PSW 650 Y Connector or LFE Input?

haghighi

Hi I've got a PSW 650 hooked up to an Elite 37TX with all speakers set to small on the receiver (RT 12's front, CS275 Center, F/X1000 Surrounds, RT 5's back), I have it hooked up to the LFE channel on the PSW 650. I noticed that Bass seemed to fire from both woofers (at least louder) when I had it hooked up with the a y connector going into the line in L&R on the PSW650. It sounds better, but am I negating my receivers Bass management by doing this? Clearly I don't have a good undertanding of the low/Hi Pass filters. I'd also like to know if anyone thinks I should leave the RT 12's set to large?

Any suggestions or comments would be aprreciated

[Deleted User]

Hello,
The goal of connecting a sub-woofer is to have the audio signal only filtered once, rather than filtering it, sending it to the sub-woofer where it gets filtered once again. With this in mind, if you choose to use the receiver's sub-out low pass filter (it lets low sounds pass through but keeps middle and higher sounds out) then use the LFE input (there are no additional filters with this connection). If you intend to use the pre-amp outputs of the receiver (this would be un-filtered signals) then the right and left line level input would be used (allowing the internal sub-woofer to "shape" the signal).
From your message, I would imagine that you are reacting to being able to have a higher low pass filter when you use the un-filtered outputs of the receiver. This means you prefer having more upper frequency bass than is given from the receiver's sub-out. If you think of sound as color, the sub-out is just giving reds, nothing else. When you use the right and left line level outouts and adjust the sub-woofer's low pass filter higher, you get the red and orange colors. Which is fine, you're letting the sub-woofer's filter "shape" the sound to your preference. That's what its for.
I would recommend keeping all of the other speakers set to "small". I hope this is helpful information.
Ken Swauger

schumach

I find using the L&R line level outputs produces clearer sound. When you setup this way make sure that your fronts are setup as large, or you will not receive any signal lower than 100Hz.