RM3000 subwoofer

Mobb Deeply

If this post is in the wrong section, I'm sorry. I felt like it could have gone in vintage or basic setup, but decided that the bass management made the most sense.

I recently found one of these in my attic of a house I moved into. After looking into it a bit, I THINK I've figured out how to wire it up, but I have a few questions.

My reciever is a Sony STR-DG500. My subwoofer (RM-3000) is wired to the left and right ports of the "front" section of the reciever, and my (I guess midrange/high) speakers (Definitive audio pro monitor 100's) are wired from the subwoofer.

While the bass is pretty good, I feel like the subwoofer is lacking/not getting enough power. I am not sure if this is a wiring issue, power issue, speaker wire not being big enough, or even a settings issue on my receiver.

I can post pictures of the wiring if needed.
Attached is the wiring diagram I found somewhere else on this forum, my speakers are wired up the same way.

Any help or info on this subwoofer would be appreciated.

[Deleted User]

Hello Mobb Deeply,
Welcome to Polk's forum. In all likelihood the problem is being caused by the efficiency of your Definitive speakers being greater than the efficiency of the RM1000 woofer. The original mating satellites for the RM1000 were the RM2000 combined the system was called the RM3000. The only thing to try is to place a low value resistor in series with the positive wire going from the sub's terminals to the Definitive speakers. This would "turn down" the playing volume of the speakers with respect to the woofer.
Regards, Ken

Mobb Deeply

I'm sorry, but I don't know what a low value resistor is, nor which one I would need, or need to buy. Can you elaborate?

[Deleted User]

Probably the best thing to do would be to go to an electronics parts store (Radio Shack, for example) and buy two each of .5 Ohm and 1.0 Ohm, 10 Watt resistors and a package of "alligator" clip leads. Since we don't know how much we need to reduce the level of the Definitive speakers we need to experiment a bit. Start by removing the wires either at the back of the woofer or at the speakers, whichever is easiest. Then use a pair of the clip leads to clip one end of the .5 Ohm resistor to the positive wires, then place the other end of the resistor into the woofer's terminal or the speaker terminal, depending on where you disconnected the wires.
This means the .5 Ohm resistor is in series with the positive wire that runs between the woofer and the speakers. Listen to how things sound, there should be an increase in the balance between the woofer and the speakers. If you would like to continue increasing the relative level of the woofer, replace the two .5 Ohm resistors with the two 1.0 Ohm resistors. Listen again. If you want to increase the balance more, use two more clip leads to link the .5 Ohm and 1.0 Ohm resistors together. This way the signal passes through both the .5 and 1.0 giving 1.5 Ohms resistance.