VIII. Connecting The Subwoofer To Your Audio System
There are several ways to connect a subwoofer into a system. For best results overall, we recommend using Low/Line Level connections.
When making a Low/Line Level connection, be sure to follow the coding on the cables to maintain
A. Connecting Home Theater Equipment (see Figure 3, page 15):
You can use a single RCA cable to connect the Subwoofer Output of your receiver, integrated amplifier, or preamplifier to either right or left side of the Low Level Input on the subwoofer.
Home Theater receivers, integrated amplifiers, surround sound processors, and preamplifiers usually have a special Subwoofer Output to provide the optional (Dolby Digital 5.1) Low Frequency Effects (LFE) Channel present on many movie and other programming sources. To reproduce these
The subwoofer output/LFE signal is filtered by most receivers/processors. The subwoofer's variable low pass filter is usually not required and should be bypassed by switching the LFE Input/Crossover bypass switch to active only if the receiver/processor subwoofer/LFE output is low pass filtered. The default position for
this switch is off.
With some Home Theater electronics and settings, connecting the Subwoofer Output does not provide the low frequencies from normal stereo music through the subwoofer. If this is tr ue of your system, you can make two connections. First, connect the Subwoofer Output from the electronics to the right or left side of the Low Level Input of the subwoofer, as described above. Then also connect the High Level Output from the electronics to the High Level Input of our subwoofer,as described below. When listening to music using High Level Input, set the LFE Input/Crossover bypass switch to the off position. The switch would usually be set to active whenever the receiver/processor's Subwoofer Output is used during playback of movies. Most Home Theater electronics will not require this second connection, which, if not required, will produce greater bass than intended.
B. Connecting Stereo Equipment Using Low/line Level (see Figure 4, page 16):
If your receiver or integrated amplifier has preamplifier outputs, or if you are using a se parate preamplifier, the preferred connection is from the Preamplifier Output of the electronics to the Low Level Input of the subwoofer. Use a dual RCA audio cable and maintain right and left. (You may need to use
Connecting the Low/Line Level Outputs from the subwoofer back to the Power Amplifier Input is an important option. The Low/Line Level Inputs of the subwoofer are internally processed through an active high pass filter (at 12dB/octave below 80Hz) to the Low/Line Level Outputs of the subwoofer. Connecting the Low/Line Level Outputs from the subwoofer back to the Power Amplifier Inputs delivers the processed signal, with reduced low frequency content, to the main speakers. With less low frequency demands, the main speakers can play louder. Particularly with smaller and/or less efficient main speakers, relieving speakers other than the subwoofer of the demands of reproducing low frequencies will allow greater sound output and dynamic capabilities from the other speakers and from the system overall.
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