Is there a way to interface this with my "Old School" Onkyo m504 power amp, or do you have to have specific outputs to run a sub woofer?

I have been using old polks (rm6750) for a large media room and was happy with the performance. This is an upgrade and am definitely getting one... wireless is a big plus with the new TV and suped up music system - less cables would be plus!

Not sure about the connections. Looks like it just runs off of speaker out connection. If that's the case, you won't get optimal sound quality when playing Dolby audio on your home theater. For these to work properly you really need to use the dedicated sub woofer out connection on your home theater reciever. Again, I cant tell if this unit accommodates this type of connection but it's important.

true559 wrote:Not sure about the connections. Looks like it just runs off of speaker out connection. If that's the case, you won't get optimal sound quality when playing Dolby audio on your home theater. For these to work properly you really need to use the dedicated sub woofer out connection on your home theater reciever. Again, I cant tell if this unit accommodates this type of connection but it's important.

It does. Please see my former post about how it automatically passes the Dolby/DTS LFE Subwoofer signal if present.

I miss my old Radio Shack Mach 2 speakers. Wish they still made them. Definately no need for a subwoofer with those monsters!

editorkid wrote:Why don't you people link your URLs?

Why doesn't Woot AUTOMATICALLY link URLs? It seems like that might solve the entire problem!

Watch our if you have WiFi!

A few years ago I bought a receiver that supported small speakers for use in a smallish tv room. The back speakers were wireless (I couldn't easily run speaker wires). The vendor didn't specify that the frequency was 2.4 GHz and I found that I had no WiFi in the house when the receiver was powered up. I finally had to purchase a WiFi N router, disable the cable router, etc. in order to have WiFi concurrently with the sound from the receiver.

It's true this 8" woofer is not a true subwoofer... but in this world of cheap home theater components, the term subwoofer has been redefined. What is often called a subwoofer is often the only true woofer in the system if your speakers are small satellites.

A TRUE subwoofer is a speaker that operates under the frequency of the woofer. That means, below 50hz or so... down to 20hz or even lower.

Not that anyone else really cares, but this is a subwoofer: http://www.stereotimes.com/speak010202.shtml

Not much we can do about it... people will call 'em subwoofers because that's what the manufacturers call 'em.

lll0228 wrote:Exactly. Brilliant post. The source goes to 20 Hz, sure...hardly any sub goes down to 20 Hz. And most people can't even hear 20 Hz, most can only "feel".

Not to belabor the point, but any TRUE subwoofer will indeed to go 20hz.

Ringo4422 wrote:To those who are confused with having a single subwoofer output on their equipment, you can use the "Tape Out" red and white RCA connectors on your Receiver as an alternative to using a Y RCA adaptor. This sub has band pass filters built in so it will only amplify bass frequencies.

In response to my own post, I realized that this approach cannot work. Tape output jacks provide full 1.5v output. In other words you will have no volume adjustment. To wire this direct with one sub output you'll need a RCA "Y" cable.

didnt read before i ask.

Is there any way to connect this to an Apple desktop that lacks left/right inputs? And would it be compatible with an iMic USB audio system?

Many subs pass the signal through to your main speakers with the low low bass filtered out, and this unit does not seem to be set up for that (tho please correct me if I am wrong)

Full range speakers use a disproportionately large amount of energy to reproduce very low frequencies, and removing that burden from your mains can really make them sound cleaner, mainly due to more headroom & less intermodulation distortion.

So, with this you are not _really_ getting all the benefits of a subwoofer.

mfassett wrote:
A TRUE subwoofer is a speaker that operates under the frequency of the woofer. That means, below 50hz or so... down to 20hz or even lower.

Not that anyone else really cares, but this is a subwoofer: http://www.stereotimes.com/speak010202.shtml

Yes, but you are linking a sub I'm gonna guess is 2-5 times the price of anybody's full system who is looking at this as an upgrade. Even more if people are just using a soundbar.
It doesn't help people if for example they are looking around for a dog and asking on what type of dog they should get, and you come in and say you should really get a horse because they are a better pet.

"So, yes - it will handle your single-RCA connection (to which the LFE signal is sent) automatically."

So how does this work? You just plug the red end in to the sub out and the other red in to the receiver and it works? Im confused.

skorpMI wrote:Question for those who may know: I have a Sony 7.1 system but no subwoofer yet. My output for a powered subwoofer is a single rca connector. Why does this have right/left rca inputs? Would I be better off getting something else?

The Right connection says "Line in". That will work. Provides left and right as another option for connecting sub if there is no sub out on receiver. You don't have to worry aboutt the connection on the rear of the sub if you're using it wirelessly.

canisdirus wrote:Don't get hung up on wattage folks.

How loud would 1.21 gigawatts be?

I have these: http://www.amazon.com/Audioengine-A5-Powered-Multimedia-Black/dp/B000OABTPQ

They're really nice. 150W total, 75W per channel (50 RMS).

I would like to pair them with this, ideally, which has 250W peak, and is made for the speakers above: http://www.amazon.com/Audioengine-Premium-Powered-Subwoofer-Black/dp/B0013J1DI0

But this Polk sub seems like a really good deal. My question is: what happens if I buy the Polk? Is it going to suck? Will it bottom out, or will it be able to keep up with my speakers?

iGGz wrote:Why doesn't Woot AUTOMATICALLY link URLs? It seems like that might solve the entire problem!

Because then every spammer on Earth would clog the forums 24/7.

It's really easy to create links. It kind of defeats the purpose of the Internet not to.

Bass player here.

This is never going to give you "musicy" bass. It won't turn your little apartment living room into a disco studio. Even with a mirrored ball. The little 8" spider just can't make the throws for the long wavelengths. If you want that you need to step up.

It will, however, fill out the subwoofer section in a well designed 2.1 pc gaming rig. The booms and bangs will jump out well if it truly hits 60W peak.

Likewise with a home theater sort of thing, it will go great with that discount $100-$150 soundbar on your 42" plasma closeout TV.

TLDR; small area, no actual bass currently anyhow, low budget and headphones don't cut it, buy this. Else not.

ElGuappo,

Some 8" drivers can play down into the 20's and rock most apartments, for example: http://www.parts-express.com/wizards/searchResults.cfm?srchExt=CAT&srchCat=847

But, it comes at either one of two penalties, low efficiency or a large cabinet is required, you can't have deep bass, high efficiency, and a small cabinet all in one due to Hoffman's Iron Law. Check the x-max on some of those drivers and compare it to the x-max on your bass guitar driver, you may be surprised.

When modeling an enclosure, you need to pay attention to port length. When only a small enclosure is needed, sometimes a very long port is required, making a slot port or passive radiator a better alternative.

Plus, with room gain and corner loading, deeper bass can be achieved than the rated Fc/F3.

yoda888 wrote:Does anyone have any experience with this (or wireless subs)? I'm wondering if this will pick up interference from my 2.4ghz wireless network.

This is from the user manual:

"Like all wireless devices, your PSWi-8M may be susceptible to RF interference from such sources as microwave ovens, WiFi computer systems, video game systems, cordless telephones, blue tooth systems, baby monitors and other devices. In particular, any devices operating in the 2.4GHz band may cause intermittent wireless connections between the PSWi-8M. It is also possible that your PSWi-8M may affect their wireless systems. For the most part, you can avoid wireless
performance problems by physically separating these devices from your PSWi-8M. Maintaining a distance of several feet or more between your PSWi-8M speaker and any wireless device should prevent any mutual interference effects. If you do notice any subwoofer signal dropouts take care to identify the root cause (most commonly having other wireless devices too close) and resolve accordingly. Any interference effects from a microwave oven will cease once the oven stops operating and may be resolved on a long-term basis by increasing the physical distance between your PSWi-8M and the microwave oven."

So what they're saying is, this sub can tell you when your food is ready?

Bass from the back of my car feels soothing
Eight bazookas is what I'm using

canisdirus wrote:Don't get hung up on wattage folks.

For every 3 decibels you have to double the wattage.

80 watts is plenty of power unless you are the sort of person who listens to everything at FULL volume.

There is only a 3 decibel difference between 80 and 160 watts.

Correct... 3db is considered doubling the effective loudness of a sound. In other words most people intepret something "twice as loud" if it's just 3db higher sound level. Well, in order to get twice as loud you have to ten-fold the wattage.So effectively a 100 watt sub plays twice as loud as a 10 watt sub., although the 100 watt sub will have considerable less distortion. Most people can't distinguish distortion until it's over 3 percent. Just some facts.

skorpMI wrote:My output for a powered subwoofer is a single rca connector. Why does this have right/left rca inputs?

Some subwoofer drivers have dual voice coils. This means that you can connect audio to the Left subwoofer input, and it will go to one voice coil. And also connect audio to the Right subwoofer input, and it will go to another separate voice coil.
Some subwoofers have a Left and Right input, but only have one voice coil. In this situation the two subwoofer input jacks are connected together inside.

In the operators manual, I did not see any info about which input to use (Left or Right) if you are using the standard mono LFE connection from an AVR. In that situation, I would use a Y splitter on the mono LFE cable to send input to both the Left and Right subwoofer jacks.

lll0228 wrote:The source goes to 20 Hz, sure...hardly any sub goes down to 20 Hz.

There are many subs that go down to 20hz or below, just not in this price range.

lll0228 wrote: And most people can't even hear 20 Hz, most can only "feel".

True.
The 'feeling' of the sub bass is what gives more reality while experiencing movies and music.

This sub would be great for what it is intended, for someone just wanting to fill in that lower bass area that is missing from the TV's speakers.
You should look elsewhere if you are wanting a true theater experience.

jruberto wrote:Many subs pass the signal through to your main speakers with the low low bass filtered out, and this unit does not seem to be set up for that (tho please correct me if I am wrong)

As is common, this sub doesn't pass any signal on to the main speakers. The main speakers get their signals from the TV or the AVR (Audio Video Receiver).

jruberto wrote: Full range speakers use a disproportionately large amount of energy to reproduce very low frequencies, and removing that burden from your mains can really make them sound cleaner, mainly due to more headroom & less intermodulation distortion.
So, with this you are not _really_ getting all the benefits of a subwoofer.

This is not the subwoofers job with most proper multichannel setups, this is the job of the AVR.
But you are correct that many times, lessening the burden on the AVR by redirecting lower bass to the subwoofer will put less strain on the AVR's amps, possibly increasing the sound quality put out by the AVR's amps.

Ringo4422 wrote:
As far as this sub reproducing 38hz, sure it is possible but it can't really move very much air because of it's small size so you would want to be using this in a relatively small room. Also, to those who "think" they can truly hear below 35hz, you are just kidding yourself. 28 hz is just vibration, nothing else. You wont hear anything much below 30hz.

I know it's probably too late for this to matter, but that is absolutely incorrect. I can hear anything 22Hz and up, and have talked to plenty of people that can hear 20Hz. It is very simple for the human ear to hear 25Hz and up.

All sound is "just vibration", which ears are designed to "hear".

dwasifar wrote:How loud would 1.21 gigawatts be?

Loud enough to send you Back to the Future.

It's useless. It doesn't have the right connections to work with any of my system.