AZNracerx1989 Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 I have a preamp that does not have subwoofer preout (2 ch.). Which hookup would work best and why? Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 The left one works if you have a crossover on your sub and want it to fill in where your mains roll off. The right one works if you want to have a higher crossover point. You might find this article helpful: Dial in a Sub by Ear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZNracerx1989 Posted January 2, 2007 Author Share Posted January 2, 2007 I went with the left one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 I went with the left one. WHY ? Just curious............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZNracerx1989 Posted January 21, 2007 Author Share Posted January 21, 2007 I did it because it does not imess with the speaker's low end cutoff.. I found out that it is bad though.. Sharing the same signal made it weaker so I connected the sub the BUFFERED outputs on my preamp while the speakers go to the PASSIVE outputs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khorn#1 Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 What do you mean by, it made the signal weaker. Do you mean sharing the pre amp outputs between the power amp and sub inputs, like the setup on the left . I'm searching tonight for this very answer. I'm wanting to install a sub in a two channel system but, like your setup, my pre amp does not have any connections for subs so I saw this set up on another forum where a quality y adapter was used at the pre amp outputs to share the signal between the sub amp crossover and the power amp. I want my front mains to operate fully and the sub to add some low end where the mains bass response cuts out. Let me know or Dr who, what do you think concerning this proposed setup. I do not want to degrade my preamp signal but at the same time want my front mains to operate fully. Regards, Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 What do you mean by, it made the signal weaker. Do you mean sharing the pre amp outputs between the power amp and sub inputs, like the setup on the left . I'm searching tonight for this very answer. I'm wanting to install a sub in a two channel system but, like your setup, my pre amp does not have any connections for subs so I saw this set up on another forum where a quality y adapter was used at the pre amp outputs to share the signal between the sub amp crossover and the power amp. I want my front mains to operate fully and the sub to add some low end where the mains bass response cuts out. Let me know or Dr who, what do you think concerning this proposed setup. I do not want to degrade my preamp signal but at the same time want my front mains to operate fully. Regards, Randy Use the splitter on the preamp output. It doubles the amount of current that the preamp needs to drive, but the voltage (ideally) should remain the same. Any small changes in amplitude can be fixed by turning up the volume knob on the preamp. If the preamp can't deliver double the current, then you'll be left with the right method - but the right method puts the crappy electronics of your sub into the signal path of your mains. The crossover is typically fixed to an obnoxious frequency too (like 150Hz). Another alternative, and better than both of the above methods would be to employ an electronic crossover. It will give you much more flexibility with properly implementing the transition between subwoofer and mains. You can try something like the dbx 223 (not the XL) which retails for $150: http://www.zzounds.com/item--DBX223 or perhaps something more expensive from Marchand electronics: http://www.marchandelec.com/xovers.html (I don't quite understand their pricing scheme - but it looks to be between $100 and $600???) Marchand also sells their crossovers in a kit form which is cheaper, and they also sell their circuit boards. It wouldn't be hard to modify someones preamp to build a crossover directly into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khorn#1 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Mike, Thanks for the advice, I bought a splitter this past weekend and ran it off my mcintosh 2 channel pre amp and it work fine. In two channel mode, Im using the crossover in the subwoofer to send everything below around 40 HZ to the sub and in home theater mode, I'm letting my Denon processor do the bass management. The two channel mode, Im still trying to get everything dialed in right, could take a week or two, Im going to run the latest video essentials this weekend and see if it might help with the two channel setup using the sub but, basically I need to have several serious jam sessions and make adjustments then as I listen which in the intial hookup last weekend I was able in a few hours of listening able to make several positive sound adjustments to the sub in crossover mode. I think this setup will work fine, it does not seem to be causing any problems splitting the pre out on my Mac two channel preamp between the Mac two channel amp and the sub. My next problem now is when Im either watching movies or jamming with 2 channel, I'll have to unhook and rehook cables to spilt the two formats but, I just might look at a niles switching unit that with a push of a button could help me connect either format I wanted to use with the sub or two channel which would be better than connecting and disconnecting cables. I might just be on to something. Regards, Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Doc is right on it, again. The solution on the right would only be advantageous if you had smaller main speakers that were not considered full range. The solution on the left preserves signal level while sending full range signal to your mains. I'd use the left solution for 2 channel listening- I prefer to keep my mains as full range as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Mike, Thanks for the advice, I bought a splitter this past weekend and ran it off my mcintosh 2 channel pre amp and it work fine. In two channel mode, Im using the crossover in the subwoofer to send everything below around 40 HZ to the sub and in home theater mode, I'm letting my Denon processor do the bass management. The two channel mode, Im still trying to get everything dialed in right, could take a week or two, Im going to run the latest video essentials this weekend and see if it might help with the two channel setup using the sub but, basically I need to have several serious jam sessions and make adjustments then as I listen which in the intial hookup last weekend I was able in a few hours of listening able to make several positive sound adjustments to the sub in crossover mode. I think this setup will work fine, it does not seem to be causing any problems splitting the pre out on my Mac two channel preamp between the Mac two channel amp and the sub. My next problem now is when Im either watching movies or jamming with 2 channel, I'll have to unhook and rehook cables to spilt the two formats but, I just might look at a niles switching unit that with a push of a button could help me connect either format I wanted to use with the sub or two channel which would be better than connecting and disconnecting cables. I might just be on to something. Regards, Randy Do you leave the crossover on the sub in the same spot when doing movies? Or do you have a bypass switch that you flip to turn off the sub's internal crossover? Or is that what you're talking about in regards to the switchbox to go into different inputs? You should be able to just use another y-splitter on the input of the sub and just flip the THX mode switch, or HT bypass or whatever they're calling them these days. It may not work though - it all depends on what the sub does internally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 I went with the left one. WHY ? Just curious............. OT Just realised you managed almost 5000 in a year! WOW To keep this pace you have to be a clone of Justin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roc Rinaldi Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 The left one works if you have a crossover on your sub and want it to fill in where your mains roll off. The right one works if you want to have a higher crossover point. You might find this article helpful: Dial in a Sub by Ear Mike, it seems that your article is addressing a stereo set-up. Do you have such an article for 7.1? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 The left one works if you have a crossover on your sub and want it to fill in where your mains roll off. The right one works if you want to have a higher crossover point. You might find this article helpful: Dial in a Sub by Ear Mike, it seems that your article is addressing a stereo set-up. Do you have such an article for 7.1? It's exactly the same process. The Dolby/DTS standards already take into account any minor deviations that might be required. Set the sub for 2-channel listening and it "should" be correct for multi-channel as well. I'm sure there's some rare exception to the rule, but I don't know of any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khorn#1 Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 Mike, There is a crossover enabled - disabled switch on my sub ( SVS pb-2 plus) that I switch on for two channel and off for home theater. I do have a differont gain level for two channel as opposed to home theater which for home theater it is set higher for the bass impact of movie sound tracks. For two channel as you know the main key is not letting the sub bring attention to it self but add the bass info at the lowest crossover point and below of the front mains which are khorns in my case. The niles switching unit will do the job of switching between the two channel signal ( crossover enabled) and the home theater processor ( sub crossover disabled - processor bass management controlled) other wise I would need to unhook and rehook what ever format cable I'm listening to. I really do not want to use a another splitter at this point and Im not sure it would work anyway. The niles unit would be perfect for this situation, I'm already using one such unit to switch my Mcintosh 2 channel main amp back and forth between the Mcintosh two channel preamp and my Denon home theater processor using the khorns for both front main formats. So far, it has served me well and the niles unit totally isolates the two inputs signals. The units are about 70.00 bucks, really not a big deal and with all the niles products, built very well. Regards, Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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