Subwoofer connection wire

[guavaman]

I just bought the Pioneer VSX-822-K RT. I previously had a home theater in a box from Samsung that included a sub-woofer. The problem I am having is that the Samsung subwoofer has a single speaker wire which connected it to the blu-ray/reciever. The Pioneer is looking for an RCA jack. I have seen suggestions that I can connect the wire from the subwoofer to the front speakers, but they all seem to imply that there are two wires coming out of the subwoofer. Can I just connect this to one of the two front speakers?

 

[asven1]

use the rca out coming from your box to hook up your sub or does it not have an extra auudio out for daisy chain.

 

[TCTechie]

Your new Pioneer receiver has a subwoofer pre-out connection, which is a line level connection for self-powered subwoofers. If your subwoofer is not self-powered then it must draw its power from an amplifier. You can, like you said, connect the subwoofer to your front speaker connections. Or purchase a mono amplifier to run the RCA connection from your receiver to the amplifier and then speaker wire from the amplifier to your subwoofer.

Keep in mind, if you subwoofer is receiving its power from your receiver, connecting the subwoofer to the front speaker connections will draw power away from your front speakers. This shouldn't be a problem, but not an ideal setup.

Another option is to upgrade your subwoofer to a self-powered subwoofer. This would allow you to connect your subwoofer directly to the pre-out connection on the back of your receiver. Also eliminating the need for any additional amplifiers.

 

[guavaman]

I have a pre-amp I bought to connect my turntable (currently in storage) to my computer. Is that the same as a mono amplifier? If not, would it still do the trick?

Never mind. Just looked at the pre-amp. It's stereo and does not have a speaker wire connection. Just RCA jacks.

 

[TCTechie]

This is an example of an amplifier that would drive your subwoofer:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rotel-RB-951-2-Channel-Power-Amplifier-Amp-/171118652648?pt=US_Home_Audio_Amplifiers_Preamps&hash=item27d7776ce8

Looking at the back connections, you have RCA input connections to connect to your pre-out on the receiver. Then you have speaker wire connections, which carry the power, to run to your subwoofer.

Do you have the make and model of your subwoofer? I want to make sure I'm giving you the correct info for your setup.

 

[guavaman]

The sub-woofer came with the "Home Theater in a Box" system I bought. It was a Samsung HT-BD3252. The sub-woofer does not have it's own model number. Just want to remind you that only one wire is coming out of the sub-woofer.

 

[TCTechie]

That works, I was able to take a look at the subwoofer using that model number. Everything I've said holds true for your setup. Your subwoofer is NOT self-powered, meaning you need to connect it using a speaker-level connection. In other words, you either need an amplifier to power it or run it off the front speaker connections on your new receiver.

My first choice would be to upgrade your subwoofer to a self-powered unit (internal amplifier) and get rid of your Samsung subwoofer. That way you'd be able to use the sub pre-out connection on your receiver. Also, just about any self-powered sub would probably out perform that Samsung.