Polk rm1000 passive subwoofer on dedicated amplifier
cambridgetechs
Posts: 2
I am wondering if I have gone with the best setup for my situation using a Polk rm1000. I am new to subwoofer connections.
Here is the full picture
Primary amp: Mid range Sony DTS 5.1 receiver from early 2000s, I believe 600watts
connected to...
Front Left and Front Right are Polk RT800i tower speakers
Center Channel is a Polk CS400i speaker
Surround Left and Surround Right are Polk S10 tower speakers
---
Secondary amp: 1990s Denon Pro logic receiver, I believe 80 or 100w per channel
connected to...
Subwoofer Polk rm1000 (satellites not in use here)
The Sony receiver has two LFE/subwoofer RCA outputs on the back.
I connected both of the Sony LFE/subwoofer RCA outputs to RCA inputs on the Denon Receiver using decent RCA cables. I connected one to a left channel RCA AUX input and one to a right channel RCA AUX input.
I am sending the two Sony LFE/subwoofer outs to the TAPE channels inputs on the Denon to "power" the Polk rm1000 passive subwoofer. I used the Denon's standard speaker A Left and Right outputs to the Left and Right "speaker" inputs on the Polk rm1000 using decent speaker wire.
My questions for someone at Polk or someone of knowledge is:
Is there a better way to connect this sub using my existing equipment? Since this is a passive sub I know I need the amp/receiver to drive it. My Sony is running the mains, center, and surround, all as large speakers (they are) all while sending the LFE to the Denon w/ connected sub. I have read mains should be set as small, but I am not sure this is necessary or best in my setup.
When I activated the LFE/subwoofer channel in the EQ of the Sony I was a little surprised to see two subwoofer outputs on the back of the unit. I assumed there would only be one. Since there were two I thought it would make sense to send them both to the physical "left and right" channels of the Denon. Does sending two LFE channels from the Sony to the Denon, then flat/bypass signal from Denon to Polk, not take best advantage of the bass range on the Polk? My existing Front/Left RT800i's have very decent bass, but I am trying to extend the bass range for the Theater settings overall. I do not know where I should cut the bass on the main speakers. I do not know much about crossover settings, but there are bass,mid,treble, crossover settings for the Mains, Center, and Surrounds on the Sony. It also has a LFE and LFE mix setting. I assume I will need to tweak the crossover settings on my Sony and start with leaving the output flat on the Denon. I can say that as I have it now sound is improved when playing content that uses the sub channel. I watched Tron Legacy and played around with the volume output from the Denon to the Polk Sub and found a level I liked. It sounds great, but again, I want to be sure it is the best setup for what I have. Should I be making other adjustments or different connections based on this subwoofer's unusual internal configuration? see postings on rm1000 if you don't know
also of note:
Since I have another smaller Polk center channel I am using that in my guest room with the satellites from the rm1000. I am using those satellites as surround speakers in that guest room. I had never bothered with the rm1000, it had been in the basement for many many years. I was thinking of tossing it but realized I might be able to make use of it to extend the bass in the home theater room and then added my old Denon to drive it. If my DTS 5.1 Sony receiver ever dies I will replace it with a Dolby Atmos/DTS-X receiver and bring all the Polks into the room. I know the ideal thing is to just purchase a powered subwoofer for the theater room, but for now I would prefer to avoid purchasing a subwoofer and make use of something I already have. Home theater listening is low on my tech priority list.
Bonus question: Is it my imagination that the older Polk S10 speakers may actually be better than the rt800i speakers? I had purchased the POLK S10's from Tweeter in Hanover, Massachusetts. This was in the early 1990's while in high school. I had read an article in Consumer Reports or some Audio/Tech Review Magazine. They reviewed them as being the most accurate speakers tested at the price range. I remember loving them as my left and right speakers back in the day. I have thought about moving the S10s to the guest room to replace a set of small speakers being used as primary Left and Right channel. Then, in the theater room, move the rt800i's to the surround channel, and buy a new set of really nice main Left/Rights along with a new powered sub. Again, just something for the future, not happening anytime soon.
Here is the full picture
Primary amp: Mid range Sony DTS 5.1 receiver from early 2000s, I believe 600watts
connected to...
Front Left and Front Right are Polk RT800i tower speakers
Center Channel is a Polk CS400i speaker
Surround Left and Surround Right are Polk S10 tower speakers
---
Secondary amp: 1990s Denon Pro logic receiver, I believe 80 or 100w per channel
connected to...
Subwoofer Polk rm1000 (satellites not in use here)
The Sony receiver has two LFE/subwoofer RCA outputs on the back.
I connected both of the Sony LFE/subwoofer RCA outputs to RCA inputs on the Denon Receiver using decent RCA cables. I connected one to a left channel RCA AUX input and one to a right channel RCA AUX input.
I am sending the two Sony LFE/subwoofer outs to the TAPE channels inputs on the Denon to "power" the Polk rm1000 passive subwoofer. I used the Denon's standard speaker A Left and Right outputs to the Left and Right "speaker" inputs on the Polk rm1000 using decent speaker wire.
My questions for someone at Polk or someone of knowledge is:
Is there a better way to connect this sub using my existing equipment? Since this is a passive sub I know I need the amp/receiver to drive it. My Sony is running the mains, center, and surround, all as large speakers (they are) all while sending the LFE to the Denon w/ connected sub. I have read mains should be set as small, but I am not sure this is necessary or best in my setup.
When I activated the LFE/subwoofer channel in the EQ of the Sony I was a little surprised to see two subwoofer outputs on the back of the unit. I assumed there would only be one. Since there were two I thought it would make sense to send them both to the physical "left and right" channels of the Denon. Does sending two LFE channels from the Sony to the Denon, then flat/bypass signal from Denon to Polk, not take best advantage of the bass range on the Polk? My existing Front/Left RT800i's have very decent bass, but I am trying to extend the bass range for the Theater settings overall. I do not know where I should cut the bass on the main speakers. I do not know much about crossover settings, but there are bass,mid,treble, crossover settings for the Mains, Center, and Surrounds on the Sony. It also has a LFE and LFE mix setting. I assume I will need to tweak the crossover settings on my Sony and start with leaving the output flat on the Denon. I can say that as I have it now sound is improved when playing content that uses the sub channel. I watched Tron Legacy and played around with the volume output from the Denon to the Polk Sub and found a level I liked. It sounds great, but again, I want to be sure it is the best setup for what I have. Should I be making other adjustments or different connections based on this subwoofer's unusual internal configuration? see postings on rm1000 if you don't know
also of note:
Since I have another smaller Polk center channel I am using that in my guest room with the satellites from the rm1000. I am using those satellites as surround speakers in that guest room. I had never bothered with the rm1000, it had been in the basement for many many years. I was thinking of tossing it but realized I might be able to make use of it to extend the bass in the home theater room and then added my old Denon to drive it. If my DTS 5.1 Sony receiver ever dies I will replace it with a Dolby Atmos/DTS-X receiver and bring all the Polks into the room. I know the ideal thing is to just purchase a powered subwoofer for the theater room, but for now I would prefer to avoid purchasing a subwoofer and make use of something I already have. Home theater listening is low on my tech priority list.
Bonus question: Is it my imagination that the older Polk S10 speakers may actually be better than the rt800i speakers? I had purchased the POLK S10's from Tweeter in Hanover, Massachusetts. This was in the early 1990's while in high school. I had read an article in Consumer Reports or some Audio/Tech Review Magazine. They reviewed them as being the most accurate speakers tested at the price range. I remember loving them as my left and right speakers back in the day. I have thought about moving the S10s to the guest room to replace a set of small speakers being used as primary Left and Right channel. Then, in the theater room, move the rt800i's to the surround channel, and buy a new set of really nice main Left/Rights along with a new powered sub. Again, just something for the future, not happening anytime soon.
Best Answer
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Hello,
Welcome to Polk's forum. That may be a record for the longest first posting on the forum. I'm going to assume you are using either the "aux" or the "tape in" but not both, correct? Even though there are two sub-outs on the Sony, in all likelihood they both send the same signal, so either one or both is fine. From your description I would say you've connected everything properly, you might want to try setting your front speakers to "small" as a test and see how you like the blending between the woofer and the front speakers. For the most part speakers will have lower distortion if there is a high pass filter preventing them from producing the lowest bass sounds.
As a suggestion, you might want to begin thinking about replacing the RM1000 with a current subwoofer. Not taking anything away from the RM, but subwoofers have made significant improvements and are fairly reasonable in price these days.
The differences between the RT800i and the S10 would be offset by the well matched center channel speaker, the CS400 is a fine sounding unit and matches the RT800i very well.
I hope this is helpful information.
Cheers, Ken
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Answers
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comment testing, since it says my posting has comments but they are not visible to me
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Thanks for the response.
Yes, using the same input, that was a typo. I did some more playing last night and I would say I've probably tweaked it as best as possible. The difference in bass with the sub is considerable, more low end, but I will buy a newer one at some point. One thing I notice about this sub, since I am not using the satellites, just sending the LFE out from the Sony to the separate Denon Amp, then amping that LFE to the sub, the bass is cleaner than sending a full range signal. Whatever is happening, it seems like a pretty good match, nothing is muddy, no noticeable cutoffs. I used 2 channel plus sub to listen to Sarah McLachlan's Fumbling Towards Ecstacy and Bjork's Homogenic. Everything flowed well between speaker and sub, you could not tell the bass was coming from a different unit, but when you remove the sub channel at the Sony you can see you are losing a lot of low end without it.
I did try the Sony's small and large speaker setting for my mains, center, and surround. I think having them as large has a fuller sound without loss of clarity. I am getting my moneys worth with this equipment and it still sounds better as a theater setup than what I am hearing in other places. I am not hearing anything better in the well maintained (a rare thing) Magnolia room at Best Buy. Not that this is something to aspire to, but still.
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You're welcome, I'm glad you are enjoying your system, that's what's important!
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Can I use my old Polk audio RM1000 passive sub with my Sonos connect Amp
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Hello,
That should be fine.
