Please help with Sub Hookup....going crazy!!

Kingface

I just bought an older Boston Acoustics VR-500 sub...it didn't come with a manual. It is a powered sub. On the back it has the speaker wire hookup which I would rather avoid using. It also has FOUR RCA inputs/Outputs that says 'Line Level' over the section where they are. There is 1 set of red and whites that says 'in' and one set of red and white that says 'out'. I imagine that is what I need....but no matter what I do it just doesn't seem to work and hardly any sound comes out. I am using an older Yamaha 5.1 receiver (RX-V800) that DOES have a subwoofer out. I used this receiver with another sub and connected it just fine with my other new subwoofer and it worked great.

FYI....The other controls on the sub is a phase control, crossover control and volume control. Please help....I know the sub works.....it's just me and it's driving me nuts!! HAHA!!

kawizx9r

Did you try running the one rca cable that comes from the subwoofer out of your receiver to each of the red or white LINE IN inputs on your sub? Leave the 'level' gain at about halfway, which is a good place to start.

If you barely get any sound, I'd suggest trying a splitter and hooking up that single end to both inputs on your subwoofer.

WesKParker

It sounds like you checked this, but you may also check to make sure your receiver is outputting from the LFE (subwoofer) channel. Most receivers have a setting to turn the LFE off, and sometimes it can vary by input (ie. dvd, cd, tv, etc..).

JYAJoe

My particular unit has a subwoofer out and a subwoofer pre-out which can be confused because i did it. Rca cable to pre-out and select subwoofer on on receiver like Westparker recommended.

Squishy Tia

Yamaha AVRs have three possible settings for subwoofer output:

1) Front: This will output ONLY to your front speakers, ignoring your subwoofer. Same as using Pure Direct mode.

2) SWFR (Subwoofer): This will output the bass that is below the selected crossover setting to the subwoofer only. Bass below this frequency will be rolled off at a roughly 12db/octave slope to the front speakers. Best for clear reproduction of bass and avoidance of standing waves between the mains and the subwoofer.

3) BOTH: Outputs bass to all possible main channel speakers and the subwoofer simultaneously. Good for movies or if you have your sub placed (and phased) properly to avoid the standing waves noted in #2.

Make sure your AVR isn't set to option #1. As a secondary test, you could also use the L/R outputs to your sub's line level inputs. NOTE: TURN OFF SPEAKERS A AND B BEFORE DOING THIS OR YOU COULD DAMAGE YOUR SUBWOOFER DUE TO EXCESSIVE OUTPUT LEVELS. Start at a low volume and move up. If you still hear little to no bass at the -30db mark, then I would suspect a dud amplifier in the subwoofer. That, unfortunately means you need a new sub unless you can procure the right amp for it.

Kingface

Thanks everyone....turns out I am a bigger fool than I thought!! I went into my receivers menu and saw that the Subwoofer output was turned all of the way down....which is why I didn't hear anything.... I had the RCA cable hooked up to the right input so at least I am not a total moron..... Everything works great now.

Thanks again!

wutadumsn23

Glad to hear you got it fixed, sometimes it is the easiest things we overlook.

-Jeff