Ask S&V

What’s the Best Way to Connect a Subwoofer to My Stereo Receiver?

John Sciacca  |  Dec 22, 2022

Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I have a Yamaha R-S202 stereo receiver and would like to connect a Polk Audio PSW 10 active sub to the “B” speaker jacks while still powering the existing pair of Polk speakers from the “A” speaker jacks. Will this work, or must I instead connect the speakers to the line out on the sub? Which connection will give me the best result without causing damage or overload to the amp and will the sub’s volume be controlled from the amp’s volume? — Alex Parkes, via email

A There are a couple of issues with connecting the subwoofer in the way you suggested. First, you won’t have any kind of bass management, so this will likely produce bass that is boomy or bloated, especially in the upper bass regions where the speakers and subwoofer are playing the same notes. Second, I checked the owner’s manual of your Yamaha receiver, and it cautions that when connecting Speakers A and B together, you want to use speakers with an impedance of 16 ohms or higher, or the unit may overheat. You didn’t mention your speakers, but they are probably a more typical 6-8 ohms.

Lacking a subwoofer out connection on your receiver, the best connection would be to use the A-speaker output from the receiver to the Speaker In terminals on your subwoofer. Then wire the subwoofer’s Speaker Out terminals to your speakers. This will allow the sub’s volume to be controlled from the receiver, but you’ll still need to set the subwoofer’s volume initially, which can take a bit of experimenting to find the right level. This connection method will also let you use the low-pass filter on the subwoofer to find the best blend with your speakers, with a suggested starting point of 80Hz, and won’t risk overheating.

Click here for more expert advice on all things audio and video.

COMMENTS
ciararoisin's picture
Submitted by ciararoisin on May 26, 2023 - 3:45am

Hello I am a professional CV builder and working at best CV agency in ireland, I am still using the first system that I purchased in 2015 and it still provides me the same sound as it gives me at the start, but I want to know that what is the price of this system.

ezrahidaya's picture
Submitted by ezrahidaya on November 23, 2023 - 9:13pm

Nice

ezrahidaya's picture
Submitted by ezrahidaya on November 23, 2023 - 9:38pm

Without proper bass management, you might end up with poor bass. As for assignment writing service in Dubai doing these steps can avoid the risk of overheating and ensure a more balanced and controlled bass response.

kledo5's picture
Submitted by kledo5 on January 8, 2024 - 5:34pm

Drift Hunters. Show all your skills extreme driving and drifting burn rubber on the race track.

jhnmtths's picture
Submitted by jhnmtths on March 25, 2024 - 2:18am

If you like that I think you have to try the Drift Hunters here!

rdersen's picture
Submitted by rdersen on February 6, 2024 - 4:25am

There's nothing better than a good site to play Drift Games

Nelson's picture
Submitted by Nelson on March 21, 2024 - 2:14am

Thank you for this tutorial on Best Way to Connect a Subwoofer to My Stereo Receiver, I will surely try it. It is a very time taking task and my university projects might get into trouble specially my dissertation. So, for my dissertation I will hire Dissertation proposal service from Dissertation Help Service. My friend recommended them and he got great results.

X