Do you really need "subwoofer" cable?

[DCGolfer]

I have a new Klipsch subwoofer in my home theater and I use a Denon 2807. I watch movies here and I just need decent sound.

I know Monster is ridiculously overpriced, but do I need to buy "subwoofer" cable? Isn't digital audio cables basically the same thing? What qualities in the cable do I need, if any? I see stuff about gold vs. silver, shielded, etc. but it's all greek to me.

Also, do I need to plug into the LFE or both the L/R?

Thanks.

[jacksonbart]

Actually at the molecular level, scientists have engineered the metal strands making up the cable to have the ability to carry only certain audio frequencies. I am full of sh!t, no you dont. A normal well made RCA plug will work.

[DrWho]

Only plug into the LFE or L/R - not both at the same time. And you can use any RCA cable you want. The only thing different about "subwoofer" cable is they generally are longer and have a better shield which reduces the likelihood of picking up interference. But if you don't have any noise issues then there is nothing to worry about.

[wuzzzer]

If your receiver has a single sub or LFE output you can get a 'Y' splitter so that you can hook up both the L and R inputs on the sub. Otherwise use the single cable output into the LFE input. Not both at the same time as DrWho said.

[DCGolfer]

wuzzzer,

I know I can't plug both in at the same time, but are you saying the single LFE is a better option than getting a y-splitter and plugging into the L/R?

I know LFE is good fot DTS, but my friend thought my receiver (Denon 2807) wasn't high-end enough to use LFE.

[DrWho]

From the subwoofer's perspective, connecting into the LFE input bypasses the crossover on the sub. Connecting into the L/R inputs does not. That is the only difference from the perspective of the sub.

As far as your reciever is conerned....there are quite a few different approaches to your situation. Your Denon reciever is by no means "not high-end enough" to prevent use of its internal crossover. In fact, the crossover is performed on the digital signal which means it's merely a function being performed on numbers - you can't have any "losses" with the processing (that you wouldn't get with the most expensive insane piece of gear - heck, it's the exact same circuitry).

Maybe you'll find this article helpful:

Dial in a Subwoofer by ear

Or if you want a short and sweet answer. Run the LFE output from the reciever into the LFE input on the subwoofer. Set the phase on the sub to 0 and the crossover as high as it goes. In your reciever setup menu, let it know that you have a subwoofer and set the crossover to 80Hz. Set all of your speakers to small and then run the test tones on your receiver to get everything at the same volume. Then do the part in the article that talks about inverting polarity to get as little bass as possible and then inverting the polarity back to normal.

[damonrpayne]

My subwoofer cable has an "arrow" on it so that its plugged in such that the bass "flows the right way".

I guess there are some diodes or something in this fancy monster cable? []

[DrWho]

The arrow is to indicate proper placement of the lifted shield, which yields you a little bit extra noise cancellation. The shield will be more likely to pick up EMI which will cause current flow, but if you remove it from the ground on the downstream device it won't see the current and thus the noise won't transmit.

[mas]

'Directional cables' are completely valid! (as opposed to BS concept of 'directional wire' where the electrons supposedly flow 'better' in one direction than another)

As the Doc mentioned, the shield (ground) of a 'directional cable' is connected at the receiver/pre-amp end, while the shield(ground) is lifted at the device end. This provides shielding from RF interference while eliminating the potential for ground loops.

If you are making interconnects, this is a practice that is worthwhile to emulate.