How to Connect a Subwoofer to a Receiver or Amplifier (2024)

FAQs

How to Connect a Subwoofer to a Receiver or Amplifier? ›

Using a subwoofer cable (RCA cable), connect the subwoofer to the AV receiver by running the cable from the receiver's subwoofer output to the subwoofer's line input. Klipsch subwoofers can be connected via the LFE channel, the white RCA connection, or in a stereo pair by using both the white and red RCA connections.

To connect a subwoofer to an amplifier without a dedicated subwoofer out, the most effective method is to utilize a "Y" splitter cable.

If you have an subwoofer enclosure, There will be positive and negative terminals. Black being negative while red is positive. Connect one side of negative speaker wire to the negative terminal on the sub box and the positive to the positive terminal.

The optimal connection for a standard powered subwoofer is to use the RCA (Phono) "sub" or "woofer" line out found on home theater receivers and pre-amps. Some subwoofers offer "High Level inputs" (speaker wire connections) for use with a receiver or pre-amp without a sub RCA connection.

If your receiver has one connector and your subwoofer has two, use the left connector. However, it is a good practice to use an RCA Y-adapter to connect to the left and right channels – some subwoofers will only play at half the volume or may enter standby mode more frequently when using only one side of the inputs.

One end of the subwoofer/RCA cable will be plugged into the Subwoofer Output on the back of your receiver. This output jack is sometimes labeled as SUB, SUB OUT, SUB PREOUT etc.. The other end of the cable will be plugged into the L/LFE (white) RCA jack on the back of your sub.

Solution: Check to see where the subwoofer is plugged into on the back of the receiver. It needs to be plugged into a dedicated subwoofer, or "sub out", channel. It's possible it may be plugged into an RCA port that is not sending any audio or low frequency content.

Many powered subwoofers have speaker-level connectors - you run normal stereo speaker wires to the sub's speaker level inputs, then another set of wires from the sub's speaker output connectors to the front speakers.

Remember, if you're adding a sub to a factory system, you'll need a subwoofer amp that has speaker-level (high level) inputs, so it can get its signal from the factory speaker wires or you can buy a high to low converter, if the amp you own or purchase doesn't have high level inputs.

You tap into the rear left and right factory speaker wiring, and run speaker wires to a speaker-level input plug that comes with the amp. For output, connect the amp's right negative output terminal to the sub's negative terminal, and the amp's left positive terminal to the sub's positive terminal.

How do you know if a sub is compatible with an amp? ›

Finding the Right Sub for Your Amp

The sub's RMS watts rating must match the amp's power range for optimal sound. Find the amp's power in RMS watts at 4 ohms, 2 ohms, and 1 ohm. Choose the RMS power rating you'd like to achieve. Your sub's total impedance will be the load impedance (ohms) of that rating.

A 2 Ohm subwoofer is louder, but 2 Ohm models also are more prone to distortion. On the contrary, a 4 Ohm subwoofer offers a deeper bass effect. It produces a clearer sound that does not distort.

You will need either a receiver or a preamplifier and amplifier. Using a subwoofer cable (RCA cable), connect the subwoofer to the AV receiver by running the cable from the receiver's subwoofer output to the subwoofer's line input.

Connect the Transmitter to an AV receiver.

Connect the single RCA adapter cable to the subwoofer pre-out or LFE channel of the AV receiver and to the input on the SoundPath Wireless Audio Adapter transmitter. Connect the micro-USB cable to the wireless transmitter and the power supply, then plug into a wall outlet.

A subwoofer (sub) is speaker, that is dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies most commonly referred to as bass. Passive Sub: Passive subs are called passive because they need to be powered by an external amplifier or Audio/Video (A/V) receiver . This is similar to traditional speakers.