Confused about wiring

ryanjoachim

I have NO clue how to wire up my new speakers.

I have the Onkyo 605B
RTi10 x4
DSW Pro 600
CSi3

Firstly...am I just blind or is there no place on the receiver to hook up speaker wire for the Sub?

Also...why is there 4 spots for speaker wire at each location on the receiver?

I'm sorry for these "basic" questions...but I really am an idiot when it comes to Home Theaters.

tcrossma

The sub should be connected to the "sub pre-out" on the receiver, or using the "Polk Way" which can be found elsewhere on this site.

As to having 4 posts on each speaker, that is to facilitate bi-wiring or bi-amping. Those are advanced functions that some people use to get extra performance out of their speakers. You can just connect the speaker wires to either the top or bottom posts (I use the bottom).

danger boy

the subwoofer gets hooked up to the LFE or subwoofer output with an RCA cable... it will be on the back usually next to your pre amp outputs... subwoofers do not hook up with speaker cable. well usually not anyways.

danger boy

here you go. here is a picture of the back of your Onkyo receiver.. plug in a RCA cable from the sub woofer pre out. next to the zone 2 speakers... to your subwoofer RCA input.. which subwoofer do you have.?

Polkitup2

ryanjoachim wrote: »

I
Also...why is there 4 spots for speaker wire at each location on the receiver?

.

The four spots at each location on the receiver are because you need a + and a - speaker wire for both the left and right speakers. For example, you have a front left and a front right speaker, each speaker has two wires going to it.

ryanjoachim

DSW Pro 600 is my sub

ryanjoachim

Now, if normally subs don't use speaker wire to connect to the receiver, then what are the Speaker In and Out spots for on the Polk DSW Pro 600?

Face

You don't have to use the speaker in and out on the sub, it's just another way of hooking it up.

To keep things simple, I use a RCA type cable from my sub out on the back of my receiver to the LFE in on my sub.

Kex

Look at the image danger boy put up showing the rear of your receiver. Where you say there are "4 spots for speaker wire at each location", you will notice:

- The left speaker has two posts on top, + and -, for the front position, the surround position (5.1), and the surround back position (7.1).
- The right speaker has two posts on bottom, + and -, for the front position, the surround position (5.1), and the surround back position (7.1).
- The center speaker has only two posts, labeled + and -.

So, each speaker will have two wires, one positive and one negative. All the left speakers will be on top, all the right speakers will be on bottom. You will not use the surround back connections at all if you are using 5.1 instead of 7.1.

Make sure you do not mix up negative and positive terminals on the different speakers! Your speaker wire will have some way of identifying one of the two wires: sometimes it's a colored stripe, sometimes its a ridge you can see and feel, sometimes it's just the lettering. You need to check carefully how the strands are identified, and use the striped/ribbed/marked strand as the negative on all speakers. Make sure you connect the wire you have identified as negative to the black or - post for every speaker on the AVR, and to the black or - post on the back of every speaker. The other wire will always be connected to the colored or + post in the same way.

The subwoofer, as already pointed out, should be connected by a special cable, with a standard push on RCA connector, to the subwoofer output which is colored purple. If you do not have a subwoofer cable, you will have to get one, but you can use a spare audio cable with the correct RCA type connectors in the meantime, if you have one that is long enough to reach. You will have to turn your subwoofer output "on" in the setup menu, and adjust the crossover (80Hz is a good place to start). Your speakers should be set as "small", not "large", no matter how big they actually are. Turn the crossover knob on the back of the subwoofer itself up to maximum (as a safeguard against errors - it shouldn't actually matter), since this will not be used in this configuration.

Take your time, do it carefully and you should be fine.

ryanjoachim

Couple more questions...

What are the Zone 2 line out and Zone 2 Speaker used for?

Kex

These are most likely for adding additional speakers in a different room if you want to use that feature, possibly with or without an external amplifier (line out or speaker connection accordingly), but check that in the manual to be sure if it interests you.

BTW, for the subwoofer, make sure you use the connector labeled "pre-out", not the other connection (which is actually an analog input).

ryanjoachim

Now, seeing as how I can use an RCA cable for the subwoofer, would I also be able to just use a Digital Coaxial cable from the "white" port on the sub to the purple one on the receiver?

MHayes

Just curious, but didn't your receiver, subwoofer and speakers come with a manual???? If not, you can find them at the following locations:

http://www.onkyousa.com/download/own_manuals.cfm?cat=Receiver

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/subwoofers/dswpro600/

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/floorstanding/rti10/

Face

Yes, digital coax and subwoofer cables are both 75ohm, it should work fine.

SUBWOOFER on the back of the receiver, LFE IN on the back of the sub.

ryanjoachim

Awesome!

Hopefully my last question:



With this setup, should my last 2 RTi10's go on each side of the couch facing the TV?
Or should they be angled in towards the listeners?
Or can they be behind the couch without losing a lot of sound?

ryanjoachim

And thanks for the links MHayes! I haven't received the...receiver yet. I was asking these questions now because I KNEW that even with the manual I would have to ask them anyways.

Also, I wanted to be prepared when everything was ready to put together.

Face

:rolleyes: