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please help me connect my sub to my reciever.

905 Views 4 Replies 3 Participants Last post by JHAz, Jul 27, 2009

gwadd85

Discussion Starter · Jul 27, 2009

i have an Onkyo reciever, and it has one purple RCA (like the standard red, yellow, and white cables you can hook up dvd players and playstation with, etc) output for the subwoofer on the back. the problem is, i have a subwoofer with the two port speaker wire connection, like the red and black clips that come on basically every speaker. my question is, how can i connect an RCA bass output to a standard speaker connection? and the sub is not externally powered, so would the RCA output even be able to make any noise with the sub, because i do not believe the RCA jack sends any power.

im confused any help appreciated

thanks,

Graham

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ransac

· #2 · Jul 27, 2009

Since you have a passive sub, you will need an outboard amp to drive it. This amp would get it's input from the Sub Out on the receiver and it would have speaker wire connections for the sub.

You can try connecting the receiver's L/R front speaker outputs to the sub then from the sub's speaker level outputs to the mains. This has some risk unless the sub is 8 ohms or your receiver can handle 4 ohm speakers. More than likely, your receiver is not going to have enough power to drive both the sub and your speakers.

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gwadd85

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 27, 2009

how much would a cheap amp be? and can u explain the steps better of hooking it up to the front speakers or something?? im not quite sure what you're saying to do

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ransac

· #4 · Jul 27, 2009

Sorry, I misspoke about using the mains. Your sub probably only has a left and right speaker wire input and not output or pass through capability. Most subs are active (have their own built in amp) and that's where my mind resides when giving connecting advise.

So, you will need an outboard amp to make this work properly.

Maybe others with passive subs, which most do-it-yourself (DIY) subs are, can make a recommendation for an amp. What sub do you have?

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JHAz

· #5 · Jul 27, 2009

Behringer's amps are inexpensive, relatively speaking, and lots of people here really like them. They will have cooling fans, and I do not know how audible the fan would be. Alternatively go to audiogon and look at used options. Some are pretty inexpensive (under $200). Don't let the high priced ones scare you off

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