IIIIII am looking to put a subwoofer to go with my random assortment of speakers in my room.
Thing is, the stereo system I have could be rather limited (only COULD be because I'm clueless, and have no idea what I'm doing).
Do they make subwoofers that run solely on the +/- or black/red speaker wire? Is that STANDARD? And if not, what should I shop for to be sure that all I have is plain old speaker wire-out?
I'm new to this whole scene, so excuse my sort of rambling..? Idk, lol.
Any help?
Full Version: ok so
QUOTE (Shlazzer @ Jul 30 2008, 10:53 AM) 
IIIIII am looking to put a subwoofer to go with my random assortment of speakers in my room.
Thing is, the stereo system I have could be rather limited (only COULD be because I'm clueless, and have no idea what I'm doing).
Do they make subwoofers that run solely on the +/- or black/red speaker wire? Is that STANDARD? And if not, what should I shop for to be sure that all I have is plain old speaker wire-out?
I'm new to this whole scene, so excuse my sort of rambling..? Idk, lol.
Any help?
Thing is, the stereo system I have could be rather limited (only COULD be because I'm clueless, and have no idea what I'm doing).
Do they make subwoofers that run solely on the +/- or black/red speaker wire? Is that STANDARD? And if not, what should I shop for to be sure that all I have is plain old speaker wire-out?
I'm new to this whole scene, so excuse my sort of rambling..? Idk, lol.
Any help?
If you take a picture of the back of your receiver that will help.
To answer your question though, yes. There are subs that work with regular speaker wire. You might check out partsexpress for probably the best bang for your buck subs out there.
I, like yourself, know almost nothing about audio.
But here's a Google search that might be useful: inexpensive non-powered passive subwoofer
But here's a Google search that might be useful: inexpensive non-powered passive subwoofer
AWESOME! Very nice. So just make sure it says unpowered, and we're good, right?
Or, is a "powered" subwoofer just needing to be plugged into an outlet?
Or, is a "powered" subwoofer just needing to be plugged into an outlet?
From Wikipedia:
QUOTE
A subwoofer is a woofer, or a complete loudspeaker dedicated to the reproduction of bass audio frequencies, from perhaps 150 Hz down as far as 20 Hz, or in rare cases lower. Subwoofers, also known as "subs", are used to augment the low frequency performance of main loudspeakers. Subwoofers are constructed by mounting one or more woofers typically between 8" and 21" in diameter in a well-braced wood or plastic cabinet. Passive subwoofers have a subwoofer driver and enclosure; active subwoofers have a built-in amplifier.
...
Amplification
Active: 'Active subwoofers' include their own dedicated amplifiers. Some also include user-adjustable equalization that allows boosted or reduced output at particular frequencies; these vary from a simple "boost" switch, to fully parametric equalizers meant for detailed speaker and room correction. Some such systems are even supplied with a calibrated microphone to measure the subwoofer's in-room response, so the automatic equalizer can correct the combination of subwoofer, subwoofer location, and room response to minimize effects of room modes and improve low frequency performance.
Passive: 'Passive subwoofers' have a subwoofer driver and enclosure, but do not include an amplifier. They sometimes incorporate internal passive crossovers, with the filter frequency determined at the factory. These are generally used with third-party power amplifiers, taking their inputs from active crossovers earlier in the signal chain. While few home-theater-in-a-box systems use passive subwoofers, this format is still popular in the professional sound industry.
...
Amplification
Active: 'Active subwoofers' include their own dedicated amplifiers. Some also include user-adjustable equalization that allows boosted or reduced output at particular frequencies; these vary from a simple "boost" switch, to fully parametric equalizers meant for detailed speaker and room correction. Some such systems are even supplied with a calibrated microphone to measure the subwoofer's in-room response, so the automatic equalizer can correct the combination of subwoofer, subwoofer location, and room response to minimize effects of room modes and improve low frequency performance.
Passive: 'Passive subwoofers' have a subwoofer driver and enclosure, but do not include an amplifier. They sometimes incorporate internal passive crossovers, with the filter frequency determined at the factory. These are generally used with third-party power amplifiers, taking their inputs from active crossovers earlier in the signal chain. While few home-theater-in-a-box systems use passive subwoofers, this format is still popular in the professional sound industry.
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