filtered or unfiltered

clsgman

Just purchased the Polk PSW250 to hookup to hy HTS. Using a Pioneer VSX409 to power it. I read with interest the "controversy" regarding the best way to wire the sub. Is the VSX409 filtered?

Dr. Spec

Welcome to the forum!

I do not have first hand experience with either product. However, I can offer some basic hook-up suggestions:

If your receiver has an LFE output jack, and sub has a dedicated LFE input jack, set your speakers to "small" on your receiver, and your sub to "on", and run a sub cable from the receiver to the sub. The LFE input jack on the sub usually bypasses the adjustable x-over filter on the sub to avoid "double filtering" by your receiver AND your sub.

If your sub does not have a dedicated LFE input jack, but it does have L/R RCA inputs, configure the system the same as above and set your sub x-over as high as possible to avoid "double filtering" at a given frequency. If your sub filter is set way high (say 200 Hz), and your receiver filter is set at 80Hz (typical on the "small" speaker setting", the sub will not filter the signal again after the receiver does first (hence the term double filtering).

If your sub has no RCA input jacks at all and only speaker wire inputs, set your main speakers to "large", your sub to "no", and run your speaker wires to the sub, and select the x-over frequency manually (I recommend around 80Hz, but experiment). Then run the speaker wires back to the mains.

Hope this helps - let us know how it sounds, etc.

Doc

clsgman

Thanks for the suggestions, Doc.
I discovered that my receiver has an option to turn off the receiver's filter. If I understand the concept correctly, I should then depend on the Polk sub filter. The sub has L/R RCA inputs. I suppose I can adjust the sub's filter to my taste. Is this the best method for this combo?

Dr. Spec

If you disable the filter in your receiver, then I'm thinking you would have to go with a speaker level connection (i.e., speaker wires to and from the sub) in order to properly filter the signal going to your mains. If your sub has provisions for all the channels (like a PSW1200 does) then that would be OK.

If not, you will still be sending an unfiltered (i.e., full range) signal to the center and surrounds, and this is not necessarily a good thing, since the bass signals will stress out these small speakers.

Doc