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Is there a subwoofer that can powered on and off with remote control or windows app?

I don't know if that's possible. Also subwoofers don't have one cable that just connects to one port. How are you supposed to connect the subwoofer with? what kind of cable

Which subwoofer? Subs only need 2 cables to work - the power cable, and an audio input cable - usually either XLR or RCA. You can use more cables if you want, e.g. a 12V trigger cable, a digital cable (if it's got a built-in DAC), and so on. But at minimum, all subs will accept either XLR or RCA.

So what you need is a 1/4" TRS jack to male XLR or RCA of the appropriate length. Like this.

1723870249123.png
 
Which subwoofer? Subs only need 2 cables to work - the power cable, and an audio input cable - usually either XLR or RCA. You can use more cables if you want, e.g. a 12V trigger cable, a digital cable (if it's got a built-in DAC), and so on. But at minimum, all subs will accept either XLR or RCA.

So what you need is a 1/4" TRS jack to male XLR or RCA of the appropriate length. Like this.

View attachment 386929

How come genelec subwoofer have 2 outputs, left and right? I think that's done so you connect the speakers to the subwoofer, is it because an active subwoofer? Do I need an active or passive sub?

Left and right out are connected to the monitors and left and right in, to the source. That's what the Genelec manual says. The source in this case, I'm assuming is the audio interface, that means tons of cables and horrible cable management lol especially since woofer will be at the floor and interface/speakers on desk. That's literally 4 cables from desk to floor, plus power cable

I'm very confused at this. With this subwoofer, it wouldn't be possible to do what you said, using just one audio input cable to connect it to my Motu Line out 3, unless you get a 2 to 1 XLR cable? would that even work? You would have to connect the 2 to 1 XLR to the left and right in, instead, so it goes directly to the audio interface Line out 3

I'd rather not connect my speakers to a sub directly, that means worse cable management and not being able to mute the sub at will

Could you recommend a sub where it would be possible to do what you said?

Genelec-7040-Rear-2.jpg

H
 
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How come genelec subwoofer have 2 outputs, left and right? I think that's done so you connect the speakers to the subwoofer, is it because an active subwoofer? Do I need an active or passive sub?

Left and right out are connected to the monitors and left and right in, to the source. That's what the Genelec manual says. The source in this case, I'm assuming is the audio interface, that means tons of cables and horrible cable management lol especially since woofer will be at the floor and interface/speakers on desk. That's literally 4 cables from desk to floor, plus power cable

I'm very confused at this. With this subwoofer, it wouldn't be possible to do what you said, using just one audio input cable to connect it to my Motu Line out 3, unless you get a 2 to 1 XLR cable? would that even work? You would have to connect the 2 to 1 XLR to the left and right in, instead, so it goes directly to the audio interface Line out 3

I'd rather not connect my speakers to a sub directly, that means worse cable management and not being able to mute the sub at will

Could you recommend a sub where it would be possible to do what you said?

Genelec-7040-Rear-2.jpg

H

My Dynaudio subwoofer is similar to that.

Left and Right XLR from the DAC to the subwoofer then from the subwoofer to the left and right monitors.

The full range signal is sent to the subwoofer, which handles the high pass filter for the main monitors. On mine you can adjust a whole bunch of stuff, like the sub volume, the crossover point, the distance from the listening position to the sub and the monitors, phase, etc.. You also can disable it, and have it send the full range signal to the monitors, so it just acts as a pass-through.
 
Mine is like that.

Left and Right XLR from the DAC to the subwoofer then from the subwoofer to the left and right monitors.

The full range signal is sent to the subwoofer, which handles the high pass filter for the main monitors. On mine you can adjust a whole bunch of stuff, like the sub volume, the crossover point, the distance from the listening position to the sub and the monitors, phase, etc..

that's how is supposed to be, but it also means 4 more cables, is not ideal for my desk setup lol
 
OK let me explain with some wiring diagrams. These are actual diagrams of the equipment you own.

OPTION 1

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Do what Genelec tells you to do. Motu Ultralite Mk5 (Ch 1, 2) --> Genelec 7040A subwoofer (L, R inputs) --> Genelec 8030C speakers.

Advantage of doing this: you will be using the 7040A's built-in crossover at 85Hz and high passing your speakers. This frees your speakers up from bass duties - usually distortion is improved, you get more flexibility with subwoofer placement, and so on.

Disadvantage: turning off your subwoofer means no signal goes to your speakers. None of the previous suggestions - smart plugs, crawling under the floor to unplug the sub, etc. will work! If your sub is off, that's it. No music.


OPTION 2
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Motu Ultralite Mk5 (Ch 1, 2) --> Genelec 7040A subwoofer (L, R)
Motu Ultralite Mk5 (Ch 3, 4) --> Genelec 8030C speakers (L, R)

Advantage of doing this:
- You can control your subwoofer independently of your speakers. Including muting it with Motu's mixer.
- If you use third party DSP, you can potentially achieve far better results than the rather crude high pass built in to Genelec's sub.

Disadvantage: If you want to use Genelec's GLM, you can not connect your system this way. More importantly, this option leaves no high pass for the speakers, so you do not get the full benefit of the subwoofer. You can opt to leave it (some people do), or you can DIY your own DSP with third party software. But DIY DSP is not easy.

OPTION 3

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This is essentially the same as option 2, but this time the PC sums L and R into mono instead of letting the Genelec subwoofer do it. If you use Roon or JRiver, those already have built-in convolvers, although setting them up takes a bit of explanation. You could use third party convolvers like CamillaDSP (free) or paid convolvers like Hang Loose Convolver. I believe Foobar 2000 can also do this but I am far from a Foobar expert. In fact I wouldn't describe myself as a computer audio expert at all.

This is the configuration I am using, although I own 2 subwoofers and my speakers are fully active - so I use all 8 channels on my RME.
 
@Keith_W but the 8030c do not have GLM, so it doesn't really matter for me.

I plan on buying Sonarworks microphone and trial their software before buying for my speakers.

Incredible work with the diagrams

So with option 3, you simply use one cable from Subwoofer to interface? I don't know if that would work with my ps5.

I get sound from my ps5 to speakers using SMSL PO100 PRO from ps5 USB to interface optical

What's more important is being to able to mute and unmute a subwoofer lol

 
Oh, you are using a PS5. You will need to email Motu or ask in their forum to find out if what I am about to describe is possible (I don't use a Motu, so I can not experiment with it and tell you). I had another look at the Ultralite Mk.5 Manual and could not find the information I am looking for.

This is what you want to do. First we will describe the inputs and outputs:

INPUT 1: Left Channel
INPUT 2: Right Channel
OUTPUT 1: Subwoofer
OUTPUT 3: Left Speaker
OUTPUT 4: Right Speaker

Now we want to set up the Motu to do this:

INPUT 1 + INPUT 2 ---> OUTPUT 1
INPUT 1 ---> OUTPUT 3
INPUT 2 ---> OUTPUT 4

Also make sure that it can be done without a computer connected.

If it is not possible, then you will have to insert something like a Raspberry Pi in the signal path to replace your SMSL. I believe that Raspberry Pi's can be configured to accept optical inputs. It will do the channel routing for you.
 
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