Added a second sub to my home theater setup
Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2018 7:01 pm
My Dad got this Polk Audio 100W subwoofer 10 years ago and somewhere along the way decided he didn't want to use it with the TV. He has an old ~2008 era MItsubishi 46" LCD with a built-in sound bar and I guess it has a sub output. I don't really know why he stopped using it. I know there was a really big dead spot below where the TV speakers could respond but above the 200Hz of the sub, but I am sure acoustics had nothing to do with it...
After moving it to the living room for some number of years, he finally asked if I wanted it. Of course I do. So I brought it home.
It is either this, or almost identical:
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/polk-audio ... Id=9154073
It's nothing crazy high end but is a decent unit.
About 9 or 10 years ago I bought an old Sony CRT (36" HD 4:3) as well as a Sony 5.1 system of the same era as the TV. Even 2 TVs later I am still using the Sony system. It does an acceptable job with movies and other surround sources so I have had no reason to replace it even as the receiver display has been completely blank for probably 4+ years now. Anyway, it has a 100W sub that does alright but the acoustics in my large great room really did not allow the bass to reach the listener in many of the seating positions that we have. If we were against the back wall, that would help a LOT but that would be too far from the TV. In the middle of the room, there is a dead spot. This has bothered me for years. Enter the second sub.
I have read on home theater forums that adding a second sub can make a huge difference as it tends to help cut down on the dead zones significantly and overall enhance the sound. So I decided to hook it up.
The sub signal comes from my receiver (obviously) and is just a single RCA cable. The Polk sub takes a L and R input and did not appear to have an auto mono mode so I would need to split the signal into both the L and R inputs. Side note, it also has speaker level inputs if you are really limited.
So I bought 2 Y cables and an RCA gender changer. One Y cable hooks up to the original signal wire. One of the outputs goes to the Sony sub, done. The second output goes to a 12' cable (that I already had) via the gender changer and at the other end, another Y cable to split the mono signal to feed both the L and R inputs. The result is both subwoofers work.
I tried one spot to the right of the TV and ended up moving it to the left area, where it is almost invisible. The sound is still nowhere near as good in the seating positions as it is in the back of the room (where there is some really impressive bottom end) but it is significantly improved, and that's the point. Success. I had to turn the volume down from the middle setting a bit on the Polk. Left the Sony basically in the middle (maybe a touch lower).
I don't know what would make good bass for middle of room viewers. One sub in each front corner of the room perhaps? I have no idea. Or maybe the Polk could go in the rear with the phase switch set to 180 degrees out. Thumbs up for 2 subs.
After moving it to the living room for some number of years, he finally asked if I wanted it. Of course I do. So I brought it home.
It is either this, or almost identical:
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/polk-audio ... Id=9154073
It's nothing crazy high end but is a decent unit.
About 9 or 10 years ago I bought an old Sony CRT (36" HD 4:3) as well as a Sony 5.1 system of the same era as the TV. Even 2 TVs later I am still using the Sony system. It does an acceptable job with movies and other surround sources so I have had no reason to replace it even as the receiver display has been completely blank for probably 4+ years now. Anyway, it has a 100W sub that does alright but the acoustics in my large great room really did not allow the bass to reach the listener in many of the seating positions that we have. If we were against the back wall, that would help a LOT but that would be too far from the TV. In the middle of the room, there is a dead spot. This has bothered me for years. Enter the second sub.
I have read on home theater forums that adding a second sub can make a huge difference as it tends to help cut down on the dead zones significantly and overall enhance the sound. So I decided to hook it up.
The sub signal comes from my receiver (obviously) and is just a single RCA cable. The Polk sub takes a L and R input and did not appear to have an auto mono mode so I would need to split the signal into both the L and R inputs. Side note, it also has speaker level inputs if you are really limited.
So I bought 2 Y cables and an RCA gender changer. One Y cable hooks up to the original signal wire. One of the outputs goes to the Sony sub, done. The second output goes to a 12' cable (that I already had) via the gender changer and at the other end, another Y cable to split the mono signal to feed both the L and R inputs. The result is both subwoofers work.
I tried one spot to the right of the TV and ended up moving it to the left area, where it is almost invisible. The sound is still nowhere near as good in the seating positions as it is in the back of the room (where there is some really impressive bottom end) but it is significantly improved, and that's the point. Success. I had to turn the volume down from the middle setting a bit on the Polk. Left the Sony basically in the middle (maybe a touch lower).
I don't know what would make good bass for middle of room viewers. One sub in each front corner of the room perhaps? I have no idea. Or maybe the Polk could go in the rear with the phase switch set to 180 degrees out. Thumbs up for 2 subs.