connecting a sub to the left and right speakers

[pants1982]

I bought a denon htib a few years ago and it sounds find 4 inch satellite speakers and a 8 inch sub. I just bought the new denon 590 which has hdmi inputs where my old denon did not. My sub sounds fine on average scenes but when there is lots of action it can get overwhelmed quick, so I am looking into getting a new sub.

So my question is, if i hook up the left and right speakers to my old sub and use the new sub for the lfe channel. Can you tell a noticeable difference to the left and rights or would it be better to use two subs on the lfe channel?

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by pants1982

I bought a denon htib a few years ago and it sounds find 4 inch satellite speakers and a 8 inch sub. I just bought the new denon 590 which has hdmi inputs where my old denon did not. My sub sounds fine on average scenes but when there is lots of action it can get overwhelmed quick, so I am looking into getting a new sub.

So my question is, if i hook up the left and right speakers to my old sub and use the new sub for the lfe channel. Can you tell a noticeable difference to the left and rights or would it be better to use two subs on the lfe channel?

Get a Y-splitter and split the LFE signal. I am not sure how the front would perform being ran into the sub (I have a hunch that it is not good), but I do know that 2 subs can easily be set-up with a Y-splitter.

However, having 2 subs won't make that 8 inch sub any better. It will still have problems getting down low. You may just want to look into getting a new sub and running just the one sub first to see if you like what you hear. Then, if you are curious or unsatisfied, you can get the Y-splitter and just hook up the 8 inch sub and find out what that sounds like. You have nothing to lose.

Not sure of your budget, but Premier Acoustic, Acoustic Audio (AA-HD sub's), and even Elemental Design's eDA2-300 are great performing subs for the price!

Good luck!

[Hammie]

Don't run your speaker through the sub. Instead, have them run right off the receiver. Then just use a standard RCA Subwoofer cable from the receiver to the sub.

BTW, what is your budget for a new sub? That will help in recommmending one.

[pants1982]

Originally Posted by forsberg21

Not sure of your budget, but Premier Acoustic, Acoustic Audio (AA-HD sub's), and even Elemental Design's eDA2-300 are great performing subs for the price!

I have seen a lot of people talk about those subs and for the price they sound great, I have never heard their sound so I can't be sure. When i was at the home theater store yesterday he was using 10" Klipsch and they sounded great. As far as a budget I dont want to spend more than 500. But then the question would be is that 500 dollars going to sound twice as good as the one speaker or would two decent speakers sound better.

When i was at the home theater store, the guy i was talking to said if i hooked up my old sub to the left and right it would make them sound like nice floor standing speakers instead of satellite speakers. I am going to try this out this weekend to see how it sounds without another sub just to see if i can hear a difference. I just wanted to know if anybody here has done it thinks it improves their speakers a lot or little to none

[pants1982]

Originally Posted by louhamilton

Don't run your speaker through the sub. Instead, have them run right off the receiver.

Well technically it wont run through the sub but just pass through i guess, sort of, maybe, i dont know??

basically it would go to the speaker input on the sub and the sub would be speaker out to the receiver and the speakers would still be powered by the receiver except when there is lower frequency it would be played by the sub, which basically turns the satellites into three-ways and the other sub would be hooked up to the sub out on the receiver with the crossover at a lower point maybe around 60hz since the fronts can handle more. But that is my understanding

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by pants1982

I have seen a lot of people talk about those subs and for the price they sound great, I have never heard their sound so I can't be sure. When i was at the home theater store yesterday he was using 10" Klipsch and they sounded great. As far as a budget I dont want to spend more than 500. But then the question would be is that 500 dollars going to sound twice as good as the one speaker or would two decent speakers sound better.

When i was at the home theater store, the guy i was talking to said if i hooked up my old sub to the left and right it would make them sound like nice floor standing speakers instead of satellite speakers. I am going to try this out this weekend to see how it sounds without another sub just to see if i can hear a difference. I just wanted to know if anybody here has done it thinks it improves their speakers a lot or little to none

What you're describing is using the front connections on your receiver and connecting them to the speaker-wire inputs on the subwoofer, correct? You would then set them up as "full band" on the receiver. Doing this would allow the sub to handle the cutoff and send only the highs/mids to the satellite speakers. They would sound more like floorstanding speakers, but still wouldn't be the same as "nice" floorstanders. They simply aren't going to have the same output.

If you did this and then ran a second dedicated sub for the .1 LFE, I would think it would sound the same as running one sub and just having a high crossover. I don't think it would significantly change the sound. While two subs are described as being better, in that example they're both running a split LFE signal, rather than one being a dedicated sub and one being used as lower excursion for the front speakers.

[DarkDune]

I discussed the benefits of putting subs in-line with the Fronts in this thread:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...17#post1911217

I posted some other things about this option on other threads. There are articles mentioned that talk about when this can improve Bass response for varying source material. Let me know if you have more questions!

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by aramis109

What you're describing is using the front connections on your receiver and connecting them to the speaker-wire inputs on the subwoofer, correct? You would then set them up as "full band" on the receiver. Doing this would allow the sub to handle the cutoff and send only the highs/mids to the satellite speakers. They would sound more like floorstanding speakers, but still wouldn't be the same as "nice" floorstanders. They simply aren't going to have the same output.

If you did this and then ran a second dedicated sub for the .1 LFE, I would think it would sound the same as running one sub and just having a high crossover. I don't think it would significantly change the sound. While two subs are described as being better, in that example they're both running a split LFE signal, rather than one being a dedicated sub and one being used as lower excursion for the front speakers.

aramis, if he has satellite speakers, might they not be 4 ohms and his new Denon 590 is 6 or 8 ohms, so doesn't he risk frying the receiver when trying to push those satellites?

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by forsberg21

aramis, if he has satellite speakers, might they not be 4 ohms and his new Denon 590 is 6 or 8 ohms, so doesn't he risk frying the receiver when trying to push those satellites?

For sure. I missed that since they were all denon. Make sure you check the ohm rating of your speakers and if it's not 6 or 8... don't use them.

[pants1982]

I know that they are all 4 ohm speakers. I didnt look at the output on the new one, I just assumed since it was denon it would do that. I dont know why i didnt think of that

[DarkDune]

Originally Posted by aramis109

For sure. I missed that since they were all denon. Make sure you check the ohm rating of your speakers and if it's not 6 or 8... don't use them.

Yes...ALWAYS be sure the Ohms are right! Be also advised that if you use the Subwoofer channel on your receiver, the bass will only also go to the Fronts if they are set to LARGE. Only then will subs in-line with the Fronts be worthwhile.

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by pants1982

I know that they are all 4 ohm speakers. I didnt look at the output on the new one, I just assumed since it was denon it would do that. I dont know why i didnt think of that

Now you have a great excuse to upgrade your speakers.......

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by pants1982

I know that they are all 4 ohm speakers. I didnt look at the output on the new one, I just assumed since it was denon it would do that. I dont know why i didnt think of that

Looks like it's only rated for 6 and 8 ohms. Personally I wouldn't push it with your shiny new receiver. I'd look at new speakers.

[pants1982]

Well my best buy i know is have a sell buy either the sub10 or sub12 and the Quintet 5 and get 275 off

[aramis109]

Klipsch Quintet II I believe? They're decent for the price. What's your budget and your timing? You could potentially do better than some more little satellite speakers.

[pants1982]

Well i was budgeting for a new sub not all new speakers. Timing isnt really an issue because i still have the avr590 in the box because i didnt want to get it out until i had everything i needed.

And i agree another satellite system is not something i want to get. I dont think i could spend more than 1k at the moment

[aramis109]

At $1k there are definitely sets within your reach- Energy, Polk Monitors or TSi, Klipsch, KEF, PSB (among others). Best Buy's Magnolia carries Klipsch's floorstanders as well as a lot of other brands.

[pants1982]

this may be a dumb question but i will ask anyways. I really do love Klipsch speakers its just that they are so expensive. So the question is, is it bad to use bookshelf speakers for the fronts and the rears because I'm looking at the B-2 and at $250 for a pair

I guess it would a step up from satellites but a step away from floor standing
Thoughts?

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by pants1982

this may be a dumb question but i will ask anyways. I really do love Klipsch speakers its just that they are so expensive. So the question is, is it bad to use bookshelf speakers for the fronts and the rears because I'm looking at the B-2 and at $250 for a pair

I guess it would a step up from satellites but a step away from floor standing
Thoughts?

aramis is the right guy to ask, as he uses bi-poles for his fronts and surrounds and loves the sound he gets........

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by forsberg21

aramis is the right guy to ask, as he uses bi-poles for his fronts and surrounds and loves the sound he gets........

The B2's aren't bipolar...?

Seriously, there's nothing wrong with bookshelf speakers. A lot of nice ones can do better than floorstanders depending on the brand/etc. The biggest thing you get with floorstanding speakers is typically:

1) More drivers
2) lower excursion (they can dig deeper/lower hz).

The more drivers advantage should be clear- you can typically get better/louder sound. Lower excursion is just simple physics- bigger cabinet, lower sound.

If you like the sound of Klipsch, there's nothing wrong with their bookshelf speakers, or with going with them all the way around. Honestly, that's vastly superior to a satellite. My only suggestion is to try and hit the magic # of 80hz- in other words, try to get bookshelf speakers that can go at least as low as 80hz at +/-3db. Anything above that means you'll have to set your crossover high enough that low frequency sound between say 80hz-120hz (or whatever your crossover point is) will be localized to the sub, which will sound bad. Those Klipsch B2's can go down to 62hz which is fine.

I'd also recommend checking out PSB's if you're sticking with bookshelf speakers. They have a great reputation as well.