May be some of you guys have an idea for me. I have Onkyo receiver which is a part of Onkyo HTIB, it doesn't have a dedicated subwoofer out,well sort of, instead it has a speaker level connection marked as "subwoofer" and there is a passive sub connected to it. How can i connect an active sub to this kind of a receiver(speaker level connection is out of the question)?

Some (most?) active subs have speaker level connection in addition to line level connections. They look like binding posts and you connect to the input part like you would a regular speaker.

As i mentioned speaker level connection is out of the question, because i loose the ability to use my receiver's crossover and have to rely on sub's crossover instead. There has to be another way.

As i mentioned speaker level connection is out of the question, because i loose the ability to use my receiver's crossover and have to rely on sub's crossover instead. There has to be another way.That seems strange. Can you tell us what AVR it is?

As i mentioned speaker level connection is out of the question, because i loose the ability to use my receiver's crossover and have to rely on sub's crossover instead.



Oh, I totally overlooked that.

There has to be another way.


I honestly don't know of another way. The speaker level connection is amplified. Whatever device would have to receive it and reduce it back to a line level signal. I have never seen anything that would do that.

What benefit do you see using the receiver's crossover rather than the sub's, if you don't mind my asking? Because I don't think you have an alternative here.

I honestly don't know of another way. The speaker level connection is amplified. Whatever device would have to receive it and reduce it back to a line level signal. I have never seen anything that would do that.Most automobile audio shops have speaker-to-linelevel converters. You can Google it.

What benefit do you see using the receiver's crossover rather than the sub's, if you don't mind my asking? More flexibility and better integration with the main speakers.

As i mentioned speaker level connection is out of the question, because i loose the ability to use my receiver's crossover and have to rely on sub's crossover instead. There has to be another way.You wouldn't use the sub's crossover; you'd set it as high as possible. The receiver's crossover would still be used. In your case, that is your best option and there is nothing wrong with it.

What is your receiver, btw?

Most automobile audio shops have speaker-to-linelevel converters. You can Google it.


Yeah, I just did out of curiosity and saw ones for stereo connections. Would that work with the LFE channel, too?

What is your receiver, btw?

Since he said HTIB, I'm guessing its the one that came with the HT-SR590 or SR600, or one of the others that use passive subs. They don't have an LFE out, but the standalone equivalents (like the TX-SR304) do.

I honestly don't know of another way. The speaker level connection is amplified. Whatever device would have to receive it and reduce it back to a line level signal. I have never seen anything that would do that.:confused:

Any active subwoofer will do that. That is what happens with a normal speaker-level connection to a subwoofer, anyway.


What benefit do you see using the receiver's crossover rather than the sub's, if you don't mind my asking? Because I don't think you have an alternative here.As I pointed out, he WILL still be using the receiver's crossover. There wouldn't really be anything different in his scheme if using an active sub except that its crossover would be set as high as possible and its volume control would be used to adjust its output appropriately. Otherwise, it would run identically to his passive subwoofer.

I don't see the problem, here.

:confused:

Any active subwoofer will do that. That is what happens with a normal speaker-level connection to a subwoofer, anyway.
.

Well, yeah, but then he said he didn't want to do that on the sub. I gathered he wants a separate adapter, for whatever reason. I know the sub itself will do that. I was referring to the adapter (which I guess exists, but I suspect he doesn't really need.)

Well, yeah, but then he said he didn't want to do that on the sub. I gathered he wants a separate adapter, for whatever reason.There is no reason NOT to do that with an active subwoofer in his case.

Again, there will be absolutely no difference in the way the sub would be run. It is simply a speaker-level connection to an active subwoofer via its speaker-level inputs. No problem. The receiver's crossover setting (if it even has one) would still be set the same way that is appropriate for his particular speakers.

Why is a speaker-level connection out of the question, DIMAN75? All you would do is plop the new sub in and use one channel of its speaker-level inputs, set its crossover as high as possible, and adjust its volume. Again, I don't see the problem, here. Unless your new sub doesn't have speaker-level inputs.

Yeah, I just did out of curiosity and saw ones for stereo connections. Would that work with the LFE channel, too?Sure. Just use half.

There is no reason NOT to do that with an active subwoofer in his case.

Again, there will be absolutely no difference in the way the sub would be run. It is simply a speaker-level connection to an active subwoofer via its speaker-level inputs. No problem. The receiver's crossover setting (if it even has one) would still be set the same way that is appropriate for his particular speakers.

Why is a speaker-level connection out of the question, DIMAN75? All you would do is plop the new sub in and use one channel of its speaker-level inputs, set its crossover as high as possible, and adjust its volume. Again, I don't see the problem, here. Unless your new sub doesn't have speaker-level inputs.

In this sceanario, would the OP then set the mains to "large" and sub to 'no' or 'off'? Otherwise how does LFE bass get to the sub without an LFE output on the receiver?

In this sceanario, would the OP then set the mains to "large" and sub to 'no' or 'off'? Otherwise how does LFE bass get to the sub without an LFE output on the receiver?I am not sure his receiver is capable of being set up with NO SUB. If so, he COULD set it up this way and connect the subwoofer to the front channel speaker outputs if he desired. But there is no reason to do that. The LFE channel gets from his receiver to an active sub identically to how it gets to his passive subwoofer.

Some of you are making this far too difficult. He has a receiver that has an amplified speaker-level subwoofer output. I do not know exactly how his receiver operates bass-management-wise, but it doesn't matter. Provided the active sub has speaker-level inputs, connecting an active sub to it will be no different than connecting the passive sub. But instead of the receiver's subwoofer channel amplifier being used to power the passive sub, the active sub's amplifier would be used.

Sure. Just use half.But, unless his active sub has no speaker-level inputs, I do not even see why it is necessary to even consider using a line-level converter. The sub will do that for him.

But, unless his active sub has no speaker-level inputs, I do not even see why it is necessary to even consider using a line-level converter. The sub will do that for him.As I understood it, his AVR has only line level sub output but he wants to connect an active sub to it. Not clear to me if said sub has speaker-level input.

I am not sure his receiver is capable of being set up with NO SUB. If so, he COULD set it up this way and connect the subwoofer to the front channel speaker outputs if he desired. But there is no reason to do that. The LFE channel gets from his receiver to an active sub identically to how it gets to his passive subwoofer.



Are you saying LFE output is sent through the main speaker outputs as well as the LFE output? I know most receivers can have the LFE channel redirected to the front channels, but I don't know about this particular receiver in question.

As I understood it, his AVR has only line level sub output but he wants to connect an active sub to it. Not clear to me if said sub has speaker-level input.He said his receiver ONLY has a powered speaker-level output for a passive subwoofer. It has no standard line-level subwoofer output. That is why I said, if the sub has speaker-level inputs, "what is the problem?".

Are you saying LFE output is sent through the main speaker outputs as well as the LFE output?NO

I assume his receiver routes the LFE like any other receiver - to the subwoofer output. Whether it can reroute it to the front channels, I do not know, but that is irrelevant. His receiver has a powered subwoofer output that works like any other receiver's subwoofer output. But it is a powered, speaker-level output. It looks just like the other speaker channel outputs on his receiver instead of an RCA output. Understand?

NO

I assume his receiver routes the LFE like any other receiver - to the subwoofer output. Whether it can reroute it to the front channels, I do not know, but that is irrelevant. His receiver has a powered subwoofer output that works like any other receiver's subwoofer output. But it is a powered, speaker-level output. It looks just like the other speaker channel outputs on his receiver instead of an RCA output. Understand?

Yes and no. Yes, I get it that he has powered, speaker lever outputs for the L and R main channels (like every reciever) that can be run to speaker level inputs on the sub and get bass out of the sub, utilizing the sub crossover for filtering. No issues there my freind.

What I don't understand is what is going on with the .1 in 5.1 using the above connection scenario. Can it be rerouted to the speaker level outputs? I know that is possible on some receivers by setting the mains to large, sub to 'off'/'no'.

Yes and no. Yes, I get it that he has powered, speaker lever outputs for the L and R main channels (like every reciever) that can be run to speaker level inputs on the sub and get bass out of the sub, utilizing the sub crossover for filtering. No issues there my freind.

What I don't understand is what is going on with the .1 in 5.1 using the above connection scenario. Can it be rerouted to the speaker level outputs? I know that is possible on some receivers by setting the mains to large, sub to 'off'/'no'.C'mon. In addition to all the other channels' speaker outputs, his receiver also has a SEPARATE powered subwoofer output. It looks just like a single channel of a pair of speaker outputs (has a + and a - connection) instead of like an RCA output. It is labeled as a subwoofer output. His receiver treats the .1 channel the exact same way any receiver treats the .1 channel. The only difference is that his receiver has an additional amplifier for the .1 channel and is designed to send an already amplified signal, as opposed to a line-level signal, to a passive subwoofer via a speaker-level output.

I have no idea whether his receiver can be set up with NO SUB and hence reroute LFE to the front channels, but that is irrelevant. He doesn't need to use that sort of connection scheme.

What is so difficult here?

AHA! I did not realize there was a SEPARATE, POWERED speaker level output in addition to the L and R speaker outputs. My bad.

Ok guys let me set something straight here, the receiver is a part of an HTIB (HT-S590). Instead of having dedicated subwoofer preamp out, it has a set of speaker spring loaded connectors for a passive sub that comes with the receiver. I've tried to connect an active Sony sub which has a set of high level connectors with just one pair of speaker wires coming from the receiver to input terminal on the sub. Nothing but hum came out of it, i also tried to degrade the amplified signal from the receiver using hi-to-low level convertor and still nothing but hum.

Thanks a lot guys! Stupid me, i overlooked the crossover setting in my receiver it was 200hz which is too much, i set it fo 100hz,turned the knob of the crossover on the sub all the way up and presto it is working and working great. Thanks a lot again.