Hook up 2 channel amp with a subwoofer

[KwebbleKop]

Hi,

I already have these speakers:
https/www.klipsch.com/products/reference-bookshelf-speakers?model=r-15m

with this amp:
https/www.amazon.com/SMSL-SA-36A-TPA3118D2-Amplifier-Black/dp/B017W13OR0

and I'm thinking about purchasing this subwoofer:
https/www.klipsch.com/products/reference-subwoofers?model=r-10sw

How would I hook this subwoofer to that amd/speaker setup? I watched videos about hooking them up in either parallel or series, but I don't quite understand. This subwoofer only has a stereo line-in, so is it even possible?

Thanks,
-Eric

 

[setzer808]

Hi Eric,

I'm going to assume you are connecting this to your PC (hence why the solution I'm suggesting uses a 3.5mm headphone jack, but can easily be swapped for an all RCA jack cable if you were connecting something else).

https/www.amazon.com/Stereo-Splitter-Headset-Devices-nintendo-3ds/dp/B00HK74GO2

Thats a "piggy back cable" for $10 from Amazon. Plug the 3.5 into your PC, plug the Red/White RCA plugs into the back of your amplifier, and then plug a separate RCA stereo cable into the back of those cables and run the other end to your sub.

This will effectively connect your amplifier and subwoofer together. Just fire up a song that you know and like and set the knobs on your amplifer and the back of your subwoofer so that you get a good sounding mix from your system at a volume you like. From then on just adjust your PC's volume so that the speakers/sub get adjusted at the same time.

I hope this helps!
-Setz

 

[KwebbleKop]

Hi Eric,

I'm going to assume you are connecting this to your PC (hence why the solution I'm suggesting uses a 3.5mm headphone jack, but can easily be swapped for an all RCA jack cable if you were connecting something else).

https/www.amazon.com/Stereo-Splitter-Headset-Devices-nintendo-3ds/dp/B00HK74GO2

Thats a "piggy back cable" for $10 from Amazon. Plug the 3.5 into your PC, plug the Red/White RCA plugs into the back of your amplifier, and then plug a separate RCA stereo cable into the back of those cables and run the other end to your sub.

This will effectively connect your amplifier and subwoofer together. Just fire up a song that you know and like and set the knobs on your amplifer and the back of your subwoofer so that you get a good sounding mix from your system at a volume you like. From then on just adjust your PC's volume so that the speakers/sub get adjusted at the same time.

I hope this helps!
-Setz

Thanks for the reply! There's one issue though that I forgot to mention. I also have this: https/www.amazon.com/Rolls-MX42-Stereo-Mini-Mixer/dp/B00102ZN40

Which takes input from multiple devices and shoots them all combined into one, into my amplifier. I'd need a way to control volume from the amplifier alone to ensure that all my devices are at their proper levels, so I'm afraid that solution wouldn't work as planned. Any thoughts?

 

[setzer808]

Ah, not a big issue. In that case from the output of your rolls use an all RCA piggy back:

https/www.amazon.com/QualConnectTM-Audio-Piggyback-Cable-Female/dp/B00QG49GJU/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1532141575&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=piggyback+cable&psc=1

Connect one end of that to your Rolls and the other to your amp and then using a normal RCA the same way I described in the previous method connect your sub to the piggy's back's plugs and your amp and sub will now be linked and you can control their volume from the playback device (PC, Phone, CD, etc) or from the knobs on the rolls.

 

[KwebbleKop]

Ah, not a big issue. In that case from the output of your rolls use an all RCA piggy back:

https/www.amazon.com/QualConnectTM-Audio-Piggyback-Cable-Female/dp/B00QG49GJU/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1532141575&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=piggyback+cable&psc=1

Connect one end of that to your Rolls and the other to your amp and then using a normal RCA the same way I described in the previous method connect your sub to the piggy's back's plugs and your amp and sub will now be linked and you can control their volume from the playback device (PC, Phone, CD, etc) or from the knobs on the rolls.

That helps a bunch! Is there anyway to wire it such that I control the volume of the subwoofer strictly by the volume knob on the amplifier? How would other people do this with different devices?

 

[americanaudiophile]

You can connect a speaker to line level converter in parallel with the bookshelf speakers. Connect the line level outputs of it to the subwoofer. Safe, easy, and you can control the volume from the amp.