Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions How to Connect an Old Subwoofer to New AVR

Hi John: Yes, this is a 1979 vintage sub-woofer that uses an external amp. Connections are made from the amp to the sub through regular speaker wire. The connection design to the receiver requires a tape in/out loop in the receiver using four RCA plugs...2 for L/R Input and 2 for L/R High Pass Output. The sub is from "Speakerlab" and came with two satellites. It is now working with my M80v3's and an old 1990's Technics 50 watt receiver that I believe is too taxed by the 4 ohm speakers. So I thought to buy a new receiver hoping I can find a way to connect the sub to it.

Okay; what wasn't clear to me before was that there was speaker wire connected to the sub to power it, rather than the low level high pass wiring, which of course can't do it.

It appears that as Matt and Rick(Wid)suggested, a single coaxial cable with RCA plugs, connected to a receiver sub out and in to one of the sub amp inputs(by convention, usually the left)would work. And yes, considering the quality of your M80s, it would seem that relatively little is added by that sub.

Incidentally, if you'd consider spending a bit more, the factory refurb X2000 here is a good deal.

Thanks John. I believe the sub does add somewhat to a fuller bass sound and goes down to 25Hz similar to the M80's. At some point the future I am looking at an EP500. I have looked at all the Accessories4Less Denon and Marantz receivers and will make a decision very soon. The X2000 has the connections I need. I've heard much about Atmos in terms of sound processing. This technology may enhance my music listening. Any comment on this?

I understand that a TV is needed for the settings on a Denon receiver (or any recent modern receiver). Do Denon receivers have factory settings? I do not have a TV with a HDMI input.

Most modern AVRs have software that you can use if you hook your device up to a network. take a look at that option