huge

Thanks for the reply. That would have been a better way to ask my question - is the old sub just doing nothing in the current setup? I think I'll give it a calibration and a listen right now, and then remove the old CSW sub, calibrate and listen again. And then probably use the CSW and my 3 extra little satellites to set up a small HT for my sister. If anyone else has different ideas, let me know...

OK, let's move away from the whole phone/cat5 wiring fun that I started and toward some more low-brow cheap-a$$ audio setup questions... I got the RW-12D, and apparently I got one of the 3% that wasn't damaged, so that's good. I haven't played around much with settings or placement - I just ran the AVR's (Pioneer VSX-1121-K) auto-calibration routine, and right out of the box the new sub sounds great (to my admittedly not-too-fussy ear), so that's good too. So right now, I haven't even bothered to remove my old unpowered Sub from the system: Cambridge Soundworks HT IV, connected between the AVR and the Klipsch Synergy SLX front L/R speakers. (Identical SLX used as Center, connected directly to the AVR, obv) Is it obvious that I should remove the unpowered sub from the room? I guess I could rephrase that ... it's not obvious to *me* - the system clearly sounds better now than when the old sub was handling LFE duties, and I don't notice any kind of interference or other signs of the two subs "not playing nice together", but it's entirely plausible to me that the old sub is now just a waste at best, and muddying the waters at worst, and that I should get rid of it even if I can't readily detect that it's causing any problems... Any thoughts? (Thanks for all the encouragement, by the way - I'm very glad I got the 12D instead of the wimpier alternatives. I'm having friends over to watch "Blade Runner" on Blu-Ray tomorrow night and greatly looking forward to all the rumbling)

wow.......... I think phone wire is like 28 gauge? .. I shall pretend I didn't read that Normally I would say wire doesn't make a difference but in this case it should make an appreciable difference Thanks for the replies, everyone! I ordered the 12d - sounds pretty much unanimous that it won't be "too much". I probably can't quite manage getting two of them, but it seems like this "sale" price comes up off-and-on, so perhaps I'll have an opportunity to change my mind down the road. For now I'm just hoping it doesn't arrive *too* badly damaged (lots of complaints in the Newegg reviews). On the phone wiring issue, my understanding is that phone wiring is 24-gauge, but there are 8 wires, so I twisted 4 together for + and 4 for -. I read somewhere what the resulting effective gauge was (assuming I was getting good contact with all the strands) and it was something like 16. It sounded fine to me, but it looked gross and was hard to work with, and I decided it was time to be a grownup. Thanks again...

I'm upgrading my HT system, but what I call an upgrade is probably pretty far off the low end for most denizens of this forum. I'm hoping you'll slum it with me and offer some advice... I just got a new AVR (Pioneer VSX-1121-K) and some decent speaker wire (from BlueJeansCable, to replace my ... brace yourself ... old phone wiring I've been using for speaker wire for 15+ years). While measuring cable runs I realized that I really need to get a new powered subwoofer, to replace my crusty old passive Cambridge Soundworks HT IV (that I had literally forgotten existed). My LCR mains are all Klipsch Synergy SLX, and I'm pretty happy with them - no plans to upgrade those. My basement HT room is small - I'm thinking under 1500 cubic feet. I only watch movies (80%) & TV (20%) in that room - no music. At first I looked at the Klipsch Synergy Sub-10, thinking it might match up with my mains well, but then saw some weak reviews, so now I'm considering getting the RW-12d (both are on sale at Newegg - $200 vs $300). The 12d seems like a better unit, but I wonder if it's just way too big/powerful for my room and system. Does it even make sense to worry about that, or can a powered sub operate with all its quality even when it's not using anywhere near all of its power? Thanks for any advice or wisdom you can share with an unwashed, cheap, low-fi, first-post noob...