[Aberdeen Al]

Hi,

Just away to start wiring up my extension in preparation for cinema set-up, but don't know what type of wiring required for a sub-woofer.

I've ordered a Pioneer VSX-LX52 and looking at the Monitor Audio Radius 370 sub woofer which will be paired to my Monitor Audio Gold in-wall speakers.

Do I run normal speaker cable or something else?

Thanks in advance!

Al

[PSM1]

Your sub will need a shielded phono cable from the amp to the sub. If it also has high level inputs then can run a speaker cable between it and the amp as well.

[Pollywoggle]

Although you may not need high level? Depending what setup you have planned you may just need the phono to phono (sub cable)?

[Aberdeen Al]

Originally Posted by PSM1

Your sub will need a shielded phono cable from the amp to the sub. If it also has high level inputs then can run a speaker cable between it and the amp as well.

Thanks for that

Next question...............does anyone have a guide on how to terminate the phono cable?

[Aberdeen Al]

Originally Posted by Pollywoggle

Although you may not need high level? Depending what setup you have planned you may just need the phono to phono (sub cable)?

Hi, sorry I'm lost with your comment "...what set-up you have planned..." can you explain for a complete novice?

Thanks

[Gadgetcity]

Originally Posted by Aberdeen Al

Hi, sorry I'm lost with your comment "...what set-up you have planned..." can you explain for a complete novice?

Thanks

First of all, I assume that you know that a subwoofer is used to fill in the low end frequencies.

There are three main types of connection to an active subwoofer (most are active - it just means that the subwoofer has an amplifier built in).

If you have an LFE output.....
The usual connection is via phono (also called RCA) connection.
When using an AV amp, the amp either extracts or decodes the bass which is destined for the subwoofer. It sends this audio out of a phono labelled subwoofer or LFE (low frequency effects - bangs, crashes and booms in movies).
You should connect using this method.


If you have a stereo pre-out or access to the source output.....
You can also connect stereo amps and pre-amps that don't provide an LFE output. This time you connect either a stereo pair of phonos to the pre-out on the amp OR pass the source/pre-amp output to the subwoofer input and the subwoofer output back to the amp. Using this method the subwoofer extracts the bass from the left and right speakers, mixes it together and plays it out of the subwoofer.


If you only have speaker connections......
If there is no low level phone output on you hifi then SOME subwoofers allow the speaker output to be directly connected to the subwoofer. The subwoofer reduces this high level down to a low level and then operates in the same way as the stereo phono input does above except the output is still at speaker level and directly drives the speakers.


Hope that was easy enough to understand for a novice.

PS the low frequencies from a subwoofer don't provide any directional information to the listener so you can place it wherever it sounds best - it does not have a specific position like all the other speakers in a 5.1 setup.

[Aberdeen Al]

Originally Posted by Gadgetcity

First of all, I assume that you know that a subwoofer is used to fill in the low end frequencies.

There are three main types of connection to an active subwoofer (most are active - it just means that the subwoofer has an amplifier built in).

If you have an LFE output.....
The usual connection is via phono (also called RCA) connection.
When using an AV amp, the amp either extracts or decodes the bass which is destined for the subwoofer. It sends this audio out of a phono labelled subwoofer or LFE (low frequency effects - bangs, crashes and booms in movies).
You should connect using this method.


If you have a stereo pre-out or access to the source output.....
You can also connect stereo amps and pre-amps that don't provide an LFE output. This time you connect either a stereo pair of phonos to the pre-out on the amp OR pass the source/pre-amp output to the subwoofer input and the subwoofer output back to the amp. Using this method the subwoofer extracts the bass from the left and right speakers, mixes it together and plays it out of the subwoofer.


If you only have speaker connections......
If there is no low level phone output on you hifi then SOME subwoofers allow the speaker output to be directly connected to the subwoofer. The subwoofer reduces this high level down to a low level and then operates in the same way as the stereo phono input does above except the output is still at speaker level and directly drives the speakers.


Hope that was easy enough to understand for a novice.

PS the low frequencies from a subwoofer don't provide any directional information to the listener so you can place it wherever it sounds best - it does not have a specific position like all the other speakers in a 5.1 setup.

Hi,

Thank you very much for your reply - very much appreciated and explained in a way that I could understand too.