Newbie to Home Theater - Subwoofer question.

[tdacquisto]

Hi everyone, I'm new to home theater - just purchased a Denon AVR4800 receiver, Klipsch Quintet surrounds, Klipsch center channel and subwoofer. I hooked everything up and it works GREAT, but I have a question about the subwoofer. It's a Klipsch KSW-12, and I would like to use it for both home theater AND just audio. The way I have it set up now it's only being driven when in THX or surround modes because I don't have my main speakers (Martin Logan Sequel electrostatics) plugged into it - they are just hooked up to the receiver. If I understand this correctly, I can unplug my MLs from the receiver and plug them into the right and left outputs of the sub and then plug the sub into the right and left outputs of the receiver so it will then "catch" all the low frequency signals before they hit the MLs, thereby eliminating the ML subwoofers, which is fine by me. Is this correct? Also, would I just leave the other connection to the subwoofer output of the receiver so when I'm watching a movie, it will process the low freq stuff that way? What would happen if I was listening to music in stereo mode and then switched to 5 channel stereo? Would both the front speakers and the subwoofer output be driving the sub at the same time??? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Colin]

you can try to run the MLs from the outputs of the sub-woofer, but this will cut off the signal to the ML woofers and you will find the mid and upper bass to be weak,

instead dial the EQ on the KSW12 back down to the 40 Hz setting and then slowly work the volume knob up as you listen to your favorite peice of bass music, or better yet, get a SPL meter and a Test CD and set the EQ levels by testing the lower octave signals with frequency tones, you will find that the KSW12 can help out with the deeper notes but not the deepest ones, sneak the power up until it helps out with the mid bass, but does not intrude on the upper bass area (it should not sound muddy or boomy)-

when you stand above the sub and turn the knobs up, you will hear the bass get muddy or boomy - when it does, back off on the either the EQ or the volume, when you return to your seat, the bass will not be too muddy or boomy there either -

I think you are talking about the LFE input on the sub and I do not think that it is affected by wether you are in stereo or six channel mode (I think it gets a full range signal either way)-

some people have both the RCA outputs and the LFE outputs hooked up to their sub - they seem to like it that way -

there is a switch to boost the sub-woofer when watching action movies, but for me a guilty twist of the knob accomplishes the same thing, turn it until it does not warp the male voices and then sit back and enjoy,

I have a pair of electrocet headphones and when I win the lottery, one of my many systems will be electrostatics with 1,000 watt amplifiers ...