dbomberger Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Well just before I rekindled my love affair with vintage audio, I purchased a large screen tv (2 years ago). At the same time I purchased a Sony home receiver because I had been happy with my previous "ES" purchase. Fast forward to now and I'm getting ready to retire and relocate. I have a SW12-II thats been setting unused a great deal of the time over the last 20 years (virtually unused for reasons I won't go into here). In any event I wanted to hook up the sub to the new receiver and in the fine print discover that while I can use a (2-channel setting), it won't interact with the sub in that mode. (Darn or worse). My question them becomes, is this just a bad choice in equipment (feels likely) or is this a common issue. If I want to purchase a new receiver that will utilize the subs properly in 2 channel mode. Any and all advice welcome and appreciated. I will keep my vintage system(s) as they are but want a HT that uses at least one sub and which can also play streaming music to the system when I'm in that room. Thanks Del Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbphoto Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Hi Del - I believe this is common. Most AVRs have a 2-channel mode (yamaha calls it "pure direct") that eliminates as much circuitry as possible in the signal path - including bass management for the subwoofer. Sometimes there is a way to tell the AVR to keep sending low frequencies to the subwoofer in this mode (yamaha calls it "extra bass") or a middle-ground setting that re-enables bass management circuitry without enabling all the DSP modes (yamaha calls it "straight mode"). Or, old-school, depending on your sub and AVR, you could connect the L/R pre-outs of the AVR (rather than the subwoofer-out) to your sub, but this would mess up your home-theater listening. Bottom line - I think this is common but check the Sony AVR forums for a better answer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbphoto Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 PS - usually these tricky topics are not explained very clearly in the manual - I have a 15 year old Yamaha AVR and have to read this page over and over again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Try setting speakers to small in the setup menu. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusaDude Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Without the model number of the Sony receiver, it's hard to be certain... But even a 2 year old receiver should allow you to use the sub with just 2 speakers. My guess is it has more to do with the setting (stereo, Dolby Digital, etc) you're using and/or possibly the setup of the receiver. If you just have 2 speakers attached and use a "pure" or "direct" mode, you may not get a signal to the subs... Just pure stereo. But if you set the receiver to Dolby Digital or Dolby Pro Logic, then you should get stereo (from a stereo signal) with the subs being utilized. That would/could also vary based on the setup, based on crossover point and/or whether the speakers are set as large/small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwank Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 Hit the AFD button on the front of your Sony to select multi channel stereo. That should turn the Sub on. You might be able to use the sub in 2 channel direct if you set your front speakers to small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teaman Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Emotiva-XDA-2-Gen-1-/231770171378?hash=item35f69427f2:g:AhoAAOSwU9xUTkHF Maybe put some thought into this Emotiva XDA-2 preamp. It lets you run two amps via the balanced XLR outputs at the same time that you can run two powered subs via the RCA outputs. Pair it with a nice little amp and you will have a really nice sounding set up. Can't beat the price from the Emotiva Ebay store linked above either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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