Is it possible to connect a subwoofer to both XS and AV2 simultaneously?

Posted by: Duncan Hills on 28 May 2016

Hi All,

Seeking your expertise please...

I have recently started building a 5.1 system, and as it stands I now have an AV2 connected to my XS in unity gain mode, and to a v175 for rears and centre. I have an optical connection from my Blu ray player (not sure it's relevant, but for info in case the optical in makes a difference to the answers).

I have a CD5i2 for CD listening and here lies my question:

I have purchased an ASW700 subwoofer which has two line inputs, left and right (no high level). So, I was wondering if it's possible to use one input for the subwoofer out from the av2 for 5.1 listening, and connect one of the two left/right subwoofer outputs from the XS for stereo listening to the other remaining input? Would this work, would it receive both feeds at once, distorting/confusing the output due to timings etc, or would it simply not be possible!!? Or worse, would this cause some sort of damage!

My primary preference is for the 5.1 setup, but if i could have it incorporated to the stereo listening it would just be a bonus. I have b&w 683's which i think do fine for bass, or at least i thought they did until the supplement of the subwoofer. The sub also has two line outs, and two links (for daisy chaining of subs from what i gather)

The subwoofer is potentially just a temporary item, so if you tell me i need high level and low level inputs for this to work, i'd put that into my consideration for future purchases!

Hope that makes sense!

Thanks

Duncan

Posted on: 28 May 2016 by hungryhalibut

If you think about it, the sub has stereo inputs, so if you connected only one channel you would hear only that channel's bass. The answer is to do one or the other, but not both. Anyway, you say that the bass is fine on the stereo speakers.

Posted on: 28 May 2016 by Duncan Hills

Thanks HungryHalibut, such a simple explanation! Feel a bit foolish for not picking up on that, but I live and learn!

I guess that just means i might just need to find another sub in this case, although the other half did walk in and ask what that ugly box was on the floor so it may not go down too well. I'm still not sure if I like it with the additional low end, although it did feel quite a bit like something was missing when i turned it off!

Posted on: 28 May 2016 by Pev

Bear in mind that below about 120hz you can't tell the direction of the sound very well and subs mostly contribute below 80hz - it may not matter that you are only hearing one channel's bass. You will do no harm trying it with line level inputs - I'd give it a go if I were you.

Posted on: 28 May 2016 by Duncan Hills

An interesting take. I shall attempt it and report back. It was more to save having to plug and unplug between stereo and AV listening if I decide I don't want to live without a sub in stereo mode. I think at this point it's a bit of a novelty so I'm not being objective, and does sound a bit overbearing, but I will wait and see.

i do get though that some recordings will only feed some lower frequencies predominantly through a left or right channel (I notice this on led Zeppelin CDs with bass guitar) so the original comment by hungryhalibut is a valid point in terms of sound impact.

Posted on: 28 May 2016 by Adam Zielinski

Duncan

Just use your sub for 5.1 duties. Trust me - you will not need a sub in a stereo-only mode. I have a REL with both hi and low level inputs - only use .1 input.

Adam

Posted on: 28 May 2016 by Duncan Hills

Adam, as a slight detraction, what REL do you have? I was looking at picking up an older model like a stadium 3 or stentor 3. Any experience with these or do newer models match them for quality now?

Posted on: 28 May 2016 by Adam Zielinski

Dave - I use Serie R. This is my first sub, so no other comparison I'm afraid.

Posted on: 31 May 2016 by Duncan Hills

Well i sort of accidentally ended up buying a Miller and Kreisel MX350 mk 2. I used this to watch part of the Dark Knight last night... Wow!