 Watts x 6 channels) is the system's command center, providing Dolby Digital, DTS, and Dolby Pro Logic II decoding for intensely great surround sound, and it's perfect for your music, too. Five speakers (left, center, right, and two surround speakers) all feature dual woofers for extra definition, and an 8" subwoofer provides the explosive bass sounds that add depth and drama to movies. S-Video inputs and outputs are provided on the receiver, and the system comes with a Kenwood System Remote with video pre-programming functions.

http://www.epinions.com/Kenwood_HTB_...y_~full_specs#

 

[Sean Conklin]

Maybe LFE info would go through the 6th channel and he could hook it up via the speaker inputs on the sub, no? But then he would be sending power to a powered sub, but aren't those speaker inputs high pass?

Heck I don't know, thats why I like seperates, I like to upgrade.

 

[AllenSu]

thanks for the responses guys. I will double check for that sub out jack and let you know.

 

[Sean Conklin]

It may not have one, as it appears it has a DVD player and everything integrated, I am sure it is great (especially the progressive scan)for what it was designed for, a compact Home Theater, but in integrationg, maybe they decided that the people who bought this product wouldn't be into upgrading, but I don't know.

I am curious, other than the lack of a sub out jack, how do you like it's performance Allen? Do you have a digital TV to take advantage of the progressive scan?

Oh and welcome to the HTF, this is an awesome place huh?

 

[AllenSu]

I'm happy with the this system so far. I have it hooked up to my 61" HDTV ready Toshiba TV and the DVD's look great. Especially after I calibrated with the Sound and Vision disk. The only thing I was not pleased with was the original passive sub clipping on some of my favorite movie scenes.....(the balrog scene in LOTR was terrible). That's why I thought I would try the active sub.
I ended up hooking it up to the speaker level sub out on the receiver. It sure seems to be handling the LFE as the bass sounds great with no clipping now. I turned the gain to -10db on the receiver, turned the phase on the sub all the way up so the receiver still controls cutoff, calibrated to 75db using the sub level adj.
I know my next step will be upgrading my other speakers and eventually, once I learn more, going with separates. I just couldn't pass up this HTIB for $500 at the time.

 

[Sean Conklin]

Well it sounds like the new sub made a good improvement, if your a HT nut like many of us, it won't be long before you get the upgrade bug.

Heck yeah, for 500 bucks with progressive scan player and speakers, it's worth it, a vast improvement as opposed to no surround at all, I ve heard some of the new Kenwood HTiBs in stores, and they sounded pretty good.

I am a Kenwood guy and I use a Kenwood receiver with JBL speakers and subs, I love them, I just got a 30" widescreen Hi Def TV and a progressive DVD player, and now I have kinda turned my focus to Video quality, but its nice to have the Audio too, a dedicated room with good acoustics sure makes a lower end audio system like mine sound better than a theater, I still use a relatively old Kenwood VR-407 DD DTS receiver, but am well pleased I have had it for about 3 years and must say Kenwood and JBL makes a good combo, and all for under $2000.

 

[Cees Alons]

Allen,

This information is in other threads too, but many people don't seem to know it: you can perfectly use the sub-speaker out to feed the level-in of your powered sub.

That way you will certainly not send power to the active sub's input stage, because (although the voltage level is approx. the same) the input impedance is so much higher, it won't draw any power from your sub-output stage.

In fact that's the only "but" here: some output stages won't like being connected to a 'no-drain' at all. That's why you have to try carefully, not setting the sub-stage on your receiver too loud (let the active sub do the amplifying) and if you're uncertain: buy a 20 Ohms 20 W (or 40W, whatever) resistor to put across the output plugs.
But chances are that that isn't necessary at all.

Cees