Can you connect a sub-woofer to Edifier R1280T?

[brendanvinsent]

Hello, I am rather new to speaker setups. Is it possible to connect the Edifier R1280T powered bookshelf speakers to a sub woofer ( I have a subwoofer from my Altec Lansing VS 2421 setup and also a Sony SS 4GWD passive subwoofer) without the use of an amp? If so, how do I do it?

Thank you very much in advance for your help.

 

[americanaudiophile]

You don't connect the sub to the speakers you connect it to your source,
If you only have stereo audio outputs then split them with 1 male to 2 female RCA Y splitters. Connect the Edifiers to one pair of output and the Altec to the other set. Don't connect the Altec satellites.
If you have a PC with an orange audio jack then you can connect the subwoofer output of that to the Altec. Set the PC for 2.1 operation with the Edifiers connected to the green audio jack.
You can't use the passive subwoofer without adding an amp to drive it.

 

[brendanvinsent]

You don't connect the sub to the speakers you connect it to your source,
If you only have stereo audio outputs then split them with 1 male to 2 female RCA Y splitters. Connect the Edifiers to one pair of output and the Altec to the other set. Don't connect the Altec satellites.
If you have a PC with an orange audio jack then you can connect the subwoofer output of that to the Altec. Set the PC for 2.1 operation with the Edifiers connected to the green audio jack.
You can't use the passive subwoofer without adding an amp to drive it.

Hello Americanaudiophile, thanks so much for your help! My PC doesn't have an orange audio jack but I did get the splitter .Quick question,after connecting the speakers and sub in this way, does that mean I will be able to control the volumes of the speakers and sub independently using their volume knobs ( i haven't bought the Edifier R1280T yet)? Also, in order to test the splitter, I attempted to connect my current speakers to one of the outputs and my earphones to the other output. I noticed that the volume of the music from my speakers drastically reduced when I connected my earphones. Any idea why this is so?