proper way to hook up sub

miandsh2000
miandsh2000 Posts: 15
edited September 2005 in Subwoofer Hookup & Bass Management
im confused. hooling up sub ot onkyo rcvr. should i use the rca patch cord or the LFE? what is the difference between the two? or do i use both?

this is a HT setup.
thx
Post edited by miandsh2000 on
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Comments

  • Tritonman
    Tritonman Posts: 159
    edited September 2005
    You will use an RCA out on your receiver labelled as sub or LFE. What model Onkyo do you have and i will tell you which one for sure to use?
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  • miandsh2000
    miandsh2000 Posts: 15
    edited September 2005
    will either be the txsr800 or txsr702.
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  • Tritonman
    Tritonman Posts: 159
    edited September 2005
    On the TX-SR702 it will plug into Subwoofer under your pre-outs. The TX-SR800 you will use the Sub input on the pre-out panel.
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  • miandsh2000
    miandsh2000 Posts: 15
    edited September 2005
    and this is just a regular rca cord?
    thx
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  • Tritonman
    Tritonman Posts: 159
    edited September 2005
    its a 75ohm rca cable. Will a standard RCA cable work? sure. Is that what you should use..no. Generally they are real long digital cables.

    Quick tip. Go to radio shack or homedepot etc. Purchase 75ohm coax RG6 cable. Buy an F to RCA converter plug at Ratshack for about 2$. Voila! A 25ft spool of RG6 with 2 connectors will cost you about 15$ A lot less than a very expensive subwoofer cable and it will give you the exact same performance. I know this for a fact as that what I use..except my cable was Quad shielded. I needed a nice 50ft run from my equiptment to where the sub was to be placed and this was the best way to do it and achieve great results.

    Btw..this will also work as a component video cable for long runs. Just make sure your coax is Quad shielded if you intend on transferring video.
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  • snakebitten
    snakebitten Posts: 94
    edited September 2005
    I just bought a sidewinder sub interconnect (9m) from audio advisor for $40. I think the retail was $140. Might want to check it out.
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  • miandsh2000
    miandsh2000 Posts: 15
    edited September 2005
    well i guess this is one of those mistake from a newbie. i have prewired my basement and i guess i put in wrong (standard RCA) cable for the sub.

    what am i in for if i leave it be? and would it be worth the trouble to bust out the drywall to run an upgraded cable for the sub?
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  • miandsh2000
    miandsh2000 Posts: 15
    edited September 2005
    anybody?
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  • Tritonman
    Tritonman Posts: 159
    edited September 2005
    You would be more than ok with the RCA you already have prewired. Dont worry about it. Unless of course you get a nasty hum or something.
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  • snakebitten
    snakebitten Posts: 94
    edited September 2005
    sorry miandsh. I am new at this also. Wish I could help. Getting and taking a lot of advice from the fine members at club polk. I am sure someone will have the answer for you. I sure hope you dont have to bust any drywall though.
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  • schwarcw
    schwarcw Posts: 7,338
    edited September 2005
    You can also use speaker wire (14 or12 gauge) if you have speaker terminals for you sub output. I know more than a few users on the forum have done this with good results, some say as good as cable. Speaker wire is cheap. Try the unshielded wire first, if you have some noise, go with the shielded cable. Cheap stuff will also work with decent results. Do a search on the forum for Subwoofer hookup with speaker wire.
    Carl

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  • PolknPepsi
    PolknPepsi Posts: 781
    edited September 2005
    Since my stereo receiver does not have a sub output my choices are RCA or speaker level binding posts. I tried both and the speaker level sounded best.
    Denon #2900, Denon stereo receiver, Conrad Johnson Sonographe 120 amp, Blue Jeans cables, and Klipsch RF-7's
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  • brendy
    brendy Posts: 7
    edited September 2005
    miandsh2000 wrote:
    well i guess this is one of those mistake from a newbie. i have prewired my basement and i guess i put in wrong (standard RCA) cable for the sub.

    what am i in for if i leave it be? and would it be worth the trouble to bust out the drywall to run an upgraded cable for the sub?

    You should be fine with a standard RCA cable which is not the "wrong" cable.
    Unless you have noise/interference problems leave it be.
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  • Dr. Spec
    Dr. Spec Posts: 3,780
    edited September 2005
    The subwoofer signal is both very narrow in bandwidth and very low in frequency. It is a piece of cake for a standard RCA cable to carry.

    The only things to worry about are good quality connections and decent shielding so the cable doesn't pick up any 60 Hz AC hum. Any good quality RCA cable will meet these two criteria.

    Regards,

    Ed
    "What we do in life echoes in eternity"

    Ed Mullen (emullen@svsound.com)
    Director - Technology and Customer Service
    SVS
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