• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Stereo subs using one pre-out

subfire91

Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2024
Messages
11
Likes
0
Hi all,

Sorry in advance for my possibly stupid question.. Im interested in going dual sub abd im looking in models that do not have speaker level inputs mainly due to budget.

i would like to know if i can achieve the same stereo sub setup (1 for the left channel and one for the right) using a single rca preout, red to the one sub and white to the other.

Is this possible ?

Thank you
 
If the Pre out consists of two RCA jacks, then yes.

Though you're usually better off downmixing your bass to Mono, then optimizing each sub using MSO.

That's because the room acoustics in a typical listening environment prevent localization of sounds below ~80Hz anyway.
 
If the Pre out consists of two RCA jacks, then yes.

Though you're usually better off downmixing your bass to Mono, then optimizing each sub using MSO.
Thank you that was quick!!! :) Is it better to utilise both rca plugs on the sub side by using a cable with dual rca on the one side or there is no benefit of doing this ?
 
Is it better to utilise both rca plugs on the sub side by using a cable with dual rca on the one side or there is no benefit of doing this ?
Depends on the specific subwoofer.

RCA splitters are cheap, so I'd just try both and use what works best.
 
Hi all,

Sorry in advance for my possibly stupid question.. Im interested in going dual sub abd im looking in models that do not have speaker level inputs mainly due to budget.

i would like to know if i can achieve the same stereo sub setup (1 for the left channel and one for the right) using a single rca preout, red to the one sub and white to the other.
You can get signal to both subs using the splitter, but it won't be stereo.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
 
If the Pre out consists of two RCA jacks, then yes.

Though you're usually better off downmixing your bass to Mono, then optimizing each sub using MSO.

That's because the room acoustics in a typical listening environment prevent localization of sounds below ~80Hz anyway.
i have a Denon DRA-900H and the panel looks like this :

denon.png


there is a second preout for zone 2 i dont though if i can utilise that one for the second sub.

So you believe is better to use the LFE port then ?
 
You can get signal to both subs using the splitter, but it won't be stereo.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
What im thinking routing the white (left) of the preout to the one sub and the red to the other to get the stereo configuration similar to the speaker level.
 
i have a Denon DRA-900H and the panel looks like this :

View attachment 396714

there is a second preout for zone 2 i dont though if i can utilise that one for the second sub.

So you believe is better to use the LFE port then ?
I would use the SW1/SW2 outputs.

These will output a downmixed mono signal with configurable low-pass filter applied.

In contrast, the Main zone Pre outs will output a full-range Stereo signal.

The Zone 2 Pre outs are probably not useful in this case.
 
I would use the SW1/SW2 outputs.

These will output a downmixed mono signal with configurable low-pass filter applied.

In contrast, the Main zone Pre outs will output a full-range Stereo signal.

The Zone 2 Pre outs are probably not useful in this case.
newbie question..i had in my mind that since each sub will be on the side of each speaker, what i believed that it was better to utilise the same channel. well have more studying to as it seems :)
 
newbie question..i had in my mind that since each sub will be on the side of each speaker, what i believed that it was better to utilise the same channel. well have more studying to as it seems :)
Room reverberation makes it so that you can't really localize frequencies below ~80Hz.

Due to this, it's generally smarter to downmix bass signals to Mono, then place the subwoofers not for Stereo playback, but for smooth in-room response.

For this, you can use REW's Room Simulator.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom