Polk audio subwoofer connecting to a computer

[Jason Kandola]

how do i setup a polk audio subwoofer to my computer?

here's the model
Polk Audio PSW10 10" 100-Watt Powered Subwoofer

 

[boosted1g]

You dont.

You need a home theater receiver that can seperate out the bass to send to the sub via LFE cable.

While your PC has the ability for 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound, what it does not have is setting for 2.1 audio.
If you leave audio settings in 2.0 then you wont get any sound going to subwoofer.
If you try to put them in 5.1 or 7.1 then on any source that has surround sound then you will not get the surround and center speaker sounds out of your speakers (which would be very very noticeable in games and movies).

 

[boosted1g]

Pc audio and home theater audio is not just interchangeable, there is a reason why there is completely different product lines for these things

 

[USAFRet]

I have that exact same sub,

You don't run that off your PC sound card. It needs an actual receiver to split out the channel properly.

 

[Jason Kandola]

You dont.

You need a home theater receiver that can seperate out the bass to send to the sub via LFE cable.

While your PC has the ability for 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound, what it does not have is setting for 2.1 audio.
If you leave audio settings in 2.0 then you wont get any sound going to subwoofer.
If you try to put them in 5.1 or 7.1 then on any source that has surround sound then you will not get the surround and center speaker sounds out of your speakers (which would be very very noticeable in games and movies).

 

[ien2222]

Back up guys, if his computer supports bass management (most discreet cards do, plus more and more MB's are offering it too) then it's feasible.

 

[boosted1g]

The tomahawk appears to have a realtek 892 chipset.
OP can try setting system to 5.1, disable Center, and Rear surrounds, use a 3.5mm to dual rca plug adapter, and also set front speakers to small.
Even with this setup, others have reported it inefective with home-theater active subwoofers: https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/820742-subwoofer-output-very-low/