How should I connect sub woofer to Denon receiver ?

D Barnes

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Hello all,

I have some 5.1 surround sound speakers which I'm trying to connect to a Denon AVR-1513 receiver. The 5 speakers have all connected fine, but I'm having trouble getting the sub to output any sound.

Rightly or wrongly, I've tried connecting the other end of the yellow cable shown on the photo, to the sub by cutting the end of off and stripping the cable, but this hasn't worked. I've tried every option on the receiver menus and that hasn't made any difference either. The sub is in working order, as if I connect it to one of the regular speaker outputs on the receiver, you can hear it fine.

Is there something I can do to get it working through the sub-woofer output port on the receiver, or am I just going to have to connect it as a regular speaker ? Or is there something else I'm missing ?

Many thanks in advance
David
 

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That looks like a passive subwoofer which, like most speakers, requires an amplified signal. These are relatively rare beasts and I have never seen one. Most subwoofers are active which mean thst they contain their own amplifier and take a low level signal. A simple way to distinguish them is that an active subwoofer will also have a power cable. The Denon is expecting an active subwoofer. You can't use this without buying a suitable amplifier. They exist but it might be as well to get the more common active subwoofer.
 
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That sub out is low level, the sub needs high level. It won't work. You need a power amp. It's unlikely buying a amp is worth it for a Samsung sub

Buy a new active subwoofer.
 
That's a passive sub which will not work with the Denon. If it's from a system that was originally supplied with it's own surround sound Samsung amp I would also check the ohm loading on those five speakers. If they are 3 ohm then there is a chance that they could damage the Denon or cause regular safety shutdowns. You can check the ohm loading on the rear labels.
 
Thanks everyone for your replies - much appreciated. I felt it may be something to do with it requiring a powered sub. The speakers were given to me and were part of an old DVD player / Home cinema system but that must have been one which required a passive sub.

I'll buyer a new active sub and check the ohms on the other speakers

thanks again
David
 
If it's htib I'd probably ditch the speakers. What are they?
 
They're only budget speakers, but it's only for a holiday home, so not looking to put in an expensive loud system. That said, if these really are going to be rubbish , or not too compatible with the receiver, and if the difference between buying a new sub, or buying a new complete 5.1 system, is not much extra cost, I'd rather buy a new complete 5.1 speaker system.

Any (budget) recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks again for everyone's time

David
 

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Do not use those speakers with the Denon. They could cause real damage to the amp.
 
ok, I understand. Is there a set on Amazon/ebay you can recommend, bearing in mind it is just a cheap occasional use setup :) Thanks again
 
Wharfedale diamond.9.0 probably smallest cheapest speaker I would recommend.

Sounds incredible too, considering I'm into expensive speakers.
 

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