Do You Need a Subwoofer with Ceiling Speakers? Kick drums have snap and attack just like they do in real life. What all of this means is that even the best systems can use extra amplification and driver square-footage in order to sound more “real”. If you find the ‘bass out’ feature on the amp, this will tell you how and when you can operate the subwoofer with or without the sub out. In fact, home-cinema subwoofers are given their own channel, called the .1 or the LFE output (low-frequency effects). One of the Upscale crew fondly remembers a profound demonstration from a couple of years ago featuring REL subs. How did this work? The RCA subwoofer output on a preamp is going to be ever so slightly out of sync with the amp’s speaker outputs. Turn the subs off, and that illusion vanishes. Apologies, as we do not sell vacuum tubes internationally. Though it’s a tiny lag, it’s enough for subwoofer-speaker combo to be noticeably more coherent on the high-level input than on the RCA input. REL invests a huge amount of time and money in developing driver cones that are light, but stiff. To accomplish this without any difficulty, you should use banana clips that can effectively plug into each other’s backs. What I didn’t cover is how best to connect a subwoofer if you choose to … Step 2: Connect the cables to the amp’s right and left speaker terminals. If yours does not have this useful connection type, you can still use a speaker wire to connect the sub and get good sound quality. If your amp has a two-channel bass management facility, you can use its features such as the independent slow up/down levels and crossover settings. Upscale Audio2058 Wright AvenueLa Verne, California 91750, DEMOS & SALESBY APPOINTMENT ONLYMonday-Friday8:30am - 5:30pm Pacific, LIVE PHONE & CHATSaturday9:00am - 5:00pm Pacific, If you find any item on our website available for a lower price elsewhere, contact us. The most common method is to connect a subwoofer to the SUB OUT or LFE output of the receiver/amplifier. Installing subwoofers without replacing your car stereo more like to work but your speakers, or dell mini 10 sub and connect it and an amp. Generally subwoofers have their own built-in amplifier, and hook up to a pre-amplified sub-out/LFE-out or pre-amplified RCA outputs via RCA cables. Wire transfer is the only accepted payment method for international orders. Check in the rear panel of the receiver to see whether it has a preamp output or not. All of this means that REL subwoofers can integrate with the best loudspeakers in the world. So, in case you would like to improve your sound system’s audio bass quality, find the right subwoofer. The best way to hook up a subwoofer to an amplifier with no dedicated subwoofer out is to use a "Y" splitter cable. Let’s learn about these solutions. Another solution when you want to connect the sub to the amp is set ‘LFE+MAIN” on the subwoofer. If it does, ensure you plug in the both as well. Disconnect the car electrical system or battery completely. But what about stereo systems? When REL subwoofers are set up right, you shouldn’t even know they’re there, until they’re turned off. 1. In spite of the name, a ‘subwoofer out’ isn’t the best way to connect a subwoofer to a quality music system. It was as if the action was unfolding in the moment. Typically, connecting subwoofers to amplifiers is simple and requires no much effort or expertise. However my receiver and amp are old Technics pro line gear. Subs today are generally powered so no need to get a passive one and I’d recommend against that. LFE+Main is a crossover mode that we normally find in any sound system that produces deep low frequency sounds lower than the crossover point to both the subwoofer and speakers. You don't need to use both and in most cases it's not recommended. It would be best to connect the speaker-positive terminals (red) on the amp to the positive terminal (red) on your speakers. Best Wireless Subwoofer Kits To Make Your Subwoofer Wireless. Low-level uses an RCA interconnect pair (amp's "pre out" or "sub out" --> sub's low-level input). It’s hard to create a light cone for subs because light cones tend to flex, causing phasing and other errors. Ensure the male side comes out of the “pre-out”. As a reminder, we are connecting the sub here as the speaker because that is how line out works. Also, connect the other side of the “Y” to the subwoofer. I am an Electronics Engineer who grew up addicted to electronics, especially AV equipment. We won't respond.) (This also means that you can connect a power amplifier to the subwoofer output, but don’t depend on this being true of your particular make and model.). However, you need to be careful with this setting because it can cause issues with your sound system. Please send us the following information: 1) Are you connecting the sub for movies or music? Both? SUB Backside: And AMP backside: I use the CD/AUX input for my pc, running through a Schiit Modi 2 DAC. There is no better way to make your speaker or sub “in phase” than follow this basic principle and connect the amp and the speakers correctly. As a result, their bass is powerful, but also bloated and sloppy. We love REL because they design their subs like any high-end loudspeaker--with a focus on speed and articulation, and the ability to cleanly reproduce bass down to the specified low-frequency extension. Think of the amount of energy put out by even an all-acoustic band, and the attempt to replicate that over just a few small drivers. Remove the fuse and connect the subwoofer with the main power supply to start with the installation process. So aside from the subwoofer itself, you still need to consider some other factors before you do your set up so you can achieve best results. Note, if you are asking about products we don't sell, we may not know enough about them to offer definitive advice. Steps: Take out the pre-out / main in jumpers on the rear of your amplifier. Hi! I created BoomSpeaker as an online resource for everything you need to know about Audio/Video systems and Home Theaters. Paul explains the best way to go about it and why. The sub will surely have a crossover built in to protect the driver from damage, but your mains will not be crossed over, which will mean if your mains have decent bass response your bass signals will potentially be a hot mess in the sonic area where both the sub and your mains can reproduce sound. Hi guys, I just scored a Polk 8 inch 100W RMS sub for $12 at goodwill yesterday. This is why even a pair, heck, even a six-pack of subs is not necessarily overkill. If you have a subwoofer cable and a Y-adapter, this is the optimal setup for your sub. Finally, connect one of the female sides of the “Y” connector back into the “main-in”. REL works with materials such as aluminum and carbon fiber to produce cones that can move massive amounts of air quickly and without flexing. We comprise of audiophiles, audiovisual experts and casual music lovers. And another way is to use two set of RCA cables, which leads into a Stereo hook up. 3) What type and number of cables are you wanting to connect? John Hunter of REL set up a system with a pair of subs, and played a track that began with some funny studio banter that depended on unintentional comic timing. An active subwoofer presents a very high impedance load, so the amp doesn’t work any harder when you connect one, two, or even a line-array of six subs to it. It has speaker out for channel A and B and a "Tape 2/Monitor" output, but thats it. Note: If your subwoofer comes with spring clips for both ‘speaker out’ and ‘speaker in,’ you should be mindful that other speakers may also connect to the sub. Plugging in and Hooking up Your Subwoofer. If the amplifier has this feature, confirm whether the subwoofer’s ‘Line In’ can use RCA cables. Some subwoofers offer High Level inputs (speaker wire connections), they are there for use with a receiver or pre-amp without a sub RCA connection. Just plug the subwoofer cable into your receiver's subwoofer pre-out and the other end into the Y-adapter on your sub (which is connected to the left and right RCA line-in inputs). For subwoofers with only 1 or more RCA input jacks (no speaker level inputs), a simple way to connect them to a receiver … The process is easy. Also, you can opt to activate the sub for two-channel audio sources. Find out more about pre out vs line out. (Don't low-ball us. Remove the fuse from the fuse holder until the sub is connected to the power supply cable. If your subwoofer doesn't have an internal amplifier, you'll definitely want to connect an amplifier to it.To do this, you'll need your subwoofer, an amplifier, at least one set of RCA cables (these are the red, white, and yellow jacks on a single cable), speakers, and speaker wires.. First, you'll want to think about where you'll keep the subwoofer. The sub outputs would either go to: (1) L & R satellite speakers, if the sub has additional built-in amp channels to power them, or (2) the L & R inputs of an external power amp driving unpowered satellite speakers, or straight to active powered speakers, such as found in … The optimal connection is to use the RCA (Phono) "sub" or "woofer" line out found on home theater receivers and pre-amps. Can you connect a sub to an amp without sub out? If your speakers are “out of phase, which means the connections are reversed, you could experience severe sound quality problems and probably blame it on the choice of the speaker-level outputs sub-and-amp connection solution. There are many subs out there, and many ways to connect them. Go to the following link to find out more about rca cables. Select either Right or Left port on the sub. If you have ever connected a basic stereo speaker, you will find this method quite simple since the steps are the same. If the subwoofer features spring clips: Use the speaker output of the receiver to hook it all up. We touched briefly on subwoofers and speaker setup in yesterday’s post. (The male side coming out of the "pre-out") If your amplifier does not have the sub out, check behind the amp to find out whether it has ‘pre-out,’ also commonly known as the preamp output. A general lack of satisfaction with the quality of the sound. However, it’s not just all about subwoofers. All you will need to do is to connect the cable that was included with the subwoofer to the amplifier’s terminal line out. We are the team behind BoomSpeaker. October 12, 2017 by Paul McGowan. When you find the pre-out, use a couple of interconnects from the receiver to your subwoofer. Step 3: Connect the cable to the subwoofer’s line in. We create package deals for our customers that cannot be beat. Out of this 5 mechanism, we will show you how to connect a subwoofer in a car without using an amplifier and by connecting rear panels. When your subwoofer is on the high-level input, it’s seeing exactly the same signal as your speakers, with no timing differences at all. That is not that case if your subwoofer only comes with a single set of spring clips. Boomspeaker is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking https://boomspeaker.com to Amazon properties including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. Subwoofers are designed to reproduce low-frequency bass, and, for that matter, improve your listening experience. How to Connect a Subwoofer to a Computer? We accept offers on our inventory of used equipment that does not have a posted price. If you are interested in equipment (not tubes) and are outside of North America, we may sell to you at our discretion. Some amps don’t have pre-out but only line out which may not help you much. The good thing about this setting is that it’s configurable. If you don’t have a subwoofer cable, you can connect a regular RCA cable that can be purchased at any electronics store. Then I hook it up to the front right and front left receiver terminals. We write for BoomSpeaker because it's our passion; our aim is to provide the very best information on the best audio equipment out there so you can enjoy your music better than ever before. Connect the speaker wires from the output of your tube amp into the "SPEAKER IN" terminals on the subwoofer. Connect a subwoofer through the Subwoofer Output of a receiver using an LFE cable. There are several ways to connect a subwoofer to an amplifier or receiver. Of course, the connection also determines whether you will have a fantastic sound experience. It is usually marked as ‘pre-out’. Step 3: Connect the Sub Output Port to the Amplifiers Input We often have to look up images of the back of the unit to be able to help you. We will meet or beat any verifiable price from an authorized dealer.*. In two ways, you can connect RCA cable to the stereo from the sub. We have limited stocks of vintage tubes and use them to attract equipment sales. Do subwoofers belong in music? Yes, you can. However, not all subwoofers are so simple and understandable to connect, depending on the model. Participants become observers. Subwoofers are all this legendary British company make, they’re its raison d’etre. We do not accept offers on used equipment that has a posted price; these items are priced according to market value and will sell. This method will work for you if your subwoofer has spring clips or other speaker wire connectors. Everyone present at the demo laughed. There are no exceptions, so please don't ask. It is impossible to offer connection advice without knowing exactly what is being connected. Some amps do not have the preamp output. In this case, the subwoofer and speakers will work in the low-frequency range in parallel. Emotiva and Outlaw Audio are two popular brands in the world of amplifiers. Check if the amp also has both right and left RCA plugs. SVS vs HSU Subwoofers – Which Brand Is Better? To connect your amplifier or receiver to a non-powered subwoofer as is shown in the diagram above, you’ll need to pick up a low pass crossover that you’ll connect between the amp or receiver and the subwoofer. Can I Convert Optical Digital Out to a USB Input? LFE+Main is a crossover mode that we normally find in any sound system that produces deep low frequency sounds lower than the crossover point to both the subwoofer and speakers. As we have seen in detail here, you can connect to an amp with a sub out using the pre-out port, speaker-level line outputs with RCA connectors, or ‘LFE+MAIN.’ With any of these three main methods, you can start enjoying the bass of your favorite tracks whenever you want. For more information, check out my about me page! Where one single RCA cable connects and input-output ports. In this case, hook it up using the amp’s speaker line output. But if you are connecting your subwoofer to an amp using the speaker-level outputs method for the first time, you might find it useful to check whether you have done everything right quickly. If you have split y-cable for the Right or Left port of the subwoofer, plug in both. For high-fidelity music systems, we recommend subwoofers by REL Acoustics. Sorry for that. If your receiver has no subwoofer output, you can still connect a subwoofer to it. John turned off the subs and played the track again. The best way to connect a sub Join Our Community Subscribe to Paul's Posts. Remember, the signal from your amp to the speakers has a much more straightforward journey than the one from amp to subwoofer, which has to hit another amp before it can move the sub’s speaker cone. To connect using RCA connectors: Plug with the RCA cable and choose L or R port on your subwoofer. As a result, REL pours engineering money into designing the fastest possible filters to process the signal for the subwoofer amplifier. So we sell only to customers with a matching billing and shipping address who reside in the USA, Canada, or Mexico. The preamp is a SU-9070, and the amp an SE-9060. Check out the amp to find the subwoofer settings. 2) What is the exact brand and model of your amp and your subwoofer? How do you connect a subwoofer up if there's no subwoofer output available on your equipment? In systems where any other sub would sound slow, or fuzzy, or muddy, or boomy, RELs are incredibly deep, but fast and accurate. If the cable is split at one end (i.e., it’s a y-cable for either the L or R port on your sub), then you’ll need to plug in both. Alternatively, you can either wire from the amplifier to the subwoofer and then jump off to your main speakers, or vice versa. Contact us for expert consultation when making any upgrades to your system. A home-cinema sub can be all about sheer bass output, and music sub needs to be more about speed and articulation. In a nutshell, you can connect your subwoofer to the amp using RCA connectors by doing the following: Here, we also explain how you can use a Y splitter to connect your sub to a receiver. I don't know how I will be able to connect the sub to my amp if I were to buy it. John Hunter, the owner and design director of REL Acoustics, has many demonstration tracks that have no apparent bass--just a voice and guitar for example--but the subs offer low-frequency spatial cues that make listeners feel they are in the recording space, and a part of the performance. It’s easy to make a bass bin that farts at 20 Hz, it’s far harder to make a true sub-bass system that has linear extension down to 20 Hz. We’re used to seeing subwoofers in home-cinema systems, and multichannel preamps and processors nearly always have a subwoofer out. First one is with an actual hook up. Check out the amp to find the subwoofer settings. That feeling of being present made the track funnier with subwoofers. The LFE signal from all channels will be combined into the subwoofer out by the receiver and as such you don't need both left/right inputs on the sub. Right: An RCA Y adapter that can be used with a line level converter to connect to a subwoofer with a single RCA input jack. Another solution when you want to connect the sub to the amp is set ‘LFE+MAIN” on the subwoofer. It was still funny, but nobody laughed. Using a Subwoofer in a System with no Subwoofer Output. Rca subwoofer output available on your equipment R port on your subwoofer has clips. The receiver with a single interconnect cable tubes and use them to attract sales. Speaker wires subwoofers can be all about subwoofers for expert consultation when making any upgrades to system. This feature, confirm whether the subwoofer output of the back of the wires. 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Round vs Oval speakers – which Brand is Better the.1 or the LFE output ( low-frequency effects ) to!