Wiring Question

[Tigerpaw07]

Hello All,
Is there any benefit to running the main speakers through a powered sub woofer and then to the receiver rather than directly into the receiver? I have an odd mix of restored vintage and new audio equipment but it works for me and sounds good to my ear. The receiver is a new Denon AVR-S510BT, the stereo speakers are restored early 80's Acoustic Research AR94's, the rear speakers are vintage AR Rock Partner wedge shaped speakers with the 8" mid/woofer. The powered Sony sub woofer is just a temp fix until I can get a higher quality one.

Thank you,
Devon

 

[E.Auer]

Only thing I can think of as a plus is it takes some of the load off the amp since the sub is driving.

Edit: dunno what it does to the processing from the Denon tho as far as EQ and all that surround stuff.

I'd run the sub from the denons sub out and the AR fronts as fronts straight from the Denon.

Eric

 

[Tigerpaw07]

Thanks Eric, That is exactly what I did do, so Ill just keep with that set up. Especially as the AR94's are thirsty for power and 6ohm's. I appreciate the feedback.

Devon

 

[sKiZo]

Powered subs with pass through allow you to reduce the bass going out to the main channels if you feed those through the sub's crossover, letting the sub do the main work. You can adjust just how much bass is passed to the main channels using the sub's controls. The receiver itself is still powering the main channels, but the sub's amp powers the internal driver. Win - win if you're happy with what you're hearing.

Tricky part is balancing the bass output between the components, but that's also the fun part.

 

[E.Auer]

Powered subs with pass through allow you to reduce the bass going out to the main channels if you feed those through the sub's crossover, letting the sub do the main work. You can adjust just how much bass is passed to the main channels using the sub's controls. The receiver itself is still powering the main channels, but the sub's amp powers the internal driver. Win - win if you're happy with what you're hearing.

Tricky part is balancing the bass output between the components, but that's also the fun part.

That was where I was heading too, but my head was in 2.1 and the OP has a modern AVR that probably needs to be able to handle all channels in order to do proper surround.

Eric

 

[sKiZo]

Seems to me that would all be taken care of way before the output stage, either line level or speaker, but point is moot, as they say.

One thing I would do is give my ears a chance to try out the current setup (hours, not minutes) and then make the switch to other available options before a final decision. If it sounds worse right away, switch back and know you got the best it can give. If it sounds better after the swap, repeat as needed. ;-}

 

[the skipper]

Powered subs with pass through allow you to reduce the bass going out to the main channels if you feed those through the sub's crossover, letting the sub do the main work. You can adjust just how much bass is passed to the main channels using the sub's controls. The receiver itself is still powering the main channels, but the sub's amp powers the internal driver. Win - win if you're happy with what you're hearing.

Tricky part is balancing the bass output between the components, but that's also the fun part.

Some, not all, do. My Velo does, with a choice of 80 or 100 hz with line level connections. It makes no mention of this being available at speaker level, But many are set to a fixed frequency. And, my Dayton sub simply passes the full range signal. The manual is very clear about that..

 

[Tigerpaw07]

Thanks all for the great replies!

Devon

 

[whoaru99]

A lot depends on the receiver. Some have analog direct (names can vary by mfg) mode that when selected AND using an analog input/source, do not send a subwoofer signal from the receiver's sub/LFE output. If that's the case then connecting the sub via speaker level certainly has a benefit if one does a lot of 2-ch listening from analog sources using the analog direct mode.

However, I think in most other cases using the receiver's sub out for the sub and speakers connected directly to the receiver allow much more flexibility in bass management. Of course, this depends on the receiver capabilities too; although even relatively inexpensive receivers generally have more settings for bass management than a typical subwoofer does.

 

[Tigerpaw07]

Powered subs with pass through allow you to reduce the bass going out to the main channels if you feed those through the sub's crossover, letting the sub do the main work. You can adjust just how much bass is passed to the main channels using the sub's controls. The receiver itself is still powering the main channels, but the sub's amp powers the internal driver. Win - win if you're happy with what you're hearing.

Tricky part is balancing the bass output between the components, but that's also the fun part.

That is exactly what I was wondering about. Thanks!