Subwoofer implementation

[Hawkeye83]

Hi, so I had another thread where I "inherited" a complete Klipsch R series home theater system, with 12" Velodyne subwoofer (model CHT-12). I will likely keep the subwoofer and sell everything else, but that's yet to be determined. For now, I'd like to try running two subwoofers in my office system.

I can only see two ways of hooking this up...

RCA splitter out of my preamp (Juicy Blueberry), which would feed the first subwoofer and also feed my main amplifier (Monarchy SM 70). The first subwoofer would then feed the second subwoofer via the RCA output.

OR

Speaker level connections - is it okay to go from my main amplifier and then run like this?

Main amp -> left subwoofer -> left speaker (speaker level connections)
-> right subwoofer -> right speaker (speaker level connections)
So each subwoofer would only have ONE speaker level connection going to it, which then feeds the speaker on its same side of the room.
Is this okay?

Other option is to continue to use one subwoofer per system...move one of these subwoofers out to my "main" system which uses KEF 107 speakers...don't really need a sub there, but won't hurt either...other than getting a little closer to the fireplace than my liking (if I move a sub out there, it will be like right next to the stone footing of the fireplace, which sticks out probably 24-30 inches from the fireplace itself...)

Thanks for any input! And sorry for the "noob" question here! I've never run more than one subwoofer in a system, and this is seemingly harder because my preamp only has one set of outputs (no LFE/sub out). I know this has likely been asked a million times too...

 

[JoeESP9]

Any of your options will work just fine. Option two provides stereo subs. Some say stereo subs are unnecessary and prefer distributed bass (all subs are fed the same signal).Your option one will give distributed bass. I would give all three options a listen and stick with whatever sounds best to you.

FWIW: I use dual (stereo) subs.

 

[Hawkeye83]

Any of your options will work just fine. Option two provides stereo subs. Some say stereo subs are unnecessary and prefer distributed bass (all subs are fed the same signal).Your option one will give distributed bass. I would give all three options a listen and stick with whatever sounds best to you.

FWIW: I use dual (stereo) subs.

Great, thanks!!! Sometimes you just need a little reassurance, you know?!

 

[sqlsavior]

Speaker level connections - is it okay to go from my main amplifier and then run like this?

Main amp -> left subwoofer -> left speaker (speaker level connections)
-> right subwoofer -> right speaker (speaker level connections)
So each subwoofer would only have ONE speaker level connection going to it, which then feeds the speaker on its same side of the room.
Is this okay?

This is exactly how I run my subs with my Quads.

To the extent that the bass is mixed to mono, you have distributed bass! Best of both worlds, imo.

 

[onplane]

I can only see two ways of hooking this up...

RCA splitter out of my preamp (Juicy Blueberry), which would feed the first subwoofer and also feed my main amplifier (Monarchy SM 70). The first subwoofer would then feed the second subwoofer via the RCA output.

OR

Speaker level connections - is it okay to go from my main amplifier and then run like this?

Main amp -> left subwoofer -> left speaker (speaker level connections)
-> right subwoofer -> right speaker (speaker level connections)
So each subwoofer would only have ONE speaker level connection going to it, which then feeds the speaker on its same side of the room.
Is this okay?

Thanks for any input! And sorry for the "noob" question here! I've never run more than one subwoofer in a system, and this is seemingly harder because my preamp only has one set of outputs (no LFE/sub out). I know this has likely been asked a million times too...

Hawkeye, you never said what your "office system" is nor did you give us the exact model number of the Velodyne sub.

Now, the reason these are important is if your office system is a music (strictly stereo) system, you'll get difference answers than if it's a home theater system.

On the sub, this is important because many subs strip low frequencies on the output connections. Reason for this is to block very low frequencies from the surround speakers that are really incapable of reproducing them anyhow. If your sub does this, your first option will NOT work. The 2nd sub would be fed a signal that has no low frequencies.

Now, on your 2nd option, the speaker level outputs might do the same. That is, strip low frequencies. If your speakers do NOT reproduce low frequencies well, this might be a good way to go.

If, on the other hand, they do low frequencies well, you might just wire the subs to your speakers. Notice that this is a 3rd option.

Regards,
Jerry

 

[Hawkeye83]

Hawkeye, you never said what your "office system" is nor did you give us the exact model number of the Velodyne sub.

Now, the reason these are important is if your office system is a music (strictly stereo) system, you'll get difference answers than if it's a home theater system.

On the sub, this is important because many subs strip low frequencies on the output connections. Reason for this is to block very low frequencies from the surrounds speakers that are really incapable if reproducing them anyhow. If your sub does this, your first option will NOT work. The 2nd sub would be fed a signal that has no low frequencies.

Now, on your 2nd option, the speaker level outputs might do the same. That is, strip low frequencies. If your speakers do NOT reproduce low frequencies well, this might be a good way to go.

If, on the other hand, they do low frequencies well, you might just wire the subs to your speakers. Notice that this is a 3rd option.

Regards,
Jerry

Thanks!

After JoeESP's reassurance, I went and wired them up via the speaker level connections, since that's what I have on hand (do not have RCA Y-cables on hand).

Sounds all right! At first the Velodyne sub was STUCK...not doing anything...turned up the power and it "unstuck"...I about crapped my pants! I assume it's been sitting for awhile...

My other subwoofer is a 12" DIY with Dayton amp and sub...I think it does not cut off the low frequencies...I don't see a selector switch option for this anyway, just typical gain/freq setting knobs.
The Velodyne DOES have these...in fact it appears it cuts off frequencies below 80 hz to my left speaker, while my right speaker will be fed the full range (from the Dayton sub).

As the Quads don't do low frequency all that well anyway, I don't think I'll mind...I haven't noticed any negative effects so far, anyway.

The office system is strictly stereo, BTW.
The "main" system is home theater/music...although I don't have any subwoofers in that system! Weird, huh...the room is just too small and it looks ugly. In the office system (even smaller, around 10 ft x 12 ft), at least I can hide the subs in the corners.

 

[onplane]

Thanks!

After JoeESP's reassurance, I went and wired them up via the speaker level connections, since that's what I have on hand (do not have RCA Y-cables on hand).

Sounds all right! At first the Velodyne sub was STUCK...not doing anything...turned up the power and it "unstuck"...I about crapped my pants! I assume it's been sitting for awhile...

My other subwoofer is a 12" DIY with Dayton amp and sub...I think it does not cut off the low frequencies...I don't see a selector switch option for this anyway, just typical gain/freq setting knobs.
The Velodyne DOES have these...in fact it appears it cuts off frequencies below 80 hz to my left speaker, while my right speaker will be fed the full range (from the Dayton sub).

As the Quads don't do low frequency all that well anyway, I don't think I'll mind...I haven't noticed any negative effects so far, anyway.

The office system is strictly stereo, BTW.
The "main" system is home theater/music...although I don't have any subwoofers in that system! Weird, huh...the room is just too small and it looks ugly. In the office system (even smaller, around 10 ft x 12 ft), at least I can hide the subs in the corners.

Hawkeye, if you notice a difference between the right and left Quads, there is a simple solution. Simply run the speaker wires from the amp to the Quad and then connect lines from the Quad to the Velodyne. This way both Quads will see a full range signal.

Regards,
Jerry

 

[Hawkeye83]

Also probably answered elsewhere...the subwoofer is "stuck" most of the time...if I turn up the volume a bit and play a bass-heavy track, it works for a few minutes, then quits again. What's the best way to fix this? Play a certain tone through it for a long time (overnight, etc)? Pull the driver and take a look? Thanks in advance.

 

[sqlsavior]

Well, you could try running the sub upside down, and if that helps, rotate the driver 180 degrees. Maybe Velodyne would have a replacement driver, but...

This is assuming it is a stuck driver, and not intermittent electronics or a bad connection.