Connecting a SW to a vintage int/amp . . .

[PopaTopSmith]

I scanned the 254 posts this morning and didn't see anything on point in the titles. I have a Polk SW attached to a vintage Kenwood KA-7100 int/amp (no SW out). I ran speaker terminal A to the SW and from the SW to my Heresies.

Is there a better way to do this with the equipment I have? For examle, can speaker A power the Heresies and speaker B the SW - with the speaker selector on 'both' ?

Also I wondered in a simple 2.1 set up like mine, is adding a second int/amp possible (one for the speakers - one for the SW) - and if so, would it make any sense?

Sorry if this has been asked time and again . . . I know very little about such things and after I recently acquired the Heresy II's I ran across this forum and appreciate the opportunity to ask and learn.

Pop in Nashville . . .

[CECAA850]

Is it a powered or passive sub?

[PopaTopSmith]

Is it a powered or passive sub?

Powered . . .

[CECAA850]

I ran speaker terminal A to the SW and from the SW to my Heresies.

That would be the correct way to wire it.

Is there a better way to do this with the equipment I have? For examle, can speaker A power the Heresies and speaker B the SW - with the speaker selector on 'both' ?

You could wire it that way but I would think it would sound the same.

[sivadselim]

......can speaker A power the Heresies and speaker B the SW?

Are the sub's speaker-level outputs high-pass filtered or not? This would be important to know.

If the sub's speaker-level outputs ARE high-pass filtered, and you DO want to high-pass your Heresies, then you need to connect the speakers to the sub's speaker-level outputs.

If the sub's speaker-level outputs ARE high-pass filtered but you DO NOT wish to high-pass filter your Heresies, then you should connect the Heresies to the Kenwood, NOT to the sub. You can use the A/B outputs to accomplish this if you wish but you can also simply connect both the sub and the speakers to the same pair of outputs on the Kenwood. Using the A/B connection would allow you to easily play the speakers without the sub (of course, turning off the sub is simple enough, too).

If the sub's speaker-level outputs are NOT high-passed, though, whether you connect the speakers to the sub or the Kenwood should not matter. The result should be the same.

[CECAA850]

Are the sub's speaker-level outputs high-pass filtered or not? This would be important to know.

I thought speaker level connections to a sub were a pass through, no filtering. Am I incorrect?

[sivadselim]

I thought speaker level connections to a sub were a pass through, no filtering. Am I incorrect?

Many are high-pass filtered ~80-120Hz.

[sivadselim]

For example, from the Sub10/Sub12 Manual:

[CECAA850]

I thought speaker level connections to a sub were a pass through, no filtering. Am I incorrect?

Many are high-pass filtered ~80-120Hz.

I've never seen one set up that way. That's not to say there's not one out there. Why would a sub manufacturer high pass the signal leaving the sub? To me it makes no sense as they have no idea what type speakers you'll be pairing the sub with.

[sivadselim]

I've never seen one set up that way. That's not to say there's not one out there. Why would a sub manufacturer high pass the signal leaving the sub? To me it makes no sense as they have no idea what type speakers you'll be pairing the sub with.

Did you see the screen capture and link to the Sub10 and Sub12 manual, above?

The idea is that you use the variable low-pass to adjust the sub's output to to either the high-pass that is being imposed or to the speaker's low-end capability if that is higher than the high-pass. Or to wherever you want to adjust it. With a fixed high-pass but a variable low-pass you can actually compensate for peaks or troughs around that high-pass frequency.

In the past almost all sub's high-level outputs were high-passed but increasingly, now, you see subs where they are simply pass-through. And, actually, even though many still have high-level inputs, many are not including the high-level outputs at all, nowadays.

High-passed speaker-level outputs on subs make perfect sense to me. Frankly, NOT high-passing them is what doesn't make much sense to me. Except for possibly facilitating easier wiring in some instances, why even put them there if they aren't going to be high-passed?

BTW, there are subs with high-passed line-level outputs, too.

[PopaTopSmith]

Thanks to all who are helping . . .

The back of the sub has two adjustable knobs, one is for volume and the other is labeled LOW PASS, and adjusts from 80 to 160 HZ. Based on your responses, it appears that it is NOT high-passed but rather low-passed - and therefore, the way I have it connected appears to be correct. Do I have that correct?

Thanks again. . .

[gnatnoop]

this is a quote from another forum member to me on the subject:

>> Mind you, this does not imply that one is obliged to use the speaker level outputs from the subs to the main speakers, which frequently have a dividing network in series with it (for crossover ranges around 80 to 100 cycles or so). Connect both the subwoofers AND main speakers to the amp, and in most cases impedance interactions are not a problem. It's how I've been using our SVS subwoofer with the 300B monoblocks. A 45 SET might be just the ticket! So might something in shades of 2A3 or 300B. <<

Here is a link with additional information: http://mapleshadestore.com/upgrades_subwoofer.php

I'm running khorns and sub directly from the amp with two sets of speaker wires. The sound is much better than running the main speakers from the subwoofer outs.

[CECAA850]

Thanks sivadselim. It seems that it would just be simpler to send the full signal to the mains through the sub amps pass through (if equiped that way) and use the amps low pass filter.

[PopaTopSmith]

Thanks sivadselim. It seems that it would just be simpler to send the full signal to the mains through the sub amps pass through (if equiped that way) and use the amps low pass filter.

If it's an equally acceptable method, there's something I like about the notion of sending the amp's full signal (from speaker terminal A) to the mains and sending the signal to the powered subwoofer via speaker terminal B. . . It seems logical to me that the less the signal leaving the amp has to experience before reaching the mains, the better - at least in my small, 2.1 channel arrangement. . .

[sivadselim]

The back of the sub has two adjustable knobs, one is for volume and the other is labeled LOW PASS, and adjusts from 80 to 160 HZ. Based on your responses, it appears that it is NOT high-passed but rather low-passed - and therefore, the way I have it connected appears to be correct. Do I have that correct?

You can't tell whether the speaker-level outptuts are high-passed simply by looking. That filter, if there, is internal and won't be adjustable. What Polk sub is it? I think that most of their subs' speaker-level outputs, nowadays, are simply pass-through and are not high-passed. But, again, it would be worth your while to try and determine this for certain. Check the Polk website and email them if necessary.

[sivadselim]

It seems that it would just be simpler to send the full signal to the mains through the sub amps pass through..............

Why? It might be simpler to use the amp's A and B outputs or just simply connect a sub and speakers to the same outputs if there are only two pair of outputs (no available (granted, shoving all those wires in can be difficult without, using, for example, piggy-backed banana plug).

Provided a sub's speaker-level outputs are NOT high-passed (and that, therefore, not being a goal), which wiring scheme you might want to use would probably depend upon which was most convenient. If, for example, you were locating a sub at the back of the room, you can see how running a pair of wires to the sub and another pair all the way back to your speakers at the front might not be the preferable way to wire the sub and speakers. In this circumstance, wiring both the sub and speakers directly to the amp might actually be what is preferable.

You could possibly make an argument that passing the signal through the sub might not be desirable, if avoidable, although I wouldn't necessarily try to make that argument.