Subwoofer Connection

[buzzclip]

I've got a Marantz 2275 that's connected to two sets of speakers -- one pair of towers in the living room and a bookshelf pair in the kitchen -- using both Main and Remote. I bought a SVS SB-1000 sub to add some low-end to the living room. It's a large room with 16' ceilings and the additional low-end really jazzes things up. To demo, I've connected the sub using the Pre Out and Main In on the Marantz and line level in and out on the SB-1000 using two RCA cables. And it sounds great. The only issue is that the sub doesn't really fit where I've been demoing it. Ideally I could move the sub to the opposite side of the room from the receiver. It would require about 40' of rca cable.

So my question is should I continue using two RCA cables <Pre Out to Line Level In> and <Line Level Out to Main In> both 40' long? If so, do I need to splurge on nice cables (like World's Best Cable 40' RCA for $98/ea) or could I get away with Monoprice premium 50' for $20/ea? Or could I possibly buy one nice cable and use Y splitters for going into the Main In? I'm not sure if that would work because my sub has both Line Level In and Line Level Out. But one cable would be great because I'm hiding it in the trim and there's only so much room in the channels with the existing speaker cable for my left tower.

I appreciate any insight. And if this whole thing sounds dumb, I'm fine with hearing that too. I'm always learning from you guys and have no ego about it.

 

[wmgwizard]

You could use 1 Monoprice cable and the "Y" adapters.

 

[peterp1]

Where will the main speakers be located relative to the sub? It may be easier (cable wise) to drive the sub with the speaker level inputs if the sub is near the mains.

If the speakers aren't near the sub, or you really want to use line level, it should be better to use Y RCA splitter cable (one each for left and right) using the very short run of one side of the splitter to loop back to “amp in” (you want as short a cable as possible for the rest of the signal) and use the other side of the splitter to drive the long RCA cable runs to the sub.

Test it out with the splitter to see how it works before buying the long RCA cable. It should be much better to use the short Y output to loop the preamp out to main in on the Marantz, rather than looping everything through the sub, but I remember somebody claiming they had noise issues using a Y cable to replace amp preamp out/main jumpers on an amp/receiver (I don't think that's likely but worthwhile to check first before buying the long RCAs).

 

[Cassidyy1]

Relocating the subwoofer to the opposite side of the room from the receiver appears to be a promising idea, albeit it comes with the prerequisite of obtaining a long RCA cable.

In response to your inquiry about whether to employ two RCA cables, one RCA cable with Y splitters, or splurge on expensive cables, the decision depends on your specific requirements and preferences.

Using two individual RCA cables, one for the Pre Out to Line Level In and one for Line Level Out to Main In, is a common method and is often dependable. However, using a single RCA cable with Y splitters may compromise the audio quality with some signal loss or noise.

It's unnecessary to break the bank with expensive cables as there are reasonably priced cables that serve the purpose. Though expensive cables may provide slight enhancements in audio quality, you're unlikely to notice any significant difference. A good quality and reasonably priced cable like Monoprice premium 50' should suffice.

One aspect to consider is that using lengthy cables might result in some signal loss; therefore, it's wise to opt for a shielded cable that minimizes interference.

 

[wmgwizard]

As this is for a sub there should be minimal loss of sound quality usning a Y splitter/adapter at the amp and a single quality shielded RCA cable. Be sure to use a good quality Y adapter to minimize signal loss and noise in your receiver.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p...c17RdTWw0NKNvpH4c_NzctE8BckWt7axoCaL4QAvD_BwE

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-cPREn...CDBMmOf57TP-kiSXID7zPfToRHbCV2pBoCTGUQAvD_BwE

Shielding will help prevent noise from being induced into the signal over a long run but again, at low frequencies this should be minimal.

https://www.svsound.com/products/soundpath-rca-audio-interconnect-cable?variant=11658765510

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=21679

The only advantage to using two sets of RCA cables would be if the sub introduced a high pass filter on its line outs back to your amps main in terminals. Nothing in the SVS literature suggests this is the case so the added complexity and expense should be unnecessary.