Subwoofer connection (1 Viewer)

[Mike May]

I recently ran some wiring in a condo that is being built for me. While running the wires for the 3 rear channels I added an extra run directly below the center rear surround for a possible second sub in the future. Now it's a day or two from drywall and the thought occured to me; did I use the wrong wire? I ran 14 ga. speaker wire like the other runs, thinking I would put RCA connectors on this wire to plug into the sub and amp output. Can I do this or do I need to use the shieled wire that you typically see between RCA plugs? Thanks... - Mike

 

[ScottCHI]

you can do it, but it's far from ideal.

yes, 75ohm shielded is best. coax with some f to rca adapters on the end will work great, btw.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Using unshielded speaker wire for a line-level signal is probably going to get you some hum. Not to mention, I don’t know where you’re going to find an RCA plug that you can use with 14-ga wire. They’re designed for relatively thin round cable with small-gauge wire, not large-gauge, flat zip-cord.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[John S]

Leave it, and get an amp for your rack to power it, instead of using the line level to the sub. I currently use a really long line level run to my sub, and I have decided to not do this again, when I build me dedicated HT room. But with my current sub, and my current room, there really was/is no other choice for me.


You would have the advantage in the future of using a sub with an outboard amp, and using that 14gage wire for the speaker level sub it is best suited for.

Otherwise, yes, you really needed to run some line level shielded cable, if you intend to hook it up, to say a sub out from a pre/pro or and AVR. If you used the unshielded speaker cable for a line level signal, you will have some noise issues, potentially very bad noise issues.

 

[Brian L]

DELETED Double Post

 

[Brian L]

I did just that, with a HSU sub and outboard amp. See my comments here:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf...threadid=208758

Obviously with a self contained sub, the OP is hosed, but I have found that having the sub behind the couch does have some benefits.

BGL

 

[Mike May]

Thanks for the responses... I ended up adding another run using some RG58, will that work? I hope so... drywall is up now.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

I think you mean RG59 and it should work fine. This is what I am using for my sub.

But you should note something: the subwoofer experts do not recommend you place separate subs in different locations in your room. (They can create complex interactions with the sound).

Instead, if you use dual subs they recommend locating them together, even stacking them if possible to avoid the complex interactions.

Hopefully, you pulled enough coax so tha run will reach the corner of your longest, un-broken wall. This is where you want to place your subwoofer. The Subwoofer fourm and our FAQ both have advice on finding the optimal position for your sub for more info.

If nothing else, you can use that RG59 coax to split your subwoofer feed, drive a cheap receiver mounted behind your couch and use this to power "bass shakers" that you mount under your couch. People who have done this tend to like it a lot.