Older Sub-Woofer Connection

Tallan · 02-08-2012, 09:30 AM

I know this Sub is dated but I want it to get me by for awhile until I can upgrade the Surround Sound speakers.

It is an Audio Source SW380 Powered Sub. On my older AV I had it connected with a Y cable and I am not sure that was even correct.

On the new Onkyo TX-NR709 there are 2 RCA Sub connections that are Purple in the Pre Out area.

The Sub-woofer has Speaker Level Input for 2 speakers (L&R) and the same for Output. The RCA jacks are labeled Low Level Input (L&R)

Sorry for the dumb question but what is the proper Cable to use and which connection do I use on the Receiver?

jkkyler · 02-08-2012, 10:34 AM

Typically when you have two rca jacks one can be used (often specified in the manual if you have it which one for some it doesn't matter) or you can continue to use a 'y' adapter - hook them up to sub pre out 1 on your 709 and you will be good to go. Not sure if it is new for you or not but you should really like the 709 AVR. It is a solid piece of equipment that performs very well, especially in it's price class. The one thing you want to do is make sure that the sub is in phase with the rest of your speakers.

Tallan · 02-08-2012, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkkyler

Typically when you have two rca jacks one can be used (often specified in the manual if you have it which one for some it doesn't matter) or you can continue to use a 'y' adapter - hook them up to sub pre out 1 on your 709 and you will be good to go. Not sure if it is new for you or not but you should really like the 709 AVR. It is a solid piece of equipment that performs very well, especially in it's price class. The one thing you want to do is make sure that the sub is in phase with the rest of your speakers.

Thanks, I do not think I still have the manual, I save everything so I will look. I am glad to hear I made a good choice on the Receiver, it will be here Friday!

So I will get a new Y Cable and connect the 2 RCA connectors to the Sub-woofer and then connect the single RCA connector to the 709's Pre Out 1

Looking at the rear view picture of the 709 I see 2 purple connections but I do not see which one is Pre out 1, can you tell me? Is it the top or bottom one?

jkkyler · 02-08-2012, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tallan

Thanks, I do not think I still have the manual, I save everything so I will look. I am glad to hear I made a good choice on the Receiver, it will be here Friday!

So I will get a new Y Cable and connect the 2 RCA connectors to the Sub-woofer and then connect the single RCA connector to the 709's Pre Out 1

Looking at the rear view picture of the 709 I see 2 purple connections but I do not see which one is Pre out 1, can you tell me? Is it the top or bottom one?

The manual should say but usually (nearly always) it doesn't really matter - both pre-outs should get the same signal. Yea the 709 is quite a step up from the 609 - better DAC (digital to analog converters) and several other 'step-up' features really make it a great deal at it's target price/audience not to mention the reliability/build quality seems significantly better. As stated there are quite a lot of features and at times when reading the manual things can seem to blend together. If you have any questions when it comes let us know and I'm sure we can help. Luckily there is a quick 'set-up' chart guide that helps you get everything connected easily and then you can fine tune from there to your likings.

Tallan · 02-08-2012, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkkyler

The manual should say but usually (nearly always) it doesn't really matter - both pre-outs should get the same signal. Yea the 709 is quite a step up from the 609 - better DAC (digital to analog converters) and several other 'step-up' features really make it a great deal at it's target price/audience not to mention the reliability/build quality seems significantly better. As stated there are quite a lot of features and at times when reading the manual things can seem to blend together. If you have any questions when it comes let us know and I'm sure we can help. Luckily there is a quick 'set-up' chart guide that helps you get everything connected easily and then you can fine tune from there to your likings.

I researched the 709 on this forum and others, I decided it was the best choice for us. Read a few bad reviews regarding the HDMI boards but remembered you always hear more bad than good and there just was not that much bad, but a lot of good reviews.

I had previously bought the HT-S3400 in a hurry without thinking things through. I am hoping this receiver will be a good step up from that one. The 3400 was not bad at all, really just had an issue with it when switching TV stations. It could have been lived with, more annoying than anything, delayed channel switching of 1-3 seconds at times. Now down the road I will be upgrading the speakers and we should be set.

Thanks again!

jkkyler · 02-08-2012, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tallan

I researched the 709 on this forum and others, I decided it was the best choice for us. Read a few bad reviews regarding the HDMI boards but remembered you always hear more bad than good and there just was not that much bad, but a lot of good reviews.

I had previously bought the HT-S3400 in a hurry without thinking things through. I am hoping this receiver will be a good step up from that one. The 3400 was not bad at all, really just had an issue with it when switching TV stations. It could have been lived with, more annoying than anything, delayed channel switching of 1-3 seconds at times. Now down the road I will be upgrading the speakers and we should be set.

Thanks again!

One thing of note about the channel switching - if you have your set top box(stb) either sat or cable set to 'native' it usually (always with onkyo receivers and directv) causes a second or two delay presumably as the HDMI handshake is re-negotiated with a resolution change. If your stb upscales as well as your avr or tv does, meaning their is no perceptible difference in pq you might want to set your stb to a fixed 1080 resolution and decrease the channel issue. Going from the s3400 to the 709 is a big jump more power (better max power means even at lower power levels your unit isn't pressed as hard, increased dynamic headroom (ability to go from very soft to very loud quickly as when an explosion happens) not to mention as stated earlier an overall better build quality. One thing of note is the heavier an amplifier or AVR is, that is usually a sign of higher level components - magnets and power genrators are heavy. I think you will be surprised to see how much your 709 weighs comoared to the other receiver (shipping weight on my Onkyo TX-NR905 is 80lbs!) . Also if you ever add another display such as a projector or even another tv to another locale the 709 has 2 HDMI OUTPUTS.

02-08-2012, 09:30 AM	#1
Tallan High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 79	Older Sub-Woofer Connection I know this Sub is dated but I want it to get me by for awhile until I can upgrade the Surround Sound speakers. It is an Audio Source SW380 Powered Sub. On my older AV I had it connected with a Y cable and I am not sure that was even correct. On the new Onkyo TX-NR709 there are 2 RCA Sub connections that are Purple in the Pre Out area. The Sub-woofer has Speaker Level Input for 2 speakers (L&R) and the same for Output. The RCA jacks are labeled Low Level Input (L&R) Sorry for the dumb question but what is the proper Cable to use and which connection do I use on the Receiver? Last edited by Tallan; 02-08-2012 at 10:18 AM.

02-08-2012, 10:34 AM	#2
jkkyler I bleed for HD Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 7,394	Typically when you have two rca jacks one can be used (often specified in the manual if you have it which one for some it doesn't matter) or you can continue to use a 'y' adapter - hook them up to sub pre out 1 on your 709 and you will be good to go. Not sure if it is new for you or not but you should really like the 709 AVR. It is a solid piece of equipment that performs very well, especially in it's price class. The one thing you want to do is make sure that the sub is in phase with the rest of your speakers. __________________ HT- Panasonic TH-50PZ800U 1080p plasma, Panasonic PT-AX200u LCD projector, Elite Vmax Electric 100' screen, Onkyo TX-NR905 AVR, Paradigm Titan Monitor v5 fronts, Paradigm CC-190 v6 center, Paradigm Atom Monitors v5 surrounds(x4), HSU research VTF-2 sub, xbox360+hd-dvd player ,Sony BDP-S550 blu-ray, D*tv H21 HD-DVR Bedroom: Insignia NS-lcd26, Samsung BDP-1400 blu-ray Den - Vizio 20" 1080p LCD + Samsung BD-p1600 Don't believe everything you read on the internet - Albert Einstein